- A
Classic Load Balancer for the web tier and Application Load Balancer for the application tier
Why wrong: CLB does not offer the advanced features needed for modern web tiers.
- B
Application Load Balancer for the web tier and Network Load Balancer for the application tier
ALB provides content-based routing for web tier; NLB provides static IP for application tier.
- C
AWS Global Accelerator for the web tier and Classic Load Balancer for the application tier
Why wrong: Global Accelerator is for multi-Region; CLB is deprecated.
- D
Network Load Balancer for the web tier and Application Load Balancer for the application tier
Why wrong: NLB does not support path-based routing typically needed for web tier.
Question 1,396 of 1,705
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is deploying a multi-tier web application across multiple Availability Zones in a single Region. The web tier must be fault-tolerant and distribute traffic across EC2 instances. The application tier uses an Auto Scaling group of EC2 instances that need to be accessed by the web tier using a static IP address. Which combination of AWS services meets these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Application Load Balancer for the web tier and Network Load Balancer for the application tier
The web tier requires fault tolerance and traffic distribution across EC2 instances, which is best handled by an Application Load Balancer (ALB) operating at Layer 7 with path-based routing and health checks. The application tier needs a static IP address for the web tier to access it, which is a key feature of a Network Load Balancer (NLB) — it preserves the client IP and provides static IP addresses per Availability Zone, unlike ALBs which use dynamic IPs. This combination meets both requirements: ALB for web traffic distribution and NLB for static IP access to the application tier.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Classic Load Balancer for the web tier and Application Load Balancer for the application tier
Why it's wrong here
CLB does not offer the advanced features needed for modern web tiers.
- ✓
Application Load Balancer for the web tier and Network Load Balancer for the application tier
Why this is correct
ALB provides content-based routing for web tier; NLB provides static IP for application tier.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Global Accelerator for the web tier and Classic Load Balancer for the application tier
Why it's wrong here
Global Accelerator is for multi-Region; CLB is deprecated.
- ✗
Network Load Balancer for the web tier and Application Load Balancer for the application tier
Why it's wrong here
NLB does not support path-based routing typically needed for web tier.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume a load balancer for the web tier must be a Network Load Balancer for static IPs, but the requirement for static IPs applies to the application tier, not the web tier, and they overlook that ALBs are the standard for Layer 7 web traffic distribution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Network Load Balancers preserve the source IP address of clients by default and can be assigned Elastic IP addresses per Availability Zone, ensuring static IPs for the application tier. Under the hood, NLB uses a flow hash algorithm based on protocol, source IP, source port, destination IP, and destination port to distribute traffic, and it supports TCP, UDP, and TLS without inspecting application-layer headers. In a real-world scenario, if the web tier needs to whitelist the application tier's IPs in security groups or firewall rules, the NLB's static IPs are essential, whereas an ALB's IPs can change after scaling events.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Network Design — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Network Design practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All ANS-C01 questions
1,705 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
ANS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related ANS-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Network Management and Operations practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Management and Operations.
Network Security, Compliance and Governance practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Security, Compliance and Governance.
Network Design practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Design.
Network Implementation practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Implementation.
ANS-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 fundamentals.
ANS-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 scenario.
ANS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free ANS-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ANS-C01 question test?
Network Design — This question tests Network Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Application Load Balancer for the web tier and Network Load Balancer for the application tier — The web tier requires fault tolerance and traffic distribution across EC2 instances, which is best handled by an Application Load Balancer (ALB) operating at Layer 7 with path-based routing and health checks. The application tier needs a static IP address for the web tier to access it, which is a key feature of a Network Load Balancer (NLB) — it preserves the client IP and provides static IP addresses per Availability Zone, unlike ALBs which use dynamic IPs. This combination meets both requirements: ALB for web traffic distribution and NLB for static IP access to the application tier.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More ANS-C01 practice questions
- A financial services company has a VPC with a public subnet and a private subnet. EC2 instances in the private subnet ne…
- A company is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account environment using AWS Transit Gateway. The se…
- A company is using AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises network to AWS. The company wants to encrypt all traffi…
- A company uses AWS Transit Gateway to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks via AWS Site-to-Site VPN. The secur…
- A company runs a web application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application must be acc…
- A global e-commerce company uses a hub-and-spoke network topology with a transit VPC in us-east-1. Each spoke VPC has an…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This ANS-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ANS-C01 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.