Quick Answer
The answer is VPC Flow Logs. This is the correct choice because VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information at the elastic network interface (ENI) level, allowing you to record metadata about TCP traffic between specific interfaces like eni-abc123 and eni-def456, and then publish those logs directly to an S3 bucket for long-term storage and analysis. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding that VPC Flow Logs are a network-level logging feature, not a full packet capture tool—they capture packet metadata (source, destination, ports, protocol, and action) but not the payload itself. A common trap is confusing VPC Flow Logs with services like Traffic Mirroring or AWS Network Firewall, which can capture full packets or perform deep inspection, but for simply capturing TCP traffic metadata between two specific ENIs and storing it in S3, VPC Flow Logs are the direct, cost-effective answer. Memory tip: Think "Flow Logs for the flows, not the full payload"—if the question says "capture traffic" without specifying "full packet capture," VPC Flow Logs are your go-to.
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network management and operations. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 network engineer needs to capture TCP traffic between an EC2 instance (eni-abc123) and an RDS instance (eni-def456) in the same VPC for troubleshooting. Which AWS service should be used to capture the traffic and store it in S3?
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service, not a network traffic capture tool.
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail records API calls, not network traffic between instances.
AWS Config
Why wrong: AWS Config tracks resource configurations, not network traffic.
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information for network interfaces and can be published to S3 or CloudWatch Logs.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
VPC Flow Logs
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information at the network interface level and can publish logs to S3. Option C is correct. Options A, B, and D are not designed for packet capture or do not capture traffic between two specific ENIs.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service, not a network traffic capture tool.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail records API calls, not network traffic between instances.
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config tracks resource configurations, not network traffic.
VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information for network interfaces and can be published to S3 or CloudWatch Logs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: VPC Flow Logs — VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information at the network interface level and can publish logs to S3. Option C is correct. Options A, B, and D are not designed for packet capture or do not capture traffic between two specific ENIs.
Identify which ANS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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.
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