- A
Configure a Network Load Balancer instead of an ALB, and enable cross-zone load balancing.
Why wrong: NLB supports cross-zone load balancing but it is disabled by default; enabling it would work but using ALB is the better choice for HTTP applications.
- B
Use an ALB with a target group that contains instances from only one Availability Zone, and use Route 53 health checks.
Why wrong: This would not distribute traffic across zones.
- C
Deploy one ALB in each Availability Zone and use Route 53 latency-based routing.
Why wrong: This adds complexity and latency-based routing may not failover as quickly as cross-zone load balancing.
- D
Enable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.
Cross-zone load balancing allows the ALB to distribute traffic across instances in all enabled AZs, providing high availability.
Quick Answer
The correct answer is to enable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB. This setting allows the Application Load Balancer to distribute incoming traffic evenly across all healthy targets in every enabled Availability Zone, rather than confining traffic to targets within the same zone as the requesting node. By default, an ALB distributes traffic only to targets in its own zone, so enabling cross-zone load balancing ensures that if an entire Availability Zone fails, the ALB can seamlessly route requests to healthy instances in the remaining zones, maintaining high availability. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this concept tests your understanding of how ALB node behavior differs from Network Load Balancer defaults—a common trap is assuming NLB also distributes cross-zone by default, but it does not unless explicitly enabled. A useful memory tip: think of cross-zone as “share the load across all zones,” while default ALB behavior is “each zone handles its own traffic.”
ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. 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 company is deploying a web application across multiple Availability Zones in a VPC. The application needs to be highly available and scale based on traffic. The architecture includes an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in front of EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group. The company wants to ensure that if an Availability Zone fails, the ALB can still route traffic to healthy instances in other zones. What should the network engineer implement to meet this requirement?
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
Enable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.
Option D is correct because enabling cross-zone load balancing on the ALB allows it to distribute traffic across all registered targets in all enabled Availability Zones. Option A is wrong because a Network Load Balancer does not support cross-zone load balancing by default. Option B is wrong because multiple ALBs per AZ would introduce complexity and is not the simplest solution. Option C is wrong because it does not address cross-zone load balancing.
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.
- ✗
Configure a Network Load Balancer instead of an ALB, and enable cross-zone load balancing.
Why it's wrong here
NLB supports cross-zone load balancing but it is disabled by default; enabling it would work but using ALB is the better choice for HTTP applications.
- ✗
Use an ALB with a target group that contains instances from only one Availability Zone, and use Route 53 health checks.
Why it's wrong here
This would not distribute traffic across zones.
- ✗
Deploy one ALB in each Availability Zone and use Route 53 latency-based routing.
Why it's wrong here
This adds complexity and latency-based routing may not failover as quickly as cross-zone load balancing.
- ✓
Enable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.
Why this is correct
Cross-zone load balancing allows the ALB to distribute traffic across instances in all enabled AZs, providing high availability.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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
How to think about this question
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.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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
Questions learners often ask
What does this ANS-C01 question test?
Network Implementation — This question tests Network Implementation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB. — Option D is correct because enabling cross-zone load balancing on the ALB allows it to distribute traffic across all registered targets in all enabled Availability Zones. Option A is wrong because a Network Load Balancer does not support cross-zone load balancing by default. Option B is wrong because multiple ALBs per AZ would introduce complexity and is not the simplest solution. Option C is wrong because it does not address cross-zone load balancing.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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