- A
Advertise the same prefix over both Direct Connect connections.
Same prefix allows BGP to select the best path and fail over automatically.
- B
Use a different BGP AS number for each Direct Connect connection.
Why wrong: Using the same AS number is recommended to avoid AS path prepend issues.
- C
Use static routes instead of BGP for the Direct Connect connections.
Why wrong: Static routes do not provide dynamic failover; BGP is required.
- D
Enable Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) on both BGP sessions.
BFD provides fast failure detection, speeding up convergence.
- E
Configure a single virtual interface for both connections.
Why wrong: Each Direct Connect connection requires its own virtual interface.
Question 29 of 1,705
Configuring BGP and BFD for Automatic Failover Across Direct Connect Connections
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 designing a highly available network architecture using AWS Direct Connect. They have two Direct Connect connections from different providers to two different AWS Direct Connect locations. They want to ensure that if one connection fails, traffic automatically fails over to the other. Which TWO steps should they take? (Select TWO.)
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
✓
Advertise the same prefix over both Direct Connect connections.
Option A is correct because advertising the same prefix over both Direct Connect connections allows BGP to provide automatic failover. When one connection fails, BGP withdraws the route for that prefix, and traffic is redirected to the remaining connection. This leverages BGP's path selection and route propagation to achieve active/backup or active/active redundancy without manual intervention.
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.
- ✓
Advertise the same prefix over both Direct Connect connections.
Why this is correct
Same prefix allows BGP to select the best path and fail over automatically.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a different BGP AS number for each Direct Connect connection.
Why it's wrong here
Using the same AS number is recommended to avoid AS path prepend issues.
- ✗
Use static routes instead of BGP for the Direct Connect connections.
Why it's wrong here
Static routes do not provide dynamic failover; BGP is required.
- ✓
Enable Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) on both BGP sessions.
Why this is correct
BFD provides fast failure detection, speeding up convergence.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Configure a single virtual interface for both connections.
Why it's wrong here
Each Direct Connect connection requires its own virtual interface.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think static routes are simpler and sufficient for failover, but they lack dynamic failure detection and route withdrawal, making BGP mandatory for automatic failover in Direct Connect architectures.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
BGP's route withdrawal mechanism is key: when a BGP session goes down, the router immediately withdraws all prefixes learned via that session, causing the remote router to select an alternate path. BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection) accelerates failure detection by sub-second hello intervals (e.g., 300 ms), reducing BGP convergence time from tens of seconds to under a second. In a real-world scenario, without BFD, a fiber cut might take 30+ seconds to detect via BGP keepalives, causing prolonged outage; BFD detects it in milliseconds.
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
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
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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: Advertise the same prefix over both Direct Connect connections. — Option A is correct because advertising the same prefix over both Direct Connect connections allows BGP to provide automatic failover. When one connection fails, BGP withdraws the route for that prefix, and traffic is redirected to the remaining connection. This leverages BGP's path selection and route propagation to achieve active/backup or active/active redundancy without manual intervention.
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.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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