The correct answer is to verify that the BGP hold timer and keepalive interval are consistent between the on-premises router and the AWS side. This is because a Direct Connect BGP flapping issue is most often triggered by a timer mismatch, where the two peers disagree on how long to wait for a keepalive before declaring the session dead, causing repeated resets. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of BGP session stability fundamentals, and the common trap is to immediately suspect MTU or VIF state problems, but those cause packet loss or interface issues, not the session itself to flap. A key memory tip is to think of BGP timers as a handshake rhythm—if one side expects a beat every 10 seconds and the other every 30, the session will keep dropping.
ANS-C01 Network Management and Operations Practice Question
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 is troubleshooting intermittent connectivity issues between an EC2 instance in a VPC and an on-premises data center over a Direct Connect virtual interface. The engineer notices that the BGP session is flapping. Which configuration should the engineer verify first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Verify that the BGP hold timer and keepalive interval are consistent between the on-premises router and the AWS side.
Option B is correct because BGP timers mismatch is a common cause of BGP session flapping. Option A is wrong because MTU mismatch typically causes packet loss, not BGP flap. Option C is wrong because VIF state being active is required for BGP but flapping suggests a configuration issue. Option D is wrong because route propagation is about route distribution, not BGP session stability.
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.
✓
Verify that the BGP hold timer and keepalive interval are consistent between the on-premises router and the AWS side.
Verify that the on-premises router is advertising the correct prefix to AWS.
Why it's wrong here
Route advertisement affects routing, not BGP session stability.
✗
Verify that the Direct Connect virtual interface is in the 'available' state.
Why it's wrong here
VIF state being available is necessary but not the cause of flapping.
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
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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.
Network Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Verify that the BGP hold timer and keepalive interval are consistent between the on-premises router and the AWS side. — Option B is correct because BGP timers mismatch is a common cause of BGP session flapping. Option A is wrong because MTU mismatch typically causes packet loss, not BGP flap. Option C is wrong because VIF state being active is required for BGP but flapping suggests a configuration issue. Option D is wrong because route propagation is about route distribution, not BGP session stability.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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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
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