- A
The Direct Connect gateway is not propagating routes to the Transit Gateway, causing the on-premises traffic to be dropped.
Why wrong: If routes were not propagated, traffic would not reach the Transit Gateway at all. The issue is that traffic reaches the spoke directly, bypassing inspection.
- B
The Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment does not have a route that sends traffic to the inspection VPC.
The route table associated with the attachment determines the path. Without a specific route to the inspection VPC, traffic goes directly to the spoke.
- C
The inspection VPC is sending traffic back to the on-premises network via a different path, causing asymmetric routing that drops packets.
Why wrong: Asymmetric routing could occur, but the primary cause is the missing route; the inspection VPC may be configured correctly but traffic never reaches it.
- D
The Transit Gateway route table for the spoke VPC attachments does not have a route to the on-premises network via the Direct Connect gateway.
Why wrong: This would cause spoke VPCs to be unreachable from on-premises, but the issue is that traffic is not being inspected, not that it is unreachable.
Quick Answer
The answer is that the Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment lacks a static route pointing to the inspection VPC. This is the most likely cause because in a hub-and-spoke topology using Transit Gateway, traffic from on-premises enters through the Direct Connect gateway attachment, and its associated route table dictates the next hop. Without a specific route for spoke CIDRs directing traffic to the inspection VPC attachment, the Transit Gateway forwards packets directly to the spoke VPCs, bypassing the centralized appliances entirely. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Transit Gateway route tables are isolated per attachment type—a common trap is assuming a single route table propagates to all attachments. Remember that each attachment (VPC, VPN, Direct Connect Gateway) can have its own route table, and inspection traffic must be explicitly routed at every hop. Memory tip: think of the Direct Connect gateway route table as the “front door”—if it doesn’t point to the inspection VPC, traffic never gets checked.
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. 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 has a hub-and-spoke network topology using AWS Transit Gateway in us-east-1. The hub VPC hosts centralized inspection appliances from a third-party vendor. The spokes include VPCs with application workloads and a Direct Connect VIF attached to a Direct Connect gateway which is associated with the Transit Gateway. The company notices that traffic from the on-premises network to the spoke VPCs is not being inspected by the centralized appliances. They have verified that the Transit Gateway route tables are correctly configured with static routes pointing to the inspection VPC for all spoke CIDRs, and the inspection appliances are properly configured to forward traffic. What is the most likely cause of this issue?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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
The Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment does not have a route that sends traffic to the inspection VPC.
Option B is correct because in a hub-and-spoke topology with AWS Transit Gateway, traffic from on-premises (via Direct Connect) to spoke VPCs must be routed through the inspection VPC. This requires the Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment to contain a static route pointing to the inspection VPC attachment for the spoke CIDRs. Without this route, traffic bypasses inspection entirely.
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.
- ✗
The Direct Connect gateway is not propagating routes to the Transit Gateway, causing the on-premises traffic to be dropped.
Why it's wrong here
If routes were not propagated, traffic would not reach the Transit Gateway at all. The issue is that traffic reaches the spoke directly, bypassing inspection.
- ✓
The Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment does not have a route that sends traffic to the inspection VPC.
Why this is correct
The route table associated with the attachment determines the path. Without a specific route to the inspection VPC, traffic goes directly to the spoke.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The inspection VPC is sending traffic back to the on-premises network via a different path, causing asymmetric routing that drops packets.
Why it's wrong here
Asymmetric routing could occur, but the primary cause is the missing route; the inspection VPC may be configured correctly but traffic never reaches it.
- ✗
The Transit Gateway route table for the spoke VPC attachments does not have a route to the on-premises network via the Direct Connect gateway.
Why it's wrong here
This would cause spoke VPCs to be unreachable from on-premises, but the issue is that traffic is not being inspected, not that it is unreachable.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume configuring routes in the spoke VPC route tables or the inspection VPC is sufficient, but they overlook that the Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment must also direct traffic to the inspection VPC.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Transit Gateway uses separate route tables per attachment type. The Direct Connect gateway attachment's route table must explicitly route traffic to the inspection VPC attachment (using a static route with the inspection VPC as the next hop) to enforce inspection. Without this, traffic from on-premises flows directly to spoke VPCs via the Transit Gateway, bypassing the inspection appliances. This is a common misconfiguration when deploying centralized inspection in hub-and-spoke designs.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: The Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment does not have a route that sends traffic to the inspection VPC. — Option B is correct because in a hub-and-spoke topology with AWS Transit Gateway, traffic from on-premises (via Direct Connect) to spoke VPCs must be routed through the inspection VPC. This requires the Transit Gateway route table associated with the Direct Connect gateway attachment to contain a static route pointing to the inspection VPC attachment for the spoke CIDRs. Without this route, traffic bypasses inspection entirely.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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