Question 433 of 1,705
Network DesignhardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question

This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 VPC with multiple subnets across two AZs. The VPC is connected to an on-premises data center via AWS Direct Connect. The company wants to ensure that traffic between the VPC and on-premises is load-balanced across two Direct Connect virtual interfaces (VIFs) for high availability. Which configuration should be used?

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

Configure two VIFs and use BGP to advertise the same prefixes with equal metrics to enable ECMP.

Option A is correct because configuring two Direct Connect virtual interfaces (VIFs) with BGP and advertising the same prefixes with equal metrics (e.g., equal MED or AS-path length) enables Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing. This allows the VPC and on-premises routers to load-balance traffic across both VIFs, providing high availability and active-active utilization of the Direct Connect connections.

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 two VIFs and use BGP to advertise the same prefixes with equal metrics to enable ECMP.

    Why this is correct

    BGP ECMP allows load balancing across multiple VIFs.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • Configure a VPN connection over each VIF and use equal-cost routes between the VPN tunnels.

    Why it's wrong here

    VPN adds overhead and complexity.

  • Configure a single Direct Connect VIF with a 10 Gbps connection and a single BGP session.

    Why it's wrong here

    Single VIF is a single point of failure.

  • Configure two VIFs with static routes pointing to different on-premises IPs.

    Why it's wrong here

    Static routes do not provide active load balancing.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often assume VPN tunnels are required for load-balancing or that a single high-bandwidth connection is sufficient, missing the core requirement for active-active load-balancing and high availability via BGP ECMP across multiple VIFs.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

ECMP with BGP over Direct Connect relies on the routers receiving multiple paths with identical BGP attributes (e.g., local preference, AS-path length, MED). The AWS side uses BGP multipath to install up to 4 equal-cost routes per prefix, distributing traffic across the VIFs using a hash of packet headers (e.g., source/destination IP, port). In a real-world scenario, if one VIF fails, BGP withdraws the route, and traffic seamlessly shifts to the remaining VIF, ensuring high availability without manual intervention.

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 startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.

Visual reference

192.168.1.0 /24 256 addresses (254 usable) 192.168.1.0 /25 Subnet A 128 addr (126 usable) 192.168.1.128 /25 Subnet B 128 addr (126 usable) Borrowing 1 bit from host portion creates 2 subnets (/25)

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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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: Configure two VIFs and use BGP to advertise the same prefixes with equal metrics to enable ECMP. — Option A is correct because configuring two Direct Connect virtual interfaces (VIFs) with BGP and advertising the same prefixes with equal metrics (e.g., equal MED or AS-path length) enables Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing. This allows the VPC and on-premises routers to load-balance traffic across both VIFs, providing high availability and active-active utilization of the Direct Connect connections.

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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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.