The answer is VPC Flow Logs, Traffic Mirroring, and AWS Network Firewall flow logs. These three services capture VPC traffic logging between EC2 instances by recording metadata like source and destination IPs, ports, protocols, and packet counts—VPC Flow Logs provide this metadata directly, Traffic Mirroring copies actual packets for deep inspection, and AWS Network Firewall generates its own flow logs for traffic passing through the firewall. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between logging network traffic metadata versus logging API calls or security group rules; a common trap is confusing CloudTrail (which logs API activity) with network flow logging, or thinking Security Groups log traffic when they only evaluate rules. Remember the memory tip: “Flow, Mirror, Firewall—three ways to log it all.”
ANS-C01 Network Security, Compliance and Governance Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network security, compliance and governance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 needs to log all network traffic between EC2 instances in a VPC for security analysis. They want to capture metadata about traffic, including source and destination IP, ports, protocol, and packet counts. Which THREE AWS services or features can be used to achieve this? (Choose three.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
VPC Flow Logs
Options A, B, and E are correct because VPC Flow Logs capture metadata, Traffic Mirroring captures packets for deep inspection, and AWS Network Firewall provides flow logs. Option C is wrong because CloudTrail logs API calls, not network traffic. Option D is wrong because Security Groups do not log traffic.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API activity, not network traffic.
✓
VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic metadata at the network interface level.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✓
Traffic Mirroring
Why this is correct
Traffic Mirroring captures and inspects network traffic for security analysis.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✓
AWS Network Firewall flow logs
Why this is correct
Network Firewall can generate flow logs for traffic passing through it.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Security Group rules logging
Why it's wrong here
Security Groups do not have native logging; they accept/deny traffic without logging.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ANS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Network Security, Compliance and Governance — This question tests Network Security, Compliance and Governance — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: VPC Flow Logs — Options A, B, and E are correct because VPC Flow Logs capture metadata, Traffic Mirroring captures packets for deep inspection, and AWS Network Firewall provides flow logs. Option C is wrong because CloudTrail logs API calls, not network traffic. Option D is wrong because Security Groups do not log traffic.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related ANS-C01 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A security team requires that all traffic between Amazon EC2 instances in different subnets of a VPC be logged. Which AWS service should be used to capture and log the traffic?
easy
✓ A.VPC Flow Logs
B.AWS CloudTrail
C.VPC Traffic Mirroring
D.AWS Config
Why A: Option B is correct because VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information and can be published to CloudWatch Logs or S3. Option A is wrong because AWS CloudTrail logs API calls, not network traffic. Option C is wrong because VPC Traffic Mirroring captures traffic for analysis but is not primarily for logging. Option D is wrong because AWS Config tracks resource configuration changes.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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.
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