- A
Use Amazon Route 53 weighted routing to distribute traffic to each AZ
Why wrong: Weighted routing does not provide automatic failover; health checks can be configured but it's not as seamless as a load balancer.
- B
Deploy an internal NLB per Availability Zone, with each NLB only registering targets in its own AZ, and an internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) with targets in all AZs
This keeps traffic within the AZ for lowest latency, and the ALB provides failover across AZs.
- C
Use a single internal Classic Load Balancer across all AZs
Why wrong: Classic Load Balancer does not support cross-zone load balancing disabling and is not recommended for modern architectures.
- D
Deploy an internal Network Load Balancer (NLB) in a single AZ and route traffic from other AZs through it
Why wrong: This creates a single point of failure and adds cross-AZ latency.
Quick Answer
The correct design is to deploy an internal Network Load Balancer per Availability Zone, with each NLB only registering targets in its own AZ, fronted by an internet-facing Application Load Balancer with targets in all AZs. This achieves intra-AZ low latency because disabling cross-zone load balancing on each NLB forces traffic to remain within the same Availability Zone, eliminating cross-AZ network hops, while the ALB provides automatic failover by rerouting front-end traffic to healthy AZs if one becomes unavailable. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to balance latency against fault tolerance, often appearing as a trap where a single cross-AZ NLB seems simpler but introduces unnecessary latency. A common memory tip is "NLB for local, ALB for global"—the NLB keeps traffic local to the AZ for speed, while the ALB spans AZs for resilience.
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. 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 is deploying a critical application across multiple Availability Zones in a single AWS Region. They need a network design that provides the lowest possible latency between application tiers and supports automatic failover if an AZ becomes unavailable. Which design meets these requirements?
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
Deploy an internal NLB per Availability Zone, with each NLB only registering targets in its own AZ, and an internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) with targets in all AZs
Using an internal Network Load Balancer (NLB) in each AZ with cross-zone load balancing disabled ensures traffic stays within the AZ for lowest latency, and using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) for the front end with targets in each AZ provides failover. A single NLB across AZs adds cross-AZ latency. Classic Load Balancer is legacy. Route 53 weighted routing is not automatic failover.
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.
- ✗
Use Amazon Route 53 weighted routing to distribute traffic to each AZ
Why it's wrong here
Weighted routing does not provide automatic failover; health checks can be configured but it's not as seamless as a load balancer.
- ✓
Deploy an internal NLB per Availability Zone, with each NLB only registering targets in its own AZ, and an internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) with targets in all AZs
Why this is correct
This keeps traffic within the AZ for lowest latency, and the ALB provides failover across AZs.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use a single internal Classic Load Balancer across all AZs
Why it's wrong here
Classic Load Balancer does not support cross-zone load balancing disabling and is not recommended for modern architectures.
- ✗
Deploy an internal Network Load Balancer (NLB) in a single AZ and route traffic from other AZs through it
Why it's wrong here
This creates a single point of failure and adds cross-AZ latency.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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Network Design — study guide chapter
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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: Deploy an internal NLB per Availability Zone, with each NLB only registering targets in its own AZ, and an internet-facing Application Load Balancer (ALB) with targets in all AZs — Using an internal Network Load Balancer (NLB) in each AZ with cross-zone load balancing disabled ensures traffic stays within the AZ for lowest latency, and using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) for the front end with targets in each AZ provides failover. A single NLB across AZs adds cross-AZ latency. Classic Load Balancer is legacy. Route 53 weighted routing is not automatic failover.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on ANS-C01
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 company is deploying a critical application across multiple Availability Zones (AZs) in a single AWS region. The application requires a highly available network layer that can automatically detect and reroute traffic away from failed endpoints. Which AWS service should be used to meet this requirement?
medium- ✓ A.Network Load Balancer (NLB)
- B.AWS Global Accelerator
- C.Application Load Balancer (ALB)
- D.NAT gateway
Why A: Option A is correct because a Network Load Balancer (NLB) operates at Layer 4, provides high availability across AZs, and automatically reroutes traffic from unhealthy targets. Option B is wrong because an Application Load Balancer (ALB) is Layer 7 and may introduce unnecessary overhead. Option C is wrong because a NAT gateway provides outbound internet access, not load balancing. Option D is wrong because AWS Global Accelerator is for multi-region traffic, not intra-region.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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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