The answer is to use an Application Load Balancer, deploy instances across multiple Availability Zones, and apply a spread placement group. An ALB distributes traffic across AZs with health checks, ensuring requests are routed to healthy instances while maintaining low latency by terminating connections at the edge and using cross-zone load balancing. Placing EC2 instances in multiple AZs provides fault isolation, and a spread placement group further reduces correlated failures by ensuring each instance runs on distinct hardware, which is critical for low-latency inter-instance communication across AZs. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this tests your understanding of balancing high availability with network performance; a common trap is selecting a single NAT Gateway or larger instance sizes, which neither improve availability nor reduce latency. Memory tip: think “ALB + AZs + Spread” as the three pillars for resilient, fast cross-AZ traffic.
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 company is deploying a new application across multiple Availability Zones in a single region. The application requires low-latency communication between instances in different AZs. Which THREE design choices help achieve high availability and low latency? (Select THREE.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a spread placement group for the instances.
Option A is correct because an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic across AZs and provides health checks. Option B is correct because placing instances in multiple AZs ensures availability if one AZ fails. Option C is incorrect because a single NATGateway in one AZ creates a single point of failure. Option D is correct because using EC2 instances in a spread placement group reduces correlated failures. Option E is incorrect because increasing instance size does not improve availability or latency.
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.
✓
Use a spread placement group for the instances.
Why this is correct
Spread placement groups reduce risk of simultaneous failures.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Use larger instance sizes to handle traffic spikes.
Why it's wrong here
Instance size affects performance, not availability or latency.
✓
Launch EC2 instances in at least two Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ deployment provides high availability.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Use a single NAT Gateway to provide internet access.
Why it's wrong here
Single NATGateway is a single point of failure and not highly available.
✓
Use an Application Load Balancer to distribute traffic across AZs.
Why this is correct
ALB provides cross-zone load balancing and health checks.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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 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.
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 Management and Operations — This question tests Network Management and Operations — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a spread placement group for the instances. — Option A is correct because an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic across AZs and provides health checks. Option B is correct because placing instances in multiple AZs ensures availability if one AZ fails. Option C is incorrect because a single NAT Gateway in one AZ creates a single point of failure. Option D is correct because using EC2 instances in a spread placement group reduces correlated failures. Option E is incorrect because increasing instance size does not improve availability or latency.
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.
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Question Discussion
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