- A
A public subnet for the web tier with an internet gateway
Provides internet access to web servers.
- B
A private subnet for the database tier with a route to the application subnet
Isolates database tier.
- C
A private subnet for the application tier with a route to the web subnet
Isolates app tier from internet.
- D
A NAT gateway in the public subnet for outbound traffic from private subnets
Why wrong: Not required for the described access pattern.
- E
A VPN connection to on-premises
Why wrong: No on-premises mentioned.
Question 1,559 of 1,705
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 designing a VPC for a three-tier application. The web tier must be accessible from the internet, the application tier must only be accessible from the web tier, and the database tier must only be accessible from the application tier. Which THREE design elements are required? (Choose THREE.)
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
✓
A public subnet for the web tier with an internet gateway
Option A is correct because the web tier requires direct internet accessibility, which is achieved by placing it in a public subnet associated with an internet gateway. The internet gateway provides a target for the subnet's route table to allow inbound traffic from the internet and outbound responses, enabling users to reach the web application.
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.
- ✓
A public subnet for the web tier with an internet gateway
Why this is correct
Provides internet access to web servers.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
A private subnet for the database tier with a route to the application subnet
Why this is correct
Isolates database tier.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
A private subnet for the application tier with a route to the web subnet
Why this is correct
Isolates app tier from internet.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
A NAT gateway in the public subnet for outbound traffic from private subnets
Why it's wrong here
Not required for the described access pattern.
- ✗
A VPN connection to on-premises
Why it's wrong here
No on-premises mentioned.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The ANS-C01 exam often tests the misconception that a NAT gateway is required for private subnets in any multi-tier architecture, but here the private subnets only need internal routing between tiers, not outbound internet access.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In a three-tier VPC design, the application subnet must have a route table entry pointing to the web subnet's CIDR block via a VPC peering or local route, and the database subnet must route to the application subnet similarly, using security groups to enforce traffic flow. Security groups act as stateful firewalls at the instance level, allowing you to specify inbound rules that restrict traffic to only the source tier (e.g., allow HTTP/HTTPS from the web tier to the application tier), while network ACLs provide stateless subnet-level filtering. A common real-world scenario is using an Application Load Balancer in the public subnet to distribute traffic to web instances, while the application and database tiers remain isolated in private subnets with no direct internet path.
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 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.
Visual reference
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.
- →
Network Design — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Network Design practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All ANS-C01 questions
1,705 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
ANS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related ANS-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Network Management and Operations practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Management and Operations.
Network Security, Compliance and Governance practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Security, Compliance and Governance.
Network Design practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Design.
Network Implementation practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to Network Implementation.
ANS-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 fundamentals.
ANS-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 scenario.
ANS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise ANS-C01 questions linked to ANS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free ANS-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
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: A public subnet for the web tier with an internet gateway — Option A is correct because the web tier requires direct internet accessibility, which is achieved by placing it in a public subnet associated with an internet gateway. The internet gateway provides a target for the subnet's route table to allow inbound traffic from the internet and outbound responses, enabling users to reach the web application.
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.
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 →
Keep practising
More ANS-C01 practice questions
- A financial services company has a VPC with a public subnet and a private subnet. EC2 instances in the private subnet ne…
- A company is designing a network security architecture for a multi-account environment using AWS Transit Gateway. The se…
- A company is using AWS Direct Connect to connect its on-premises network to AWS. The company wants to encrypt all traffi…
- A company uses AWS Transit Gateway to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks via AWS Site-to-Site VPN. The secur…
- A company runs a web application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB). The application must be acc…
- A global e-commerce company uses a hub-and-spoke network topology with a transit VPC in us-east-1. Each spoke VPC has an…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.