- A
Use a single Transit Gateway with one route table for all VPCs and on-premises, and use network ACLs for isolation.
Why wrong: Network ACLs are stateless and harder to manage; Transit Gateway route tables provide better isolation.
- B
Create VPC peering connections between all VPCs and a Direct Connect gateway for on-premises connectivity.
Why wrong: VPC peering requires full mesh and does not scale; no isolation granularity.
- C
Use a VPN connection from each VPC to on-premises over Direct Connect, and allow VPC communication via VPN.
Why wrong: Multiple VPNs increase complexity and cost; Transit Gateway is simpler.
- D
Use a single Transit Gateway with separate route tables for development and production VPCs, and a shared route table for on-premises attachment.
Separate route tables enforce isolation; shared table allows on-premises access.
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 network engineer is designing a hybrid network using AWS Transit Gateway with multiple VPCs and an on-premises data center connected via AWS Direct Connect. The VPCs need to communicate with each other and with on-premises, but must isolate development VPCs from production VPCs. What is the MOST scalable and cost-effective approach?
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
Use a single Transit Gateway with separate route tables for development and production VPCs, and a shared route table for on-premises attachment.
Option D is correct because a single Transit Gateway with separate route tables allows you to isolate development and production VPCs from each other while sharing a common route table for the Direct Connect attachment to reach on-premises. This design is highly scalable (no mesh of peering connections) and cost-effective (no per-VPN-tunnel charges), leveraging Transit Gateway’s native segmentation and centralized routing.
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 a single Transit Gateway with one route table for all VPCs and on-premises, and use network ACLs for isolation.
Why it's wrong here
Network ACLs are stateless and harder to manage; Transit Gateway route tables provide better isolation.
- ✗
Create VPC peering connections between all VPCs and a Direct Connect gateway for on-premises connectivity.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering requires full mesh and does not scale; no isolation granularity.
- ✗
Use a VPN connection from each VPC to on-premises over Direct Connect, and allow VPC communication via VPN.
Why it's wrong here
Multiple VPNs increase complexity and cost; Transit Gateway is simpler.
- ✓
Use a single Transit Gateway with separate route tables for development and production VPCs, and a shared route table for on-premises attachment.
Why this is correct
Separate route tables enforce isolation; shared table allows on-premises access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume a single Transit Gateway cannot isolate traffic, but AWS Transit Gateway supports multiple route tables per gateway, enabling logical segmentation without separate transit gateways or complex ACLs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Transit Gateway uses route tables to control inter-VPC and hybrid traffic; by associating each VPC attachment with a specific route table (e.g., dev or prod) and propagating routes from the Direct Connect attachment into a shared route table, you achieve both isolation and connectivity. Under the hood, Transit Gateway performs route lookup based on the attachment’s association, and the maximum transmission unit (MTU) of 8500 bytes over Direct Connect is preserved, unlike VPN which may fragment packets. In a real-world scenario, this design allows you to add new VPCs without reconfiguring peering or VPNs, and you can enforce security via AWS Network Firewall or Gateway Load Balancer at the transit gateway level.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Use a single Transit Gateway with separate route tables for development and production VPCs, and a shared route table for on-premises attachment. — Option D is correct because a single Transit Gateway with separate route tables allows you to isolate development and production VPCs from each other while sharing a common route table for the Direct Connect attachment to reach on-premises. This design is highly scalable (no mesh of peering connections) and cost-effective (no per-VPN-tunnel charges), leveraging Transit Gateway’s native segmentation and centralized routing.
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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