The answer is Amazon S3 bucket and Amazon CloudWatch Logs. VPC Flow Logs are designed to capture IP traffic metadata from network interfaces within a VPC, and they can be published directly only to these two destinations because the flow log service natively integrates with S3 for long-term, cost-effective storage and with CloudWatch Logs for real-time monitoring and metric filtering. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this concept tests your understanding of the direct integration boundaries of VPC Flow Logs versus indirect delivery via subscription filters; a common trap is assuming that Kinesis Data Firehose or Lambda are valid direct destinations when they actually require a CloudWatch Logs subscription filter as an intermediary. Remember the mnemonic “SC” for S3 and CloudWatch—these are the only two direct stops on the flow log express.
ANS-C01 Network Implementation Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. 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 has a VPC with multiple subnets. They want to use VPC Flow Logs to capture network traffic metadata for troubleshooting. Which TWO of the following are valid destinations for VPC Flow Logs? (Select TWO.)
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon CloudWatch Logs log group
Option A and Option D are correct. VPC Flow Logs can be published to Amazon S3 or Amazon CloudWatch Logs. Option B is wrong because Kinesis Data Firehose is not a direct destination; you can use CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to send to Firehose. Option C is wrong because SQS is not a supported destination. Option E is wrong because Lambda is not a direct destination; you can use CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to invoke Lambda.
Key principle: Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Amazon CloudWatch Logs log group
Why this is correct
CloudWatch Logs is a supported destination for VPC Flow Logs.
Common exam trap: usable hosts are not the same as total addresses
Subnetting questions often tempt you into counting all addresses. In normal IPv4 subnets, the network and broadcast addresses are not usable host addresses.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Subnetting questions test whether you can identify the network, broadcast address, usable range, mask and correct subnet. Slow down enough to calculate the block size correctly.
KKey Concepts to Remember
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
Block size helps identify subnet boundaries.
Network and broadcast addresses are not usable hosts in normal IPv4 subnets.
The required host count determines the smallest suitable subnet.
TExam Day Tips
→Write the block size before choosing the subnet.
→Check whether the question asks for hosts, subnets or a specific address range.
→Do not confuse /24, /25, /26 and /27 host counts.
Key takeaway
Count usable hosts — not total addresses — and remember that the network and broadcast addresses are not available to hosts in standard IPv4 subnets.
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.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related ANS-C01 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
Network Implementation — This question tests Network Implementation — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Amazon CloudWatch Logs log group — Option A and Option D are correct. VPC Flow Logs can be published to Amazon S3 or Amazon CloudWatch Logs. Option B is wrong because Kinesis Data Firehose is not a direct destination; you can use CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to send to Firehose. Option C is wrong because SQS is not a supported destination. Option E is wrong because Lambda is not a direct destination; you can use CloudWatch Logs subscription filter to invoke Lambda.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 question wrong?
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related ANS-C01 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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Question Discussion
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