Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A workload runs in private subnets. It must access AWS services such as Amazon S3, but the company wants to avoid using a NAT Gateway to reduce outbound networking costs. What is the best solution?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
Create VPC endpoints for the required AWS services and route traffic to them
VPC endpoints provide private connectivity from your VPC to supported AWS services without traversing the public internet or a NAT Gateway. For example, you can use a gateway endpoint for S3 (and interface endpoints for other services where supported), which avoids NAT Gateway hourly and data-processing charges.
B
Distractor review
Attach Elastic IP addresses to instances in private subnets
Elastic IP addresses require public networking. They do not provide a NAT-less path to AWS service APIs from a purely private subnet, and they do not achieve the cost-avoidance goal described.
C
Distractor review
Install a NAT Gateway in every subnet to minimize routing hops
Adding more NAT Gateways increases cost rather than avoiding it. The requirement is specifically to eliminate NAT Gateway usage for accessing AWS services.
D
Distractor review
Open outbound internet access with a security group rule to reach service endpoints directly
Reaching AWS service endpoints via the internet typically reintroduces outbound connectivity (and associated data-transfer costs and security considerations). It also does not provide the NAT-avoidance behavior of VPC endpoints for private access to AWS services.
Common exam trap
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.
Technical deep dive
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.
Related practice questions
Related SAA-C03 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
SAA-C03 Auto Scaling practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 Auto Scaling.
SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions.
SAA-C03 high availability questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 high availability questions.
SAA-C03 cost optimization questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 cost optimization questions.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A team needs to distribute TCP traffic (not HTTP) across multiple services. The services must see the original client source IP for auditing. Which AWS load balancer is the best fit?
Question 2
A team wants to run containerized services with AWS-managed orchestration and autoscaling. They do NOT require Kubernetes compatibility. Which AWS service choice is most appropriate to meet these goals?
Question 3
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a IoT ingestion API. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure? The design must avoid adding custom operational scripts.
Question 4
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a claims portal. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure?
Question 5
A team wants to delegate IAM management to developers, but must ensure developers can never grant themselves permissions beyond a specific limit. Which AWS mechanism best matches this requirement?
Question 6
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a healthcare document service. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create VPC endpoints for the required AWS services and route traffic to them — Use VPC endpoints to access AWS services privately from private subnets. By creating the appropriate endpoint types (for example, gateway endpoints for S3 and interface endpoints for other services), traffic stays within the AWS network and does not traverse a NAT Gateway. This avoids NAT Gateway hourly charges and data-processing charges while keeping outbound service access private and controlled. Why others are wrong: Elastic IPs and direct outbound internet access are not consistent with a NAT-avoidance solution for private subnet service access. Deploying additional NAT Gateways increases cost. Security-group rules alone do not change the network path; VPC endpoints are what remove the NAT Gateway requirement for AWS service access.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.