Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
Exhibit
Private subnet route table rtb-priv: - 10.0.0.0/16 local - 0.0.0.0/0 -> nat-0a12bc34 Application logs: 2026-04-20T10:14:11Z ERROR could not reach https://secretsmanager.us-east-1.amazonaws.com:443 2026-04-20T10:14:11Z ERROR timeout after 30s while downloading s3://company-artifacts-builds Finance note: "NAT data processing charges increased 42% last month."
Based on the exhibit, a workload in private subnets must reach only Amazon S3 and AWS Secrets Manager. The team wants to eliminate internet exposure for those calls and reduce NAT gateway charges. What change should be made?
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
Distractor review
Move the instances into a public subnet and restrict inbound access with security groups.
That would expose the workload to the internet, which directly violates the private connectivity requirement. Security groups do not replace the need for private network design.
B
Distractor review
Add a NAT instance and disable the managed NAT gateway to lower cost.
A NAT instance still sends traffic through an internet path and adds operational overhead. It does not remove public exposure for AWS service calls.
C
Best answer
Create an S3 gateway endpoint and a Secrets Manager interface endpoint with private DNS, then remove NAT dependency for those service calls.
S3 is best reached through a gateway VPC endpoint, while Secrets Manager requires an interface endpoint. With private DNS enabled, the application can resolve and reach those services without leaving AWS private networking. This removes the need for NAT traffic for those calls, cuts cost, and keeps service access off the public internet.
D
Distractor review
Use VPC peering to a shared services VPC and route all AWS service traffic through that VPC.
VPC peering does not provide native endpoints for AWS managed services and does not eliminate the internet path for those service APIs. It also adds routing complexity without solving the core problem.
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.
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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
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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
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Question 4
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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 an S3 gateway endpoint and a Secrets Manager interface endpoint with private DNS, then remove NAT dependency for those service calls. — The exhibit shows the subnet is relying on NAT for service access, which creates unnecessary internet exposure and cost. The correct AWS-native approach is to use a gateway endpoint for S3 and an interface endpoint for Secrets Manager, with private DNS so the application continues to use the standard service names. That keeps traffic on the AWS backbone and removes the NAT gateway from these flows. Why others are wrong: A public subnet breaks the private-subnet requirement and increases exposure. A NAT instance is still a NAT solution, so traffic still exits toward the internet and the operational burden increases. VPC peering is not a substitute for service endpoints and does not solve private API access for S3 or Secrets Manager.
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.
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