- A
The application VPCs have route tables that override the transit gateway routes with local routes.
Why wrong: Local routes are implicit and cannot be overridden; the issue is likely with route propagation.
- B
The VPN connection is not configured to advertise the on-premises CIDR to the transit gateway.
Why wrong: The question states routes are propagated in the transit gateway route tables, so this is not the issue.
- C
The application VPCs have security groups that block traffic to the on-premises network.
Why wrong: Security groups are stateful and operate at the instance level, not at the routing level; they would not prevent route propagation.
- D
The transit gateway route tables are not associated with the application VPC attachments.
For routes to be effective, the transit gateway route table that contains the VPN routes must be associated with the VPC attachments; otherwise, they won't receive the routes.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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 uses AWS Organizations with a multi-account setup. The central IT team manages a shared services VPC in the network account, which hosts a NAT gateway, a VPN connection to the on-premises network, and a transit gateway. Several application accounts have VPCs attached to the transit gateway. Recently, the application teams report that they cannot reach the on-premises network through the VPN. The network team confirms that the VPN is up and routes are propagated in the transit gateway route tables. However, the application VPCs are not receiving the routes. What is the MOST likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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
The transit gateway route tables are not associated with the application VPC attachments.
The most likely cause is that the transit gateway route tables are not associated with the application VPC attachments. Even if the VPN routes are propagated into the transit gateway route tables, the application VPCs will not receive those routes unless their VPC attachments are explicitly associated with the correct transit gateway route table. Without this association, the transit gateway does not propagate routes to the attached VPCs, leaving them unable to reach the on-premises network.
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.
- ✗
The application VPCs have route tables that override the transit gateway routes with local routes.
Why it's wrong here
Local routes are implicit and cannot be overridden; the issue is likely with route propagation.
- ✗
The VPN connection is not configured to advertise the on-premises CIDR to the transit gateway.
Why it's wrong here
The question states routes are propagated in the transit gateway route tables, so this is not the issue.
- ✗
The application VPCs have security groups that block traffic to the on-premises network.
Why it's wrong here
Security groups are stateful and operate at the instance level, not at the routing level; they would not prevent route propagation.
- ✓
The transit gateway route tables are not associated with the application VPC attachments.
Why this is correct
For routes to be effective, the transit gateway route table that contains the VPN routes must be associated with the VPC attachments; otherwise, they won't receive the routes.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
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 confusing route propagation with route table association — candidates often assume that if routes are propagated into the transit gateway route table, all attached VPCs automatically receive them, but AWS requires an explicit association between the VPC attachment and the route table for route distribution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In AWS Transit Gateway, route propagation and route table association are separate concepts. A VPC attachment must be associated with a transit gateway route table to receive routes from that table; simply having routes propagated into the table does not automatically push them to the attachment. Additionally, the transit gateway uses the most specific route (longest prefix match) when forwarding traffic, but if no route exists for the on-premises CIDR in the attachment's associated route table, traffic is dropped.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
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Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The transit gateway route tables are not associated with the application VPC attachments. — The most likely cause is that the transit gateway route tables are not associated with the application VPC attachments. Even if the VPN routes are propagated into the transit gateway route tables, the application VPCs will not receive those routes unless their VPC attachments are explicitly associated with the correct transit gateway route table. Without this association, the transit gateway does not propagate routes to the attached VPCs, leaving them unable to reach the on-premises network.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.
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