The answer is a shared VPC with separate subnets for each team, governed by IAM policies to enforce separation of duties. This architecture is correct because the central IT team owns and manages the VPC’s networking resources—such as subnets, route tables, and security groups—while application teams are granted IAM permissions only to launch and manage their own EC2 instances and RDS databases within their designated subnets. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the shared VPC model as a governance pattern that balances centralized network control with delegated resource management. A common trap is choosing individual VPCs per team, which forfeits central oversight, or VPC peering, which only connects networks without controlling permissions. Remember the memory tip: “Central net, team pets”—the central team owns the network, while each team manages their own compute and database pets inside their subnet.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. 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 company has a central IT team that manages networking resources for multiple application teams. Each application team needs to manage its own EC2 instances and RDS databases. Which AWS architecture best supports this separation of duties?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use a shared VPC with separate subnets for each team, with IAM policies to control access.
Option B is correct because a shared VPC allows the central IT team to manage the network while application teams can create their own resources in the same VPC. Option A is wrong because individual VPCs per team would not allow central management. Option C is wrong because VPC peering does not provide central management. Option D is wrong because AWS Transit Gateway does not control resource creation permissions within VPCs.
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.
✗
Use AWS Transit Gateway to connect individual VPCs managed by each team.
Why it's wrong here
Transit Gateway is for network connectivity, not for central management of resources.
✓
Use a shared VPC with separate subnets for each team, with IAM policies to control access.
Why this is correct
Shared VPC allows central management of network resources while teams manage their own resources.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Create a single VPC and use VPC peering to connect team resources.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering is for connecting VPCs, not for managing resource creation within a VPC.
✗
Create a separate VPC for each application team and use VPC peering.
Why it's wrong here
This decentralizes network management, contrary to the requirement.
Common exam traps
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 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.
Review block sizes, usable host formulas (2^n − 2), and how to find network and broadcast addresses for /24 through /30. Then practise related SAP-C02 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use a shared VPC with separate subnets for each team, with IAM policies to control access. — Option B is correct because a shared VPC allows the central IT team to manage the network while application teams can create their own resources in the same VPC. Option A is wrong because individual VPCs per team would not allow central management. Option C is wrong because VPC peering does not provide central management. Option D is wrong because AWS Transit Gateway does not control resource creation permissions within VPCs.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 subnetting questions on CIDR, address ranges, and subnet selection.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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