The correct architecture is to deploy the appliance behind a Gateway Load Balancer in an inspection VPC and use a Transit Gateway to route traffic through it. This works because the Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) operates at Layer 3 and can transparently forward traffic to the stateful firewall appliance for inspection, while the Transit Gateway acts as a central hub to route traffic between subnets and VPCs, ensuring all inter-subnet traffic passes through the appliance. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how to integrate third-party virtual appliances for east-west traffic inspection, a common pattern for migrating on-premises stateful firewalls to the cloud. A frequent trap is confusing GWLB with Network Load Balancer (NLB), but NLB cannot inspect or modify traffic; GWLB is specifically designed to insert appliances into the data path. Memory tip: think “GWLB for inspection, TGW for connection”—the Gateway Load Balancer handles the appliance insertion, while Transit Gateway handles the routing.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of accelerate workload migration and modernization. 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 is migrating a stateful firewall appliance to AWS. The appliance currently inspects traffic between multiple on-premises segments. In AWS, the company wants to deploy the appliance in a VPC to inspect traffic between subnets. Which architecture should the company use to ensure that the appliance can inspect all traffic?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Deploy the appliance behind a Gateway Load Balancer in an inspection VPC and use a Transit Gateway to route traffic through it.
Option A is correct because a GatewayLoad Balancer (GWLB) can be deployed in the inspection VPC and route traffic from the transit gateway to the appliance for inspection. Option B is wrong because NLB cannot inspect traffic. Option C is wrong because ALB is for HTTP/HTTPS. Option D is wrong because VPC endpoints are for accessing services.
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.
✗
Deploy the appliance behind an Application Load Balancer and configure the VPC route tables.
Why it's wrong here
ALB is for application-level traffic.
✓
Deploy the appliance behind a Gateway Load Balancer in an inspection VPC and use a Transit Gateway to route traffic through it.
Why this is correct
GWLB is designed for transparent inspection of network traffic.
Deploy the appliance behind a Network Load Balancer and configure the VPC route tables to send traffic to the NLB.
Why it's wrong here
NLB does not support transparent inspection.
✗
Use VPC Gateway Endpoints to route traffic through the appliance.
Why it's wrong here
Gateway Endpoints are for accessing S3 and DynamoDB.
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.
Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — This question tests Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization — CIDR notation defines the prefix length..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy the appliance behind a Gateway Load Balancer in an inspection VPC and use a Transit Gateway to route traffic through it. — Option A is correct because a Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) can be deployed in the inspection VPC and route traffic from the transit gateway to the appliance for inspection. Option B is wrong because NLB cannot inspect traffic. Option C is wrong because ALB is for HTTP/HTTPS. Option D is wrong because VPC endpoints are for accessing services.
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.
What is the key concept behind this question?
CIDR notation defines the prefix length.
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