Quick Answer
The answer is VPC Flow Logs and Reachability Analyzer. VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information for network interfaces within your VPC, allowing you to analyze allowed or denied traffic patterns between EC2 instances, while Reachability Analyzer performs static path verification to test whether a source and destination can communicate and identifies any blocking security groups or network ACLs. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this pairing tests your ability to distinguish between logging actual traffic and proactively validating network paths, a common trap being to confuse CloudTrail or Config for connectivity monitoring. To monitor network connectivity between EC2 instances, remember that VPC Flow Logs show you what happened, and Reachability Analyzer tells you what would happen. Memory tip: Flow logs for the flow, analyzer for the path.
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of continuous improvement for existing solutions. 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.
Which TWO AWS services can be used to monitor and troubleshoot network connectivity issues between EC2 instances? (Choose two.)
Amazon Inspector.
Why wrong: Security vulnerability assessment.
AWS CloudTrail.
Why wrong: Records API activity, not network traffic.
AWS Config.
Why wrong: Monitors resource configuration changes.
VPC Reachability Analyzer.
Tests network paths between resources.
VPC Flow Logs.
Captures network traffic metadata.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
VPC Reachability Analyzer.
Options A and D are correct. A: VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information. D: Reachability Analyzer checks network paths. B is incorrect because CloudTrail records API calls, not network traffic. C is incorrect because Config records resource configuration, not real-time connectivity. E is incorrect because Inspector is for security assessments.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon Inspector.
Why it's wrong here
Security vulnerability assessment.
AWS CloudTrail.
Why it's wrong here
Records API activity, not network traffic.
AWS Config.
Why it's wrong here
Monitors resource configuration changes.
VPC Reachability Analyzer.
Why this is correct
Tests network paths between resources.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
VPC Flow Logs.
Why this is correct
Captures network traffic metadata.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
Common exam traps
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — study guide chapter
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Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions practice questions
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FAQ
Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — This question tests Continuous Improvement for Existing Solutions — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
The correct answer is: VPC Reachability Analyzer. — Options A and D are correct. A: VPC Flow Logs capture IP traffic information. D: Reachability Analyzer checks network paths. B is incorrect because CloudTrail records API calls, not network traffic. C is incorrect because Config records resource configuration, not real-time connectivity. E is incorrect because Inspector is for security assessments.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related SAP-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Drag and drop the steps to troubleshoot an EC2 instance that is unreachable via SSH in the correct order.
mediumWhy : Start with security groups, then network ACLs, then public IP, then system status, and finally console output.
Variation 2. A DevOps engineer notices that an EC2 instance is running but is not reachable via SSH. The instance was launched with a security group that allows SSH from anywhere (0.0.0.0/0). What is the most likely cause?
easyWhy D: Option A is correct because the network ACL must allow inbound SSH traffic on port 22. Option B is incorrect because security group already allows SSH. Option C is incorrect because the instance status check failing would show other symptoms. Option D is incorrect because the instance has a public IP.
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Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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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