- A
The security groups for the ALB are blocking incoming traffic.
Why wrong: Blocked traffic would result in connection timeouts, not 503.
- B
The SSL certificate on the ALB has expired.
Why wrong: SSL errors typically result in 502 Bad Gateway.
- C
The CloudFront distribution in front of the ALB is misconfigured.
Why wrong: No CloudFront mentioned in the scenario.
- D
The target group health checks are failing, causing the ALB to mark instances as unhealthy.
503 errors occur when no healthy targets are available.
Question 271 of 1,733
PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of operations and maintenance. 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 runs its SAP landscape on AWS and uses an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute traffic to multiple web dispatchers. The operations team notices that some requests are failing with 503 errors. 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 target group health checks are failing, causing the ALB to mark instances as unhealthy.
Option D is correct because 503 errors from an ALB typically indicate that the target instances are unhealthy or the ALB cannot route traffic to them, often due to failed health checks. Option A is wrong because security groups blocking traffic would cause 504 or timeout errors, not 503. Option B is wrong because an expired SSL certificate on the ALB would cause 502 errors (bad gateway), not 503. Option C is wrong because CloudFront is not in the path; the question describes an ALB distributing traffic directly to web dispatchers, so CloudFront misconfiguration is irrelevant.
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 security groups for the ALB are blocking incoming traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Blocked traffic would result in connection timeouts, not 503.
- ✗
The SSL certificate on the ALB has expired.
- ✗
The CloudFront distribution in front of the ALB is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
No CloudFront mentioned in the scenario.
- ✓
The target group health checks are failing, causing the ALB to mark instances as unhealthy.
Why this is correct
503 errors occur when no healthy targets are available.
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
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
No CloudFront mentioned in the scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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 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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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Operations and Maintenance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PAS-C01 question test?
Operations and Maintenance — This question tests Operations and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The target group health checks are failing, causing the ALB to mark instances as unhealthy. — Option D is correct because 503 errors from an ALB typically indicate that the target instances are unhealthy or the ALB cannot route traffic to them, often due to failed health checks. Option A is wrong because security groups blocking traffic would cause 504 or timeout errors, not 503. Option B is wrong because an expired SSL certificate on the ALB would cause 502 errors (bad gateway), not 503. Option C is wrong because CloudFront is not in the path; the question describes an ALB distributing traffic directly to web dispatchers, so CloudFront misconfiguration is irrelevant.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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 20, 2026
This PAS-C01 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 PAS-C01 exam.
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