PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
An SAP system administrator needs to ensure that an EC2 instance running SAP can access an S3 bucket containing installation media. The instance is in a private subnet without internet access. What is the recommended way to provide access to S3?
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
✓
Create a VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3.
A VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3 allows instances in a private subnet to access S3 without internet access. NAT Gateway is for internet access, Direct Connect is for on-premises connectivity, and VPN is for site-to-site.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set up a VPN connection to S3.
Why it's wrong here
A VPN connection provides encrypted tunnelling to a remote network but does not resolve the lack of internet access from a private subnet; S3 requires either a VPC Gateway Endpoint (which uses AWS PrivateLink) or a NAT gateway to reach its public endpoint, and a VPN alone cannot route traffic to S3 without internet connectivity. This option is tempting because VPNs are commonly used for secure hybrid connectivity to on-premises networks, and would be correct if the goal were to extend an on-premises network to AWS for private communication with an S3 bucket via a Direct Connect or VPN-based private link.
- ✓
Create a VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3.
Why this is correct
Gateway Endpoints provide private access to S3.
- ✗
Set up a NAT Gateway in the public subnet.
Why it's wrong here
NAT Gateway allows outbound internet access but is not needed for S3 via gateway endpoint.
- ✗
Use AWS Direct Connect to connect to S3.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect is for on-premises, not for EC2 in the same region.
Visual reference
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.