- A
Public subnets with an Internet Gateway.
Why wrong: Public subnets allow inbound internet traffic.
- B
Isolated subnets with no route to the internet.
Why wrong: Isolated subnets cannot access internet for updates.
- C
Private subnets with a NAT Gateway in a public subnet.
Private subnets have no direct inbound internet, but NAT enables outbound.
- D
Private subnets with a VPN connection to the corporate network.
Why wrong: VPN does not provide internet access.
Question 765 of 1,748
SCS-C02 Infrastructure Security Practice Question
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 designing a network architecture for a multi-tier web application. The application consists of a public-facing ALB, web servers in private subnets, and an RDS database in isolated subnets. The security team requires that the web servers have no direct internet access. Which VPC configuration meets this requirement?
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
✓
Private subnets with a NAT Gateway in a public subnet.
Option C is correct because placing web servers in private subnets with a NAT Gateway in a public subnet allows them to initiate outbound connections to the internet (e.g., for software updates) while preventing any inbound internet traffic from reaching them directly. The NAT Gateway translates private IPs to the public IP of the gateway, and the private subnets' route table points 0.0.0.0/0 to the NAT Gateway, not an Internet Gateway, ensuring no direct internet access.
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.
- ✗
Public subnets with an Internet Gateway.
Why it's wrong here
Public subnets allow inbound internet traffic.
- ✗
Isolated subnets with no route to the internet.
Why it's wrong here
Isolated subnets cannot access internet for updates.
- ✓
Private subnets with a NAT Gateway in a public subnet.
Why this is correct
Private subnets have no direct inbound internet, but NAT enables outbound.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Private subnets with a VPN connection to the corporate network.
Why it's wrong here
VPN does not provide internet access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'no direct internet access' with 'no internet access at all,' leading them to choose isolated subnets (Option B) instead of recognizing that private subnets with a NAT Gateway allow outbound-only internet access, which satisfies the requirement.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, a NAT Gateway uses source network address translation (SNAT) to map private IPs (RFC 1918) to its own Elastic IP, with stateful tracking of connections so return traffic is forwarded back to the originating instance. A common subtlety is that NAT Gateways are not available for IPv6 traffic (egress-only Internet Gateways are used instead), and they incur costs per hour and per GB processed, which can be significant for high-volume workloads. In a real-world scenario, if the web servers need to access an external API or download security patches, the NAT Gateway enables this while keeping them isolated from unsolicited inbound connections.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Visual reference
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SCS-C02 question test?
Infrastructure Security — This question tests Infrastructure Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Private subnets with a NAT Gateway in a public subnet. — Option C is correct because placing web servers in private subnets with a NAT Gateway in a public subnet allows them to initiate outbound connections to the internet (e.g., for software updates) while preventing any inbound internet traffic from reaching them directly. The NAT Gateway translates private IPs to the public IP of the gateway, and the private subnets' route table points 0.0.0.0/0 to the NAT Gateway, not an Internet Gateway, ensuring no direct internet access.
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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