← SCS-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 469 of 1,748

Infrastructure Security →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Private Cross-VPC Database Access with VPC Peering

This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of infrastructure security. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 critical application that must meet strict compliance requirements. The application consists of Amazon EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer. The instances need to access an Amazon RDS database in a different VPC. The company wants to minimize exposure to the internet. Which solution should the company use?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "minimum / minimize"
Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

A
Use a site-to-site VPN connection between the VPCs.
Why wrong: VPN is over the internet and adds latency; VPC Peering is simpler.
B
Use a NAT gateway in the database VPC and route traffic through it.
Why wrong: NAT gateways are for outbound internet, not inter-VPC connectivity.
C
Use a VPC Peering connection between the two VPCs.
VPC Peering provides private connectivity using AWS infrastructure.
D
Use an internet gateway and route traffic over the internet with security groups.
Why wrong: This exposes traffic to the internet, which is not minimized.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Use a VPC Peering connection between the two VPCs.

Option C is correct because VPC Peering establishes a private, direct network connection between two VPCs using AWS's internal infrastructure, with no exposure to the internet. Traffic stays within the AWS global network, meeting strict compliance requirements for minimizing internet exposure. This allows EC2 instances in the application VPC to communicate with the RDS database in the database VPC securely and with low latency, using private IP addresses.

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.

✗
Use a site-to-site VPN connection between the VPCs.
Why it's wrong here
VPN is over the internet and adds latency; VPC Peering is simpler.
✗
Use a NAT gateway in the database VPC and route traffic through it.
Why it's wrong here
NAT gateways are for outbound internet, not inter-VPC connectivity.
✓
Use a VPC Peering connection between the two VPCs.
Why this is correct
VPC Peering provides private connectivity using AWS infrastructure.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use an internet gateway and route traffic over the internet with security groups.
Why it's wrong here
This exposes traffic to the internet, which is not minimized.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse VPC Peering with site-to-site VPN, thinking VPN is required for cross-VPC connectivity, but VPC Peering is the correct AWS-native solution for private VPC-to-VPC communication without internet exposure.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

VPC Peering uses the AWS backbone network to route traffic between VPCs via private IP addresses, with no single point of failure or bandwidth bottleneck (unlike VPNs or NAT gateways). It requires non-overlapping CIDR blocks and route table entries pointing to the peering connection, and cross-account peering can be used if the VPCs are in different accounts. A common real-world scenario is a multi-tier application where the database VPC is in a separate account for security isolation, and VPC Peering allows secure, low-latency access without traversing the internet.

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 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.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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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: Use a VPC Peering connection between the two VPCs. — Option C is correct because VPC Peering establishes a private, direct network connection between two VPCs using AWS's internal infrastructure, with no exposure to the internet. Traffic stays within the AWS global network, meeting strict compliance requirements for minimizing internet exposure. This allows EC2 instances in the application VPC to communicate with the RDS database in the database VPC securely and with low latency, using private IP addresses.

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.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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This SCS-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 SCS-C02 exam.