SOA-C02 VPC Gateway Endpoint Practice Question
A SysOps administrator needs to reduce data transfer costs for a web application hosted on EC2 instances in a VPC. The application serves content to users over the internet. Which TWO actions will help reduce data transfer costs? (Choose TWO.)
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 Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 to keep S3 traffic within AWS.
The correct answers are B and C. Using a VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 allows instances to access S3 over the AWS network without traversing the internet, reducing data transfer costs. Amazon CloudFront caches content at edge locations worldwide, so users receive content from edge locations instead of the EC2 origin, reducing data transfer from EC2 to the internet. Option A is incorrect because migrating to private subnets and using AWS Direct Connect does not serve users over the internet; Direct Connect is a dedicated network connection that does not reduce data transfer costs for internet users. Option D is incorrect because an Application Load Balancer distributes traffic but does not inherently reduce data transfer costs; it may even add cost. Option E is incorrect because a larger NAT Gateway increases cost and does not reduce data transfer costs for outbound traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Move all instances to private subnets and use AWS Direct Connect for user access.
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect is a paid service and may increase costs.
- ✓
Use a VPC Gateway Endpoint for Amazon S3 to keep S3 traffic within AWS.
Why this is correct
Gateway endpoints are free and reduce data transfer costs to S3.
- ✓
Use Amazon CloudFront to cache and serve static content.
Why this is correct
CloudFront reduces data transfer from EC2 to internet.
- ✗
Use an Application Load Balancer to distribute traffic.
Why it's wrong here
ALB does not inherently reduce data transfer costs.
- ✗
Use a larger NAT Gateway to improve throughput.
Why it's wrong here
Larger NAT Gateway increases costs.
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 SOA-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 SOA-C02 exam.