- A
An internet gateway attached to the VPC
Why wrong: Internet gateway by itself does not allow private instances.
- B
A VPC peering connection to a VPC with internet access
Why wrong: VPC peering does not provide internet access.
- C
An egress-only internet gateway
Why wrong: Egress-only IGW is for IPv6 only.
- D
A NAT gateway in a public subnet
NAT gateway enables outbound internet for private instances.
Question 1,468 of 1,546
SOA-C02 Reliability and Business Continuity Practice Question
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of reliability and business continuity. 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 has an Auto Scaling group that launches EC2 instances in private subnets. The instances need to download software patches from the internet. Which component must be added to the VPC to allow outbound internet traffic while keeping the instances private?
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
✓
A NAT gateway in a public subnet
A NAT gateway in a public subnet allows EC2 instances in private subnets to initiate outbound traffic to the internet (e.g., to download patches) while preventing unsolicited inbound connections. The NAT gateway translates the private IPs to its own Elastic IP and routes traffic through an internet gateway attached to the VPC, keeping instances private.
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.
- ✗
An internet gateway attached to the VPC
Why it's wrong here
Internet gateway by itself does not allow private instances.
- ✗
A VPC peering connection to a VPC with internet access
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering does not provide internet access.
- ✗
An egress-only internet gateway
Why it's wrong here
Egress-only IGW is for IPv6 only.
- ✓
A NAT gateway in a public subnet
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse an internet gateway with a NAT gateway, assuming attaching an internet gateway to the VPC alone will give private instances internet access, but private subnets need a NAT device to route traffic through the internet gateway.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A NAT gateway operates at the network layer (Layer 3) and performs source network address translation (SNAT) for outbound packets, rewriting the source IP to its own Elastic IP. It maintains connection state so that return traffic is correctly forwarded back to the private instance. In a real-world scenario, if the NAT gateway is placed in a single Availability Zone, cross-AZ traffic incurs data transfer costs, so for high availability, deploy one NAT gateway per AZ.
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.
Visual reference
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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Reliability and Business Continuity — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Reliability and Business Continuity — This question tests Reliability and Business Continuity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A NAT gateway in a public subnet — A NAT gateway in a public subnet allows EC2 instances in private subnets to initiate outbound traffic to the internet (e.g., to download patches) while preventing unsolicited inbound connections. The NAT gateway translates the private IPs to its own Elastic IP and routes traffic through an internet gateway attached to the VPC, keeping instances private.
What should I do if I get this SOA-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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