- A
NAT gateway in a public subnet
NAT gateway enables outbound internet access for private instances.
- B
Route table entry in the private subnet routing 0.0.0.0/0 to the NAT gateway
This route directs internet-bound traffic from private subnet to NAT gateway.
- C
VPC endpoint for S3
Why wrong: VPC endpoints provide access to AWS services, not general internet.
- D
Internet gateway attached to the VPC
Why wrong: Internet gateway is for public subnets; private subnets need NAT.
- E
Virtual private gateway
Why wrong: VPN gateway is for on-premises connectivity, not internet access.
Question 1,498 of 1,546
Private Subnet Internet Access via NAT Gateway: Required Components
This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of networking and content delivery. 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 SysOps administrator needs to design a VPC with public and private subnets for a web application. Which TWO components are required to allow instances in the private subnet to access the internet?
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
✓
NAT gateway in a public subnet
A NAT gateway in a public subnet is required because it allows instances in a private subnet to initiate outbound traffic to the internet (e.g., for software updates) while preventing unsolicited inbound connections. The NAT gateway must be placed in a public subnet with an Internet Gateway (IGW) route to translate private IPs to the gateway's Elastic IP. Without the NAT gateway, private instances have no path to the internet.
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.
- ✓
NAT gateway in a public subnet
- ✓
Route table entry in the private subnet routing 0.0.0.0/0 to the NAT gateway
- ✗
VPC endpoint for S3
Why it's wrong here
VPC endpoints provide access to AWS services, not general internet.
- ✗
Internet gateway attached to the VPC
- ✗
Virtual private gateway
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think an Internet Gateway alone is sufficient for private subnet internet access, but they overlook the need for a NAT device to translate private IPs, as the IGW only works with public IPs.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The NAT gateway performs source network address translation (SNAT), replacing the private source IP with its own Elastic IP for outbound traffic, and maintains stateful connection tracking to return responses to the correct private instance. Under the hood, the route table entry for 0.0.0.0/0 pointing to the NAT gateway ensures that all non-local traffic from the private subnet is forwarded to the NAT gateway, which then sends it to the Internet Gateway. In real-world scenarios, using a NAT gateway over a NAT instance provides higher availability (managed by AWS) and scales automatically up to 45 Gbps.
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
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SOA-C02 question test?
Networking and Content Delivery — This question tests Networking and Content Delivery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: NAT gateway in a public subnet — A NAT gateway in a public subnet is required because it allows instances in a private subnet to initiate outbound traffic to the internet (e.g., for software updates) while preventing unsolicited inbound connections. The NAT gateway must be placed in a public subnet with an Internet Gateway (IGW) route to translate private IPs to the gateway's Elastic IP. Without the NAT gateway, private instances have no path to the internet.
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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Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SOA-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A SysOps administrator is designing a VPC with public and private subnets. The private subnets need to access the internet for software updates. Which THREE components are required to achieve this?
medium- A.A VPC Gateway Endpoint
- ✓ B.An Internet Gateway attached to the VPC
- ✓ C.A NAT Gateway in a public subnet
- D.A Site-to-Site VPN connection
- ✓ E.A route table in the private subnet with a default route to the NAT Gateway
Why B: To enable private subnets to access the internet for software updates, three components are required: an Internet Gateway attached to the VPC (Option B) to allow traffic to and from the internet; a NAT Gateway in a public subnet (Option C) to translate private IP addresses to a public IP for outbound traffic; and a route table in the private subnet with a default route pointing to the NAT Gateway (Option E) so that traffic from private instances is directed through the NAT Gateway. Option A (VPC Gateway Endpoint) is incorrect because it only provides access to specific AWS services like S3, not general internet access. Option D (Site-to-Site VPN) is incorrect because it is used for connecting on-premises networks, not for internet access.
Variation 2. A SysOps administrator is troubleshooting an issue where an EC2 instance in a private subnet cannot connect to the internet via a NAT Gateway. Which TWO components must be correctly configured for this to work? (Select TWO.)
easy- A.The network ACL for the private subnet must have a rule allowing inbound traffic from the NAT Gateway.
- ✓ B.The NAT Gateway must be placed in a public subnet with a route to an Internet Gateway.
- ✓ C.The route table for the private subnet must have a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the NAT Gateway.
- D.The EC2 instance must have a public IP address.
- E.The security group for the EC2 instance must allow inbound traffic on port 80.
Why B: The NAT Gateway must reside in a public subnet because it needs a direct route to an Internet Gateway (IGW) to translate private IP addresses to the NAT Gateway's Elastic IP for outbound internet traffic. Without this placement and route, the NAT Gateway cannot forward traffic to the internet, breaking connectivity for instances in private subnets.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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