- A
Geolocation routing
Why wrong: Geolocation routing directs traffic based on the geographic location of the user, not the actual latency. It does not automatically adapt to changes in network conditions.
- B
Latency routing
Latency routing uses measurements of latency between AWS regions and the user to direct traffic to the region with the lowest latency. When health checks are attached to the ALBs, latency routing automatically avoids unhealthy endpoints by excluding them from responses.
- C
Weighted routing
Why wrong: Weighted routing distributes traffic based on assigned weights. It does not consider latency or health for routing decisions and would not automatically failover to the healthy region.
- D
Failover routing
Why wrong: Failover routing is used for active-passive configurations. All traffic goes to the primary region unless it fails, then goes to the secondary. It does not consider latency and cannot route based on performance.
Quick Answer
The answer is latency routing, which is the correct choice because it directs users to the AWS region offering the lowest network latency based on real-time measurements between the user and each endpoint, and it automatically stops routing traffic to an unhealthy region when integrated with health checks on the Application Load Balancers. This policy ensures that traffic is always sent to the healthiest, fastest region, fulfilling both the low-latency and automatic failover requirements. On the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Route 53 routing policies combine performance optimization with health monitoring—a common trap is confusing latency routing with geolocation routing, which routes based on user location rather than actual network performance. Remember the memory tip: latency = lowest lag, not location; if a region goes down, latency routing drops it like a hot potato.
SOA-C02 Networking and Content Delivery Practice Question
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 company hosts a web application on Amazon EC2 instances in two AWS regions: us-east-1 and eu-west-1. The application is behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in each region. The SysOps administrator wants to direct users to the region that provides the lowest latency, automatically routing traffic away from a region if it becomes unhealthy. Which Amazon Route 53 routing policy should be used?
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
Latency routing
Latency routing (B) is correct because it directs users to the region with the lowest network latency based on real-time measurements between the user and the AWS endpoints. When a region becomes unhealthy, Route 53 automatically stops routing traffic to that region's ALB, ensuring failover to the next lowest-latency healthy region. This meets the requirement of both low-latency and automatic health-based rerouting.
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.
- ✗
Geolocation routing
Why it's wrong here
Geolocation routing directs traffic based on the geographic location of the user, not the actual latency. It does not automatically adapt to changes in network conditions.
- ✓
Latency routing
Why this is correct
Latency routing uses measurements of latency between AWS regions and the user to direct traffic to the region with the lowest latency. When health checks are attached to the ALBs, latency routing automatically avoids unhealthy endpoints by excluding them from responses.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Weighted routing
Why it's wrong here
Weighted routing distributes traffic based on assigned weights. It does not consider latency or health for routing decisions and would not automatically failover to the healthy region.
- ✗
Failover routing
Why it's wrong here
Failover routing is used for active-passive configurations. All traffic goes to the primary region unless it fails, then goes to the secondary. It does not consider latency and cannot route based on performance.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Geolocation routing with Latency routing, assuming geographic proximity equals low latency, but Geolocation routing does not measure actual network performance and lacks automatic health-based rerouting without additional failover records.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Latency routing works by Route 53 maintaining a latency database built from probe measurements across AWS edge locations. When a DNS query arrives, Route 53 selects the record with the lowest latency for that user, but only if the associated health check (configured on the ALB) reports the endpoint as healthy. If the health check fails, that record is excluded from the response, effectively routing traffic to the next best region. This behavior is governed by the DNS TTL, which can cause brief caching delays before failover takes effect.
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 healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
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 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: Latency routing — Latency routing (B) is correct because it directs users to the region with the lowest network latency based on real-time measurements between the user and the AWS endpoints. When a region becomes unhealthy, Route 53 automatically stops routing traffic to that region's ALB, ensuring failover to the next lowest-latency healthy region. This meets the requirement of both low-latency and automatic health-based rerouting.
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: Jun 11, 2026
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