← SOA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 578 of 1,546

Networking and Content Delivery →easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3 Private Access — Bypass NAT Gateway | AWS SysOps Administrator Associate Explained

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. A key principle to apply: vPC endpoint. 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.

EC2 instances in private subnets need to access S3 buckets. Currently the instances use a NAT Gateway to reach S3 over the internet. The team wants to keep S3 traffic private (within the AWS network) and reduce NAT Gateway data processing costs. What is the correct solution?

A
Create an S3 Gateway VPC endpoint and add it to the private subnet's route table; S3 traffic will bypass the NAT Gateway
After the Gateway endpoint is created and the route table updated, the AWS networking layer automatically routes S3 API calls from instances in those subnets through the private endpoint path. The NAT Gateway processes zero S3 bytes, eliminating the per-GB data processing cost for S3 traffic. No code changes are required.
B
Create an S3 Interface VPC endpoint in the private subnet to route S3 traffic privately
Why wrong: S3 Interface endpoints (PrivateLink) assign private IP addresses in the subnet and use ENIs. They incur an hourly endpoint cost and per-GB data processing charge. For the goal of reducing cost, the Gateway endpoint (free) is the correct choice. Interface endpoints are used when DNS resolution to private IPs is required (e.g., on-premises access via Direct Connect).
C
Add a route in the private subnet's route table directing all traffic (0.0.0.0/0) to an Internet Gateway
Why wrong: An Internet Gateway routes traffic to the public internet. Private subnets intentionally do not have Internet Gateway routes. Adding one would make the subnet public, exposing the instances directly to the internet.
D
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration to route traffic over AWS edge locations instead of NAT
Why wrong: S3 Transfer Acceleration uses CloudFront edge locations to accelerate uploads from clients over the internet by routing through the nearest AWS edge. It does not prevent traffic from traversing the internet — it actually uses the internet as the ingress path to the edge. It also adds cost per GB.

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

✓

Create an S3 Gateway VPC endpoint and add it to the private subnet's route table; S3 traffic will bypass the NAT Gateway

Option A is correct because an S3 Gateway VPC endpoint allows EC2 instances in private subnets to access S3 privately using AWS’s internal network, bypassing the NAT Gateway entirely. This eliminates NAT data processing costs and keeps traffic within the AWS backbone, as the endpoint is added to the private subnet’s route table with a prefix list for S3, directing traffic directly to S3 without internet routing.

Key principle: VPC endpoint

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✓
Create an S3 Gateway VPC endpoint and add it to the private subnet's route table; S3 traffic will bypass the NAT Gateway
Why this is correct
After the Gateway endpoint is created and the route table updated, the AWS networking layer automatically routes S3 API calls from instances in those subnets through the private endpoint path. The NAT Gateway processes zero S3 bytes, eliminating the per-GB data processing cost for S3 traffic. No code changes are required.
Related concept
VPC endpoint
✗
Create an S3 Interface VPC endpoint in the private subnet to route S3 traffic privately
Why it's wrong here
S3 Interface endpoints (PrivateLink) assign private IP addresses in the subnet and use ENIs. They incur an hourly endpoint cost and per-GB data processing charge. For the goal of reducing cost, the Gateway endpoint (free) is the correct choice. Interface endpoints are used when DNS resolution to private IPs is required (e.g., on-premises access via Direct Connect).
✗
Add a route in the private subnet's route table directing all traffic (0.0.0.0/0) to an Internet Gateway
Why it's wrong here
An Internet Gateway routes traffic to the public internet. Private subnets intentionally do not have Internet Gateway routes. Adding one would make the subnet public, exposing the instances directly to the internet.
✗
Use S3 Transfer Acceleration to route traffic over AWS edge locations instead of NAT
Why it's wrong here
S3 Transfer Acceleration uses CloudFront edge locations to accelerate uploads from clients over the internet by routing through the nearest AWS edge. It does not prevent traffic from traversing the internet — it actually uses the internet as the ingress path to the edge. It also adds cost per GB.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates confuse Gateway VPC endpoints with Interface VPC endpoints, assuming both incur costs, but S3 Gateway endpoints are free and designed specifically for S3 and DynamoDB, while Interface endpoints are for other AWS services and have associated charges.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

S3 Gateway VPC endpoints use prefix lists (e.g., com.amazonaws.us-east-1.s3) in route tables to route S3 traffic over the AWS global network, leveraging the same infrastructure as AWS Direct Connect without additional charges. Under the hood, the endpoint is a horizontally scaled, redundant service that uses the VPC’s internal routing to reach S3, and it supports policies for fine-grained access control. A real-world scenario is a data lake workload where hundreds of EC2 instances frequently upload logs to S3; using a Gateway endpoint can save thousands of dollars monthly in NAT Gateway data processing fees.

KKey Concepts to Remember

VPC endpoint
S3 Gateway endpoint
private S3 access
route table
no NAT Gateway required

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

VPC endpoint

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.

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

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Review vPC endpoint, then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

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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 — VPC endpoint.

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Create an S3 Gateway VPC endpoint and add it to the private subnet's route table; S3 traffic will bypass the NAT Gateway — Option A is correct because an S3 Gateway VPC endpoint allows EC2 instances in private subnets to access S3 privately using AWS’s internal network, bypassing the NAT Gateway entirely. This eliminates NAT data processing costs and keeps traffic within the AWS backbone, as the endpoint is added to the private subnet’s route table with a prefix list for S3, directing traffic directly to S3 without internet routing.

What should I do if I get this SOA-C02 question wrong?

Review vPC endpoint, then practise related SOA-C02 questions on the same topic to reinforce the concept.

What is the key concept behind this question?

VPC endpoint

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Same concept, more angles

1 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 company has an application running on EC2 instances in a VPC. The application needs to access an S3 bucket in the same AWS region. Which configuration provides the MOST secure and cost-effective access?

easy

A.Make the S3 bucket publicly accessible and use the public endpoint from the EC2 instances.
B.Set up a NAT Gateway in a public subnet and route traffic from the EC2 instances through it to the S3 endpoint.
✓ C.Create a VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3 and update the route tables for the private subnets.
D.Create an Internet Gateway and route traffic from the EC2 instances through it to a public S3 endpoint.

Why C: Option C is correct because a VPC Gateway Endpoint for S3 allows EC2 instances in private subnets to access S3 directly over the AWS network without traversing the internet, eliminating the need for a NAT Gateway or Internet Gateway. This provides the most secure and cost-effective access by keeping traffic within the AWS backbone and avoiding data transfer costs associated with NAT Gateways or public endpoints.

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