The correct answer is to deploy Cisco Secure Firewall as a centralized virtual appliance in a transit VPC. This model is recommended because it creates a single inspection chokepoint for all inter-VPC traffic, using AWS Transit Gateway or VPC peering to route traffic through the firewall, ensuring consistent policy enforcement without deploying separate instances in every VPC. On the Cisco SCOR 350-701 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of cloud security architectures, specifically how to centralize inspection in a multi-VPC environment while avoiding the cost and complexity of distributed firewalls. A common trap is assuming you need a firewall in each VPC, but the exam emphasizes that a transit VPC model reduces management overhead and maintains visibility across the cloud network. Memory tip: think “one hub, many spokes” — the transit VPC is the hub where the firewall lives, and all VPCs are spokes that route traffic through it.
350-701 Cloud Security Practice Question
This 350-701 practice question tests your understanding of cloud security. 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.
An organization deploys Cisco Secure Firewall (formerly Firepower) in a public cloud environment (AWS). They need to inspect traffic between VPCs. What is the recommended deployment model?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Deploy firewall as a centralized virtual appliance in a transit VPC
In a public cloud environment like AWS, deploying Cisco Secure Firewall as a centralized virtual appliance in a transit VPC is the recommended model because it allows traffic between multiple VPCs to be routed through a single inspection point. This architecture leverages VPC peering or AWS Transit Gateway to funnel inter-VPC traffic to the firewall, ensuring consistent policy enforcement and visibility without requiring per-VPC firewall instances. Centralized inspection simplifies management, reduces costs, and avoids the complexity of distributed firewall deployments.
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.
✓
Deploy firewall as a centralized virtual appliance in a transit VPC
Why this is correct
Centralized inspection in a transit VPC provides consistent policy enforcement for inter-VPC traffic.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Install firewall software on each EC2 instance
Why it's wrong here
Not scalable and introduces performance overhead on each instance.
✗
Deploy firewall in each VPC with VPC peering
Why it's wrong here
Distributed deployment complicates policy management and does not guarantee centralized inspection.
✗
Use AWS Network Firewall instead
Why it's wrong here
While possible, the question specifies Cisco Secure Firewall.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that deploying a firewall in each VPC with VPC peering is sufficient, but the trap is that VPC peering does not support transitive routing, so traffic between two peered VPCs cannot be forced through a firewall in a third VPC without complex and unsupported routing hacks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The transit VPC model often uses AWS Transit Gateway as a hub, with the Cisco Secure Firewall virtual appliance (e.g., Firepower Threat Defense on AWS) deployed in a dedicated inspection VPC. Traffic between VPCs is routed through the Transit Gateway, which sends it to the firewall VPC for inspection via static routes or route tables, enabling stateful inspection, intrusion prevention, and application visibility. This design avoids the limitations of VPC peering, such as non-transitive routing and the need for full mesh peering, and aligns with the AWS Well-Architected Framework's security pillar for centralized network security.
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 practitioner preparing for the 350-701 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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.
Cloud Security — This question tests Cloud Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy firewall as a centralized virtual appliance in a transit VPC — In a public cloud environment like AWS, deploying Cisco Secure Firewall as a centralized virtual appliance in a transit VPC is the recommended model because it allows traffic between multiple VPCs to be routed through a single inspection point. This architecture leverages VPC peering or AWS Transit Gateway to funnel inter-VPC traffic to the firewall, ensuring consistent policy enforcement and visibility without requiring per-VPC firewall instances. Centralized inspection simplifies management, reduces costs, and avoids the complexity of distributed firewall deployments.
What should I do if I get this 350-701 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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Question Discussion
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