CV0-004 Cloud Architecture and Design Practice Question
A cloud engineer is designing a VPC in AWS for a three-tier web application. The web servers must be accessible from the internet, the application servers should only be accessible from the web servers, and the database servers should only be accessible from the application servers. What is the most secure VPC design?
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
✓
Public subnet for web servers, private subnet for application servers, and a separate private subnet for database servers, with proper security group rules
A three-tier VPC design uses public subnets for web servers (with an internet gateway) and private subnets for application and database servers, with security group rules restricting traffic between tiers.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Public subnet for web and application servers, private subnet for database servers
Why it's wrong here
Application servers do not need to be in a public subnet.
- ✗
Single public subnet with all servers placed in it, using security groups to restrict traffic
Why it's wrong here
Placing all servers in a public subnet exposes them unnecessarily to the internet.
- ✓
Public subnet for web servers, private subnet for application servers, and a separate private subnet for database servers, with proper security group rules
Why this is correct
This design isolates each tier and limits exposure, following best practices.
- ✗
Use a single private subnet and a NAT gateway for internet access
Why it's wrong here
This would not allow web servers to be accessible from the internet unless a load balancer is used in a public subnet.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 977 original CV0-004 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CV0-004 exam.