PCNE Configuring Network Services Practice Question
An organization has deployed an internal TCP/UDP load balancer in their VPC. They need to ensure that the load balancer preserves the client IP address when forwarding traffic to backend instances. Which configuration is required?
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
✓
No configuration is needed; client IP is preserved by default.
Internal TCP/UDP Load Balancers are pass-through load balancers (Layer 4). They preserve the client IP address by default because they forward packets directly without NAT. No special configuration is needed; the backend instances see the original source IP.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure the health check to use the client IP as source.
Why it's wrong here
Health checks use the load balancer's IP, not client IP.
- ✗
Enable Proxy Protocol on the load balancer.
Why it's wrong here
Proxy Protocol is used for external load balancers that NAT; internal pass-through already preserves IP.
- ✗
Use a backend service with session affinity.
Why it's wrong here
Session affinity does not affect client IP preservation.
- ✓
No configuration is needed; client IP is preserved by default.
Why this is correct
Internal TCP/UDP LB is pass-through, so client IP is preserved automatically.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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