AWS Certified Advanced Networking — Specialty (ANS‑C01) Practice Exams
About the AWS ANS-C01 exam
Exam at a glance
AWS's deepest networking-focused credential, sitting at the specialty tier.
Who this exam is for
ANS-C01 targets network architects, network engineers, and senior solutions architects who design and operate complex multi-VPC, hybrid, and multi-Region network topologies on AWS. It is not a generalist credential — every question assumes you already understand routing, BGP, IPsec, DNS, TCP/IP, and load-balancing concepts at a working-engineer level, then tests how you apply them to AWS networking services.
Domain weighting
- Network Design: 30%
- Network Implementation: 26%
- Network Management and Operation: 20%
- Network Security, Compliance, and Governance: 24%
Prerequisites
No formal prereqs, but AWS recommends 5+ years of networking experience plus 2+ years of hands-on work with AWS networking services. Holding SAA-C03 or SAP-C02 first is the typical path — ANS assumes you already think in VPCs and route tables before it starts piling on Transit Gateway peerings and Direct Connect VIFs.
Why take this certification
- The deepest AWS networking credential. ANS is the only AWS exam laser-focused on the network layer — every other AWS cert touches networking; ANS tests it end-to-end. Earning it signals senior-level command of hybrid, multi-VPC, and edge architectures.
- High-value specialization. Network engineers with ANS-C01 routinely command $140,000–$180,000 USD in the United States, with senior cloud network architects exceeding $190,000 in major markets. The skill set is in short supply.
- Builds on associate fundamentals. If you've already passed SAA-C03, ANS extends the networking 20% of that blueprint into a full-depth exam covering Transit Gateway designs, hybrid DNS, Direct Connect resiliency, and edge security.
- Practical, design-driven scenarios. ANS questions describe real network problems (multi-Region failover, asymmetric routing, BGP path selection, hybrid DNS resolution) and ask you to choose the architecture that fits — exactly the work senior network engineers do day-to-day.
What you'll learn in the ANS-C01 exam
ANS-C01 is scenario-heavy: most questions describe a network topology with constraints (latency targets, encryption requirements, BGP behavior, address overlap) and ask you to choose the design or troubleshooting step that fits. The blueprint covers the full surface of AWS networking, from inside-the-VPC primitives through hybrid and edge.
Core AWS networking services you'll be tested on
- VPC architecture: subnets, route tables, peering, VPC sharing (via RAM), interface endpoints, gateway endpoints, PrivateLink, security groups vs NACLs.
- Transit Gateway: attachments, route propagation, route table associations, multicast, inter-Region peering, network-segmentation patterns with multiple route tables.
- Direct Connect: dedicated and hosted connections, LAGs, public VIFs, private VIFs, transit VIFs, BGP attributes (AS_PATH, LOCAL_PREF, MED), MACsec encryption, SiteLink.
- VPN: Site-to-Site VPN (static and BGP), accelerated VPN, Client VPN, IPsec tunnel parameters, VPN over Direct Connect for encryption.
- Route 53: Resolver inbound and outbound endpoints, conditional forwarding, Private Hosted Zones, advanced routing policies (latency, geoproximity, geolocation, failover, weighted), DNSSEC signing.
- Edge services: CloudFront (origins, behaviors, OAC, signed URLs/cookies, Lambda@Edge, CloudFront Functions), Global Accelerator (endpoints, traffic dials, BYOIP).
- Network security: AWS Network Firewall, Gateway Load Balancer with third-party appliances, WAF, Shield Advanced, AWS Firewall Manager, Network Access Analyzer.
- Address management: IPv6 (dual-stack, IPv6-only subnets, egress-only IGW), IPAM (pools, allocations, scopes), BYOIP for both IPv4 and IPv6.
- Observability and troubleshooting: VPC Flow Logs (incl. enhanced fields), Traffic Mirroring, Reachability Analyzer, Transit Gateway Network Manager, CloudWatch metrics for networking services.
Architectural patterns you'll need to recognize
- Hub-and-spoke topologies built on Transit Gateway with segmented route tables for shared-services, prod, and dev domains.
- Hybrid connectivity designs combining Direct Connect (primary) with Site-to-Site VPN (backup), or dual Direct Connect locations for true SLA-eligible resiliency.
- Hybrid DNS using Route 53 Resolver inbound and outbound endpoints to bridge on-prem and AWS namespaces.
- Centralized egress and inspection patterns — single egress VPC with NAT plus Network Firewall, traffic steered from spokes via Transit Gateway.
- Multi-Region architectures using Transit Gateway peering, CloudFront, Global Accelerator, and Route 53 health-checked failover.
- Overlapping CIDR resolution using PrivateLink, NAT, or secondary CIDR blocks.
- Troubleshooting asymmetric routing, MTU mismatches, BGP route preference, and security-group vs NACL ordering.
How the practice exams help
Each free question and every premium exam mirrors the long-scenario format ANS uses — multi-paragraph stems describing a topology, five or six plausible designs, one or two correct. Detailed explanations cover not just why the right answer is right but why the distractors fail (often subtle BGP, route-table, or encryption-scope gotchas) so you build the reasoning patterns the exam rewards.
How to prepare for the ANS-C01 exam
ANS rewards practitioners who can reason about end-to-end network behavior, not memorizers. A balanced 12-16 week plan for experienced network engineers:
- Refresh networking fundamentals (1-2 weeks). Before diving into AWS specifics, make sure your grounding in routing, BGP path selection, TCP/IP, IPsec, DNS, and load-balancing is solid. Declan Moran's Modern Networking: Fundamental Concepts is an excellent text for this — it covers the protocol-level mental models ANS questions assume you already have, in clearer prose than most vendor textbooks.
- Study AWS networking services (4-5 weeks). Work through the official AWS ANS-C01 exam guide and the AWS Skill Builder ANS-C01 learning path. Prioritize Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, Route 53 Resolver, and Network Firewall — these dominate the design and implementation domains.
- Hands-on labs (4-5 weeks). ANS cannot be passed from reading alone. Build a multi-account, multi-VPC lab with Transit Gateway, simulate Direct Connect using a Site-to-Site VPN-with-BGP terminating to an on-prem-equivalent VPC, configure hybrid DNS with Resolver endpoints, deploy Network Firewall in a centralized inspection VPC, and walk through Reachability Analyzer for failed paths. The wallet cost is modest if you tear down between sessions.
- Read the deep-dive whitepapers (1-2 weeks). AWS publishes detailed network-architecture whitepapers covering hybrid connectivity, building a scalable and secure multi-VPC AWS network infrastructure, and Direct Connect resiliency recommendations. Read them at least twice — the exam wording lifts directly from these documents.
- Practice exams (2-3 weeks). Take timed practice tests to identify weak areas. Aim for consistent 80%+ scores on full-length 65-question simulations under exam timing (170 min) before scheduling the real thing. Specialty-tier questions are long; pacing matters.
Recommended timeline
12-16 weeks of focused study (8-12 hours per week) for engineers with 2+ years of AWS networking experience. Add 4-6 weeks if you are coming from a pure on-prem networking background and need to learn AWS service surfaces from scratch.
Supplementary reading
Beyond AWS's own material, Declan Moran's Modern Networking: Fundamental Concepts is the cleanest single text for refreshing the protocol-level fundamentals — routing, BGP, TCP/IP, IPsec, DNS — that ANS expects you to bring to the table before you ever open a VPC console. Particularly useful if your last serious networking study was a CCNA-era textbook and you want a modern revision.
Official resources
Download the official AWS ANS-C01 exam guide and review the AWS networking whitepapers before starting. AWS's free training portal hosts the official Advanced Networking learning path.
Frequently asked questions
Are these actual exam questions?
No. All Nex Arc AWS ANS-C01 practice questions are original content based on the provider's published exam blueprint, official documentation, and real-world scenarios across every topic the exam covers. We do not offer brain dumps, leaked questions, or actual exam content. Using or distributing real exam questions violates certification provider agreements and can result in certification revocation.
How many questions are in the AWS ANS-C01 exam?
The AWS ANS-C01 exam consists of 65 questions that you need to complete in 170 minutes. Questions are either multiple choice (one correct answer) or multiple response (two or more correct answers). The longer time allotment compared to Associate-tier exams reflects the deeper scenario complexity of the Specialty tier.
What's the ANS-C01 passing score?
The passing score is 750 out of 1000. AWS uses a scaled scoring model, and not all questions carry the same weight. Specialty-tier exams use a 750 cut score (higher than the 720 used for Associate-tier exams), reflecting the depth of expertise expected. Focus on understanding networking architectures and trade-offs rather than memorizing service feature lists.
How do I access the full ANS-C01 practice exam?
Click on the Buy Now button in the sidebar to purchase the complete AWS ANS-C01 course. After payment, you'll have instant access to 12 practice exams with hundreds of questions, detailed explanations, and lifetime access.
What are the prerequisites for the ANS-C01 exam?
There are no formal prerequisites, but AWS recommends at least 5 years of hands-on networking experience plus 2+ years of working with AWS networking services. ANS-C01 is the deepest AWS networking credential and assumes solid command of routing, switching, BGP, IPsec, TCP/IP, DNS, and CDN concepts before you even start studying AWS-specific services like Transit Gateway and Direct Connect. Most candidates hold the SAA-C03 Solutions Architect Associate or SAP-C02 Professional credential before tackling ANS.
How long is the ANS-C01 certification valid?
AWS certifications are valid for three years from the date you pass the exam. To recertify ANS-C01, you must retake the current version of the exam — Specialty-tier credentials have no higher-tier counterpart in the same track, so retaking ANS is the typical path. A 50% discount voucher for the recertification exam is available through your AWS Certification Account. AWS does NOT offer a Skill Builder credits or continuing-education recertification path — exam-based recertification is the only option.
What's the exam cost and can I retake it if I fail?
The ANS-C01 exam costs $300 USD globally (converted to local currency). The exam is delivered through Pearson VUE at testing centers or via online proctoring. If you fail, you must wait 14 days before retaking the exam at full price. There is no limit to the number of attempts, but each attempt requires a new $300 payment. AWS occasionally offers 50% discount vouchers for recertification or through AWS Partner Network programs. Specialty exams cost twice as much as Associate exams, so practice thoroughly before attempting to minimize retake costs.
What AWS services are most heavily tested on ANS-C01?
Across the four exam domains, the most frequently tested services are: VPC (subnets, route tables, peering, sharing via RAM, endpoints, PrivateLink), Transit Gateway (route propagation, attachments, multicast, peering across Regions), Direct Connect (LAGs, BGP, public and private VIFs, hosted connections, MACsec), Site-to-Site VPN and Client VPN, Route 53 (Resolver inbound and outbound endpoints, Private Hosted Zones, DNSSEC), CloudFront and Global Accelerator, AWS Network Firewall and Gateway Load Balancer, WAF and Shield Advanced, and the troubleshooting toolkit (VPC Flow Logs, Traffic Mirroring, Reachability Analyzer, Network Access Analyzer). Hybrid connectivity and complex multi-VPC routing dominate the design domain.
How does ANS-C01 differ from the previous ANS-C00 version?
ANS-C01 (released July 2022) reorganizes the blueprint around four design-and-operate domains and significantly increases coverage of Transit Gateway, AWS Network Firewall, Gateway Load Balancer, and Route 53 Resolver — services that did not exist or were minor when ANS-C00 launched. IPv6, IPAM, and BYOIP are tested more deeply. Service-edge offerings (CloudFront, Global Accelerator) get more weight. Legacy topics like classic VPN configurations and standalone CloudHub topologies are de-emphasized in favor of Transit Gateway-centric hub-and-spoke designs. Overall difficulty remains comparable, but the topology surface area is broader.
Can I retake the ANS-C01 exam if I fail?
Yes. AWS allows retakes after a 14-day waiting period. You pay the full $300 exam fee again. There is no limit on total attempts.