Master hybrid connectivity with Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, and VPN. Design complex network architectures, implement security solutions, and optimize content delivery for global applications.
AWS Advanced Networking Specialists design and implement complex network architectures on AWS. You'll architect hybrid cloud connectivity using Direct Connect and Transit Gateway, implement advanced VPC designs with multi-region strategies, configure network security with AWS Network Firewall and WAF, optimize content delivery using CloudFront and Global Accelerator, and troubleshoot complex networking issues across hybrid environments.
Solutions Architect Associate
Recommended FoundationAdvanced Networking Specialty
After Phase 6The AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty (ANS-C01) exam tests your knowledge across four key domains:
If you're new to AWS Advanced Networking:
→Begin with Phase 1: Hybrid Connectivity (expand below)
→Complete AWS Solutions Architect Associate first if you lack AWS fundamentals
→Direct Connect and Transit Gateway are critical - spend extra time here
→Focus on one phase at a time — finish it completely before moving forward
Already have AWS networking experience?
→Jump to the phase that matches your current skill level
Dedicated connections (1/10/100 Gbps), Virtual Interfaces (Private/Public/Transit), LAG, MACsec, HA architectures, Direct Connect Gateway, SiteLink
Customer Gateway, Virtual Private Gateway, VPN tunnels, BGP routing, VPN acceleration, HA configurations, VPN CloudHub
Hub-and-spoke topology, attachments (VPC/VPN/DX), route tables, multi-account with RAM, inter-region peering, ECMP, appliance mode, multicast
OpenVPN service, Active Directory/SAML authentication, split-tunnel vs full-tunnel, authorization rules
Managed WAN, central dashboard, policy-based routing, Transit Gateway integration
Direct Connect, Site-to-Site VPN, and Transit Gateway represent ~40% of the ANS-C01 exam. These are absolutely critical. Understand high availability patterns, BGP routing, and when to use each service. Hands-on practice is essential!
CIDR planning, IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack, NAT Gateway vs NAT Instance, IPAM, VPC Peering, VPC Endpoints (Interface/Gateway), PrivateLink, prefix lists
Security Groups (stateful), Network ACLs (stateless), VPC Flow Logs (monitoring and analysis), Route 53 Resolver, DNSSEC
ENI attributes, multi-homing, failover, ENI trunking for ECS, ENA (Enhanced Networking), EFA (HPC workloads)
Cross-account subnet sharing with AWS Organizations, centralized VPC management, participant resource management
VPC design represents ~15% of the exam. Master IP addressing, security groups vs NACLs, and VPC endpoints. Understand when to use PrivateLink for private connectivity to AWS services.
Managed firewall service, stateful/stateless inspection, IPS/IDS, domain filtering, TLS inspection, multi-VPC deployment, Suricata rules
Web Application Firewall, SQL injection/XSS protection, rate limiting, geo blocking, managed rule groups, custom rules
DDoS protection (Standard free, Advanced $3K/month), Layer 3/4/7 protection, DRT support, cost protection
Centralized firewall management across accounts, WAF rules, Shield protections, Security Groups, Network Firewall policies
Network security represents ~24% of the exam. AWS Network Firewall is critical - understand rule types, deployment models, and use cases. Know when to use WAF vs Network Firewall vs Security Groups.
CDN with 400+ edge locations, origins (S3/ALB/custom), behaviors, caching strategies, Lambda@Edge, CloudFront Functions, OAI/OAC, signed URLs
Static anycast IPs, AWS global network routing, instant regional failover, health checks, traffic dials, vs CloudFront comparison
DNS service, routing policies (simple/weighted/latency/failover/geolocation/geoproximity/multi-value), health checks, private hosted zones, Resolver (hybrid DNS)
Content delivery represents ~15% of the exam. Understand CloudFront vs Global Accelerator use cases, Route 53 routing policies, and hybrid DNS with Route 53 Resolver.
VPC Flow Logs, CloudWatch metrics, VPC Reachability Analyzer, Network Access Analyzer, Transit Gateway Network Manager, Traffic Mirroring
Route table issues, Security Group/NACL misconfigurations, NAT Gateway problems, VPN tunnel failures, Direct Connect issues, BGP troubleshooting
CloudFormation/CDK/Terraform IaC, AWS Network Manager, Lambda automation, Systems Manager
Monitoring and troubleshooting represents ~20% of the exam. Master VPC Flow Logs analysis, Reachability Analyzer, and common connectivity troubleshooting scenarios.
ALB (Layer 7, HTTP/HTTPS), NLB (Layer 4, TCP/UDP, ultra-low latency, static IP), GWLB (Layer 3, appliances), cross-zone load balancing
ECS networking modes (awsvpc/bridge/host), EKS VPC CNI, security groups for pods, network policies
Lambda VPC configuration, API Gateway (edge/regional/private), VPC endpoints for serverless
Complete 3-4 full practice exams, review incorrect answers, identify weak areas, focus on Direct Connect/Transit Gateway scenarios
ANS-C01: AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty
This certification validates your expertise in designing and implementing AWS and hybrid network architectures at scale. Exam details: 170 minutes, 65 questions, $300 USD, passing score 750/1000.
Practice ANS-C01 QuestionsArchitect Direct Connect with HA, configure Site-to-Site VPN with BGP, implement Transit Gateway hub-and-spoke
Design multi-VPC environments, implement VPC peering and endpoints, configure PrivateLink for private connectivity
Deploy AWS Network Firewall, configure WAF rules, implement Shield Advanced, manage with Firewall Manager
Configure CloudFront distributions, implement Global Accelerator, design Route 53 routing policies
Analyze VPC Flow Logs, use Reachability Analyzer, debug Direct Connect and VPN connectivity problems
Validate your advanced networking skills with AWS's official Advanced Networking Specialty credential