PAS-C01 Practice Exam 67 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A company wants to automate the backup of their SAP HANA database running on an EC2 instance. The backup should be stored in Amazon S3 and retained for 30 days. Which AWS service can be used to schedule and manage these backups?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

AWS Backup. AWS Backup. AWS Backup is a fully managed backup service that can be used to automate backups of EC2 instances, including SAP HANA databases, and store backups in Amazon S3. It allows scheduling and retention policies. Option A (AWS Lambda) can be used but requires custom code and is not the primary service for managing backups. Option B (Amazon S3 Lifecycle policies) manages object lifecycle transitions and deletions, not scheduling backups. Option C (AWS Storage Gateway) provides hybrid storage connectivity, not backup scheduling.

Answer

AWS Lambda

Answer

Amazon S3 Lifecycle policies

Answer

AWS Storage Gateway

Question 2

An SAP administrator needs to implement a backup strategy for an SAP HANA database on AWS that provides point-in-time recovery (PITR) with minimal RPO. Which combination of AWS services should be used?

Accepted Answer

AWS Backup with Backint agent for SAP HANA. AWS Backup with the Backint agent for SAP HANA is the correct choice because it integrates directly with SAP HANA's native backup interface (Backint), enabling log backups and full/differential backups to Amazon S3. This combination supports point-in-time recovery (PITR) with minimal RPO by continuously backing up transaction logs, which is essential for meeting strict recovery objectives.

Answer

HANA backup to NFS on Amazon EFS

Answer

Amazon EBS snapshots of the HANA data volumes

Answer

Amazon S3 lifecycle policies

Question 3

A company is running an SAP HANA database on a single EC2 instance. The operations team notices that the instance is running low on memory, which is causing performance degradation. The team needs to increase memory without downtime. Which solution should they use?

Accepted Answer

Increase the swap space on the existing instance.. Increasing swap space on the existing instance can be done without downtime by adding a swap file or enlarging an existing swap partition. This provides additional virtual memory, which can help alleviate memory pressure without stopping the database. While swap does not increase physical memory, it is a quick, no-downtime solution to mitigate performance degradation until a more permanent solution (e.g., migrating to a larger instance) can be scheduled. Option D is incorrect because modifying the EC2 instance type requires stopping the instance, which causes downtime, contradicting the requirement.

Answer

Launch a new EC2 instance with more memory and migrate the database.

Answer

Add additional EBS volumes to increase swap space.

Answer

Modify the EC2 instance type to a larger type with more memory.

Question 4

Refer to the exhibit. An IAM policy is attached to an IAM role used by an SAP automation script. The script is failing to start an EC2 instance. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The script is not using HTTPS, so the Deny statement blocks all actions.. The Deny statement in the policy blocks all actions unless the request uses HTTPS. Since the SAP automation script is failing to start an EC2 instance, the most likely cause is that the script is making HTTP requests instead of HTTPS, triggering the Deny and preventing any action, including ec2:StartInstances. This is a common security control to enforce encryption in transit.

Answer

The policy does not grant permission to start instances.

Answer

The policy does not allow ec2:DescribeInstances.

Answer

The script does not have access to the S3 bucket.

Question 5

A company runs a critical workload on Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL with Multi-AZ. The operations team notices that during a recent failover test, the DNS record updated in about 60 seconds. However, the application experienced a 2-minute downtime because some connections were not re-established quickly. What should the team do to reduce downtime during failover?

Accepted Answer

Configure the application's connection string to use the RDS endpoint with a retry mechanism.. During a Multi-AZ failover, the RDS DNS record is updated to point to the standby instance. However, DNS caching at the client side can cause delays. By configuring the application to use a retry mechanism on the RDS endpoint, connections are re-established quickly after failover completes, without waiting for DNS TTL expiry. This reduces downtime compared to approaches that rely solely on DNS propagation.

Answer

Enable automated backups with a short retention period.

Answer

Increase the TTL of the RDS DNS record to 300 seconds.

Answer

Place a Network Load Balancer in front of the RDS instance.

Question 6

Refer to the exhibit. An SAP HANA instance is running on an EC2 instance. The volume `/dev/sdf` is used for HANA data. The operations team needs to increase the disk size for HANA data without downtime. Which action should they take?

Accepted Answer

Modify the EBS volume size while the instance is running.. Modifying the EBS volume size while the instance is running is supported for most volume types, allowing for a no-downtime increase. Option A is wrong because launching a new instance and migrating data would cause downtime. Option B is wrong because stopping the instance is unnecessary and would cause downtime. Option C is wrong because adding a new volume and moving data would also require downtime for the migration.

Answer

Launch a new instance with a larger volume and migrate HANA data.

Answer

Stop the instance, modify the volume size, and start the instance.

Answer

Add a new EBS volume to the instance and move HANA data to the new volume.

Question 7

A company is designing a disaster recovery strategy for SAP S/4HANA. The primary site is in us-east-1 and the DR site is in us-west-2. The RPO must be less than 30 minutes and RTO less than 2 hours. Which approach meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Configure HANA System Replication in asynchronous mode with automatic takeover. HANA System Replication in asynchronous mode with automatic takeover meets the RPO of less than 30 minutes and RTO of less than 2 hours. Asynchronous replication provides near-real-time data transfer across AWS regions with minimal impact on primary performance, and automatic takeover enables fast failover to the DR instance, satisfying the RTO requirement.

Answer

Configure HANA System Replication in synchronous mode across regions

Answer

Take nightly backups to S3 and restore in DR

Answer

Use AWS Backup to copy daily snapshots to DR region

Question 8

An SAP system is deployed across multiple Availability Zones using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) for the SAP Web Dispatcher. Users report that sessions are frequently dropped during peak hours. Which configuration change should resolve this?

Accepted Answer

Enable sticky sessions (session affinity) on the ALB target group.. Enabling sticky sessions (session affinity) on the ALB target group ensures that all requests from a user session are routed to the same Web Dispatcher instance. Without session affinity, the ALB distributes requests across multiple Web Dispatcher instances, and if the session state is stored locally on each instance, subsequent requests may land on a different instance that does not have the session data, causing the session to be dropped. This is a common issue during peak hours when the load balancer distributes traffic more aggressively.

Answer

Disable cross-zone load balancing on the ALB.

Answer

Increase the number of Web Dispatcher instances in each Availability Zone.

Answer

Enable deletion protection on the ALB.

Question 9

A company is planning to migrate its SAP ERP system to AWS. The database is SAP HANA with a size of 3 TB. The company wants to minimize downtime during the migration. Which migration strategy should the company use?

Accepted Answer

Use HANA System Replication to replicate the database to an EC2 instance running HANA in the target AWS environment, then perform a takeover.. HANA System Replication (HSR) is the optimal strategy for minimizing downtime because it continuously replicates data from the on-premises HANA database to an EC2 instance running HANA in AWS. When the migration window opens, a simple takeover (failover) occurs, typically completing in minutes, which meets the requirement for minimal downtime. This approach avoids the lengthy export/import or backup/restore processes that would take hours for a 3 TB database.

Answer

Export the HANA database to flat files using SAP HANA Studio, upload the files to Amazon S3, and import them into an EC2 HANA instance.

Answer

Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with ongoing replication to migrate the database to Amazon RDS for SAP HANA.

Answer

Use AWS Backup to take a full backup of the on-premises HANA database and restore it to an EC2 instance in AWS.

Question 10

A company is planning to run SAP HANA on AWS and needs to ensure that the database meets the required memory and CPU performance. Which instance family should the company choose for the SAP HANA database?

Accepted Answer

X1e instances. SAP HANA is an in-memory database that requires large amounts of RAM and high memory bandwidth to keep all data in memory for real-time processing. The X1e instance family is specifically designed for high-memory workloads like SAP HANA, offering up to 4 TB of memory and high-frequency Intel Xeon processors, making it the only instance family among the options that meets SAP's certified memory and CPU requirements.

Answer

T3 instances

Answer

M5 instances

Answer

C5 instances

Question 11

A company is migrating a multi-tier application to AWS and wants to ensure high availability. The application has a web tier, application tier, and database tier. The database is currently running on a single on-premises server. Which migration strategy minimizes downtime and provides the HIGHEST availability for the database tier?

Accepted Answer

Use AWS DMS to migrate the database to Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployment.. AWS DMS can perform a live migration with minimal downtime by continuously replicating changes from the source database to the target Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployment. Multi-AZ provides automatic failover to a standby replica in a different Availability Zone, ensuring the highest availability for the database tier. This combination minimizes downtime during migration and provides built-in high availability post-migration.

Answer

Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to migrate to Amazon RDS in a single-AZ deployment, then manually take snapshots.

Answer

Migrate the database to a single large Amazon EC2 instance using AWS Application Migration Service.

Answer

Migrate to Amazon RDS with Multi-AZ deployment and use DMS for initial load.

Question 12

A company is migrating an SAP system from on-premises to AWS. The current system uses a dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) network. The company wants to ensure that the SAP system on AWS supports both IP versions. Which THREE actions should the company take? (Choose 3.)

Accepted Answer

Update security group rules to allow both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic. To support dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) on AWS, the VPC must be configured for dual-stack, EC2 instances must have both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses assigned, and security group rules must allow both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic. Option A (Update security group rules to allow both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic) is correct. Option B (Assign both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses to the EC2 instances) is correct. Option D (Configure the VPC to support dual-stack mode) is correct. Option C (Create an Egress-Only Internet Gateway) is not required for dual-stack support; it's used for outbound-only IPv6 traffic. Option E (Set up a NAT Gateway for IPv6 traffic) is incorrect because NAT Gateways are for IPv4, not IPv6.

Answer

Create an Egress-Only Internet Gateway

Answer

Set up a NAT Gateway for IPv6 traffic

Question 13

A company wants to automate the installation of SAP HANA on AWS using CloudFormation. Which AWS resource should be used to run a script that downloads and installs SAP HANA software on an EC2 instance after the instance is launched?

Accepted Answer

AWS::CloudFormation::CreationPolicy with cfn-signal. AWS CloudFormation's CreationPolicy with cfn-signal allows you to control the stack creation process by waiting for a signal from the EC2 instance after it has completed its configuration. When using a CreationPolicy, CloudFormation will not mark the resource as created until it receives a signal (e.g., via cfn-signal) indicating that the installation script has finished. This is ideal for automating SAP HANA installations where you need to ensure the software is fully installed before proceeding. Option A is incorrect because AWS::CloudFormation::Init (cfn-init) is used to install packages, create files, and run commands during instance launch, but it does not provide a mechanism for CloudFormation to wait for the completion of long-running scripts; it runs as part of the user data and returns immediately. Option C is incorrect because while a Lambda function can be triggered by EC2 state changes, it does not integrate directly with CloudFormation's stack creation process to signal completion. You would need additional custom logic to send a signal back to CloudFormation, making it less straightforward than using CreationPolicy. Option D is incorrect because EC2 User Data runs once at instance launch, but CloudFormation does not inherently wait for user data scripts to finish. Without a CreationPolicy or similar mechanism, CloudFormation will proceed to the next resource immediately after launching the instance, even if the script is still running.

Answer

AWS::CloudFormation::Init (cfn-init)

Answer

AWS Lambda function triggered by EC2 state change

Answer

EC2 User Data

Question 14

A company is migrating a critical SAP HANA database to AWS and needs to ensure high availability. The SAP HANA system replication will be configured across two Availability Zones. Which AWS service should be used to automate the failover of the SAP HANA database?

Accepted Answer

Amazon Route 53. Amazon Route 53 with failover routing policy and health checks can automate DNS-level failover by directing traffic to the healthy SAP HANA instance. Combined with SAP HANA System Replication across AZs, this provides automated database failover. Option B (AWS CloudFormation) provisions infrastructure but does not automate failover. Option C (AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery) is designed for cross-region disaster recovery, not cross-AZ high availability. Option D (AWS Backup) handles scheduled backups, not real-time failover.

Answer

AWS CloudFormation

Answer

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS)

Answer

AWS Backup

Question 15

A company runs SAP BusinessObjects on AWS using multiple EC2 instances. The system uses a shared file system (EFS) for the repository and output files. Recently, users have reported that generating large reports takes much longer than usual. The SAP administrator checks the EFS metrics in CloudWatch and sees that the BurstCreditBalance is consistently near zero. The EFS file system is in General Purpose mode with default throughput settings. The current size of the file system is 500 GB. What should the administrator do to improve performance?

Accepted Answer

Switch to Provisioned Throughput mode and set a higher value.. With BurstCreditBalance consistently near zero, the EFS file system has exhausted its burst credits. For SAP workloads that require consistent throughput and have high I/O demands, AWS recommends using Provisioned Throughput mode to ensure predictable performance. This allows the administrator to specify a higher throughput value independent of the file system size, which resolves the performance issue for large report generation. Option B is incorrect because enabling Max I/O mode changes the performance mode, not the throughput mode. Max I/O is designed for workloads with high concurrency and does not guarantee consistent throughput; it may not provide the stable performance needed for SAP. Option A is incorrect because EFS One Zone is for cost savings in a single AZ and does not improve throughput. Option D is incorrect because while adding data increases baseline throughput slightly, it is not an efficient or practical solution and may not provide sufficient throughput.

Answer

Migrate the EFS file system to EFS One Zone for better performance.

Answer

Enable Max I/O throughput mode on the EFS file system.

Answer

Increase the size of the EFS file system by adding more data to it.

Question 16

A company is migrating its SAP environment to AWS and needs to ensure that the SAP license compliance is maintained. What should the company do to verify that the EC2 instances used for SAP are properly licensed?

Accepted Answer

Use EC2 instance types listed in the SAP Certified and Supported SAP HANA Hardware Directory. To maintain SAP license compliance, the company must use EC2 instance types that are listed in the SAP Certified and Supported SAP HANA Hardware Directory. This directory provides the list of AWS instance types that are officially certified for SAP and have the appropriate licensing support. Option D is correct. Option A (AWS License Manager) can enforce license limits but does not verify if the instance types are SAP-certified. Option B (BYOL) is a licensing model, not a verification method. Option C (AWS Config) can track instance configurations but does not verify SAP certification or licensing.

Answer

Use AWS License Manager to enforce license limits

Answer

Use only bring-your-own-license (BYOL) instances

Answer

Use AWS Config rules to check instance types

Question 17

A company wants to run SAP S/4HANA on AWS and needs to ensure that the SAP application and database are deployed according to AWS best practices. Which deployment method should they use?

Accepted Answer

AWS Launch Wizard for SAP. AWS Launch Wizard for SAP is the correct deployment method because it provides a guided, best-practice-based deployment experience specifically for SAP S/4HANA, automatically provisioning EC2 instances, storage, and networking while validating SAP requirements such as kernel compatibility, sizing, and high availability. It reduces manual effort and errors by integrating directly with AWS services like Amazon EBS and Elastic Load Balancing, ensuring compliance with SAP on AWS best practices.

Answer

Manual deployment using EC2 and RDS

Answer

AWS Quick Start for SAP

Answer

AWS CloudFormation with custom templates

Question 18

Which THREE storage options are supported for SAP HANA data files on AWS? (Select THREE.)

Accepted Answer

NVMe instance store SSDs on i3en instances. I3en instances provide NVMe instance store SSDs that are directly attached to the physical server, offering very low latency and high IOPS for SAP HANA data files. These instance stores are ephemeral but are the recommended storage for SAP HANA data and log volumes when using certified instance types, as they meet the strict performance requirements for HANA's in-memory database operations.

Answer

Amazon EFS

Answer

Amazon S3

Question 19

A company is designing a highly available SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP environment on AWS with a 2-node ASCS/ERS cluster. Which TWO of the following must be configured to ensure a successful failover? (Choose 2)

Accepted Answer

A shared file system (e.g., Amazon EFS) for /sapmnt. SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP requires a shared /sapmnt directory accessible by both nodes in an ASCS/ERS cluster for consistent profile and configuration access during failover. Amazon EFS provides a POSIX-compliant, NFS-based shared file system that supports concurrent access from multiple EC2 instances across Availability Zones, which is essential for the cluster to function correctly. Option E is correct because a virtual IP address (VIP) is needed to provide a stable endpoint for clients to connect to the ASCS instance, regardless of which node is active. This can be achieved using Route53 health checks with failover routing or AWS CLI scripts that reassign the IP to the active node, ensuring seamless failover.

Answer

An AWS ASW (Automated SAP Workload) service

Answer

Amazon EBS io1 volumes with Multi-Attach enabled for the database

Answer

Each node must have its own /usr/sap//ASCS and /usr/sap//ERS directory on instance store

Question 20

An organization is migrating an SAP ECC system to AWS using SAP Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM) and a homogeneous system copy. They have already exported the source system and are now importing to the target. The import fails with an error indicating that the target database tablespace is full. What should the administrator do to resolve the issue?

Accepted Answer

Increase the allocated storage for the target database tablespace.. The correct solution is to increase the size of the database tablespace on the target RDS instance or EC2-based database. Restarting the import without fixing the space issue will fail again. Reducing source export size is not appropriate as it would lose data. Using a different migration method is unnecessary.

Answer

Reduce the size of the source export by excluding some data.

Answer

Restart the import with a smaller package size.

Answer

Use SAP DMO instead of SWPM for the migration.