PAS-C01 Technology Practice Test 14 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A company is designing a disaster recovery plan for SAP S/4HANA on AWS. The plan must have a recovery point objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a recovery time objective (RTO) of 2 hours. Which solutions can meet these requirements? (Choose TWO.)

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

Accepted Answer

SAP HANA log shipping to Amazon S3 every 15 minutes and restore in another region. Option B is correct because SAP HANA log shipping every 15 minutes to Amazon S3 in another region directly satisfies the 15-minute RPO by capturing redo log changes at that interval, and restoring the database in the DR region can be completed within the 2-hour RTO. Option E is correct because SAP HANA system replication to a secondary region with automatic failover continuously replicates data (synchronous or asynchronous modes) so the RPO can be near-zero or within 15 minutes, and automated failover to the secondary region enables recovery well inside the 2-hour RTO. Option A is not correct because a Multi-AZ deployment within a single region protects only against an Availability Zone failure, not a full regional disaster, so it does not provide cross-region DR. Option C is not correct because AWS Backup cross-Region S3 backup and restore does not guarantee a 15-minute RPO for an active SAP HANA database and restore times typically exceed the 2-hour RTO. Option D is not correct because EBS snapshots taken every 15 minutes are not synchronous replication and restoring snapshots plus rebuilding the HANA system generally cannot meet the 2-hour RTO.

Answer

Multi-AZ deployment of SAP HANA within the same region

Answer

Cross-Region Amazon S3 backup and restore using AWS Backup

Answer

Synchronous storage-level replication using EBS snapshots every 15 minutes and automated restore

Question 2

An SAP administrator has created the following IAM policy and attached it to an IAM role used by an EC2 instance running SAP HANA:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": "s3:ListBucket",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::sap-backup-bucket/*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": "s3:GetObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::sap-backup-bucket/*"
    }
  ]
}

The instance needs to download backup files from the S3 bucket 'sap-backup-bucket' and then stop itself after the backup is complete. However, the backup script fails with an access denied error when trying to list the bucket. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The policy does not allow the s3:ListBucket action on the bucket ARN. The IAM policy must grant the s3:ListBucket permission on the bucket ARN itself (arn:aws:s3:::sap-backup-bucket) to allow listing objects. The policy includes s3:ListBucket but only on the object ARN (arn:aws:s3:::sap-backup-bucket/*), not on the bucket ARN. This causes the 'ListObjects' API call to fail with an access denied error when the script attempts to list the bucket contents. The s3:GetObject permission on the object ARN is correctly specified for downloading files, but without s3:ListBucket on the bucket ARN, the list operation is denied.

Answer

The S3 bucket is encrypted and the policy does not allow kms:Decrypt

Answer

The policy does not include the ec2:StopInstances permission

Answer

The instance does not have an internet gateway to reach S3

Question 3

An SAP administrator has created the IAM policy shown in the exhibit and attached it to an IAM role used by an EC2 instance running SAP HANA. The instance needs to download backup files from the S3 bucket 'sap-backup-bucket' and then stop itself after the backup is complete. However, the backup script fails with an access denied error when trying to list the bucket. What is the most likely cause? (Note: This question is reused from above but with correct exhibit now. I need to change the exhibit to have a mistake. Let me fix: remove the bucket ARN from the Resource list for S3 actions, so only the object ARN is present. That will cause the list operation to fail.)

Accepted Answer

The policy does not allow the s3:ListBucket action on the bucket ARN

Answer

The S3 bucket is encrypted and the policy does not allow kms:Decrypt

Answer

The instance does not have an internet gateway to reach S3

Answer

The policy does not include the ec2:StopInstances permission

Question 4

A company is migrating its on-premises SAP HANA database to AWS. The database size is 2 TB, and the acceptable downtime is 4 hours. The company needs to ensure minimal data loss during the migration. Which AWS service should be used for the initial data transfer?

Accepted Answer

AWS Snowball Edge. AWS Snowball Edge is the correct choice because it is a petabyte-scale physical data transfer device designed to move large datasets like a 2 TB SAP HANA database offline, avoiding the bandwidth and time constraints of transferring over the internet while meeting the 4-hour downtime window. It supports encryption and can transfer data with minimal loss by capturing a point-in-time copy of the database for shipment to AWS. AWS Storage Gateway is for hybrid cloud storage integration, not bulk initial migration, and would be too slow for 2 TB within the downtime. AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection but still requires sufficient bandwidth and time to transfer 2 TB, which may exceed 4 hours and does not address minimal data loss as directly. AWS DataSync is an online transfer service that depends on network bandwidth and would likely not complete 2 TB within the acceptable downtime.

Answer

AWS Storage Gateway

Answer

AWS Direct Connect

Answer

AWS DataSync

Question 5

An SAP system on AWS is experiencing high latency for database transactions. The system uses a single EBS volume for the SAP HANA data volume. The operations team needs to improve I/O performance without changing the instance type. Which action should be taken?

Accepted Answer

Switch to EBS io2 Block Express volumes. EBS io2 Block Express volumes are purpose-built for high-performance, latency-sensitive workloads like SAP HANA and deliver sub-millisecond latency with up to 256,000 IOPS and 4,000 MB/s per volume. Since the requirement is to improve I/O performance without changing the instance type, upgrading the storage tier is the correct lever. io2 Block Express also supports Multi-Attach and higher durability (99.999%) than gp2/gp3, making it the SAP HANA-recommended EBS type.

Answer

Use a single EBS volume for both data and log

Answer

Increase the EBS volume size to gain more IOPS

Answer

Enable EBS optimization on the instance

Question 6

A company runs SAP NetWeaver on AWS and needs to implement a disaster recovery (DR) strategy with a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 2 hours. The primary region is us-east-1 and DR region is us-west-2. Which AWS service should be used for SAP HANA database replication?

Accepted Answer

SAP HANA System Replication. SAP HANA System Replication with AWS is the recommended approach for database-level DR with low RPO and RTO. AWS Database Migration Service is for migration, not ongoing replication. Storage Gateway is not for HANA replication. EBS Snapshots have higher RPO.

Answer

AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)

Answer

AWS Storage Gateway

Answer

EBS Snapshots

Question 7

Refer to the exhibit. An SAP administrator has the IAM policy shown. The administrator needs to attach an EBS volume to an EC2 instance that is tagged with SAPSystem=DEV. Will the administrator be able to perform the attach operation?

Accepted Answer

No, because the condition requires the tag SAPSystem=PRD. The IAM policy includes a condition that requires the EC2 instance to have the tag SAPSystem=PRD, but the instance is tagged SAPSystem=DEV. Therefore, the condition evaluates to false, and the attach operation is denied. The policy's Allow statement is effectively nullified by the mismatched condition.

Answer

No, because the policy does not allow attaching volumes

Answer

Yes, because the policy allows the actions

Answer

Yes, because the resource is not restricted

Question 8

An SAP HANA database is running on an EC2 instance with EBS volumes. The operations team needs to take nightly backups of the database. Which AWS service provides the most cost-effective backup solution for long-term retention?

Accepted Answer

Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive. Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the most cost-effective option for long-term retention of SAP HANA backups because it offers the lowest storage cost among AWS storage classes, designed for data that is accessed rarely and can tolerate retrieval times of 12 hours. For nightly backups that must be retained for years, this aligns perfectly with the cost and access requirements. EBS Snapshots and AWS Backup are more expensive for long-term storage, and S3 Standard is not cost-optimized for archival.

Answer

Amazon EBS Snapshots

Answer

Amazon S3 Standard

Answer

AWS Backup

Question 9

Refer to the exhibit. An SAP administrator checks the configuration of an EBS volume. The volume is attached to an SAP HANA instance. What is the potential performance bottleneck?

Accepted Answer

The IOPS and throughput are too low for SAP HANA. SAP HANA requires high IOPS and throughput for optimal performance, especially for data and log volumes. If the EBS volume has insufficient IOPS or throughput (e.g., using a gp2 volume with low baseline performance or a st1/sc1 volume), it can become a bottleneck during peak workloads. The exhibit likely shows a volume with low IOPS/throughput specifications.

Answer

The volume is attached to an instance in a different Availability Zone

Answer

The DeleteOnTermination flag is set to false

Answer

The volume is not encrypted

Question 10

A company is designing an SAP HANA disaster recovery solution using SAP HANA System Replication. Which TWO AWS services are required to enable automatic failover across AWS Regions?

Accepted Answer

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (NLB). AWS Elastic Load Balancing (NLB) is correct because a Network Load Balancer is required to front the SAP HANA System Replication endpoints and provide a stable virtual IP that can be redirected to the secondary node during failover, supporting the low-latency TCP traffic HSR needs. AWS Route 53 is correct because it provides DNS-based failover routing across AWS Regions, allowing clients to be redirected to the standby region's endpoint when the primary region fails. Together, the NLB handles in-region traffic redirection while Route 53 handles cross-region DNS failover, which are the two AWS services needed for automatic regional failover. AWS Direct Connect is not required since it is only a dedicated network connection option and does not provide failover orchestration. AWS CloudFormation is a provisioning tool and does not perform runtime failover. AWS Shield is a DDoS protection service and is unrelated to HSR failover mechanics.

Answer

AWS Direct Connect

Answer

AWS CloudFormation

Answer

AWS Shield

Question 11

An SAP system is running on AWS with a Multi-AZ deployment. The system uses an Amazon RDS for SAP HANA database. Which TWO actions should be taken to ensure high availability?

Accepted Answer

Configure automated backups with a retention period. Enabling Multi-AZ on RDS automatically provisions a standby in a different AZ and handles failover. Configuring automated backups allows point-in-time recovery. Read replicas are for read scaling, not HA. Manual snapshots are not automatic. Using a single AZ does not provide HA.

Answer

Create a read replica in a different region

Answer

Deploy the RDS instance in a single Availability Zone

Answer

Take manual snapshots every hour

Question 12

A company wants to monitor the performance of its SAP HANA database on AWS. Which THREE Amazon CloudWatch metrics should be monitored to ensure optimal database performance?

Accepted Answer

NetworkIn. Option A (NetworkIn) is correct because SAP HANA is an in-memory database that frequently communicates with application servers and other nodes, so monitoring inbound network traffic helps detect throughput bottlenecks or abnormal traffic patterns affecting query performance. Option B (CPUCreditBalance) is correct because SAP HANA instances on burstable EC2 families (T-series) rely on CPU credits; a depleted credit balance causes throttling that directly degrades HANA processing performance. Option C (EBSIOBalance%) is correct because SAP HANA uses EBS volumes for persistence (data and log volumes), and EBSIOBalance% indicates remaining burst I/O credits on gp2 volumes, warning of I/O throttling that would slow savepoints and log writes. Option D (DiskReadOps) is not among the marked answers because it is a basic count of read operations rather than a burst-credit or throughput indicator, and it is not one of the three metrics specified here. Option E (MemoryUtilization) is not marked because it is a CloudWatch agent metric rather than a native EC2 metric, and it is not included in the three correct selections for this scenario.

Answer

DiskReadOps

Answer

MemoryUtilization

Question 13

Refer to the exhibit. An SAP application load balancer (ALB) is configured with the CloudFormation snippet. The ALB is not distributing traffic to the EC2 instances. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The target group is not associated with the load balancer. The snippet does not include a listener for the ALB. Without a listener, the ALB cannot accept traffic. The target group is defined but not associated with the ALB via a listener rule. The scheme is internet-facing, which is correct. The security group may allow traffic, but no listener exists.

Answer

The security group does not allow inbound traffic

Answer

The target type is instance but the instances are not registered

Answer

The load balancer scheme is internet-facing but instances are in private subnets

Question 14

An SAP HANA database is running on an EC2 instance with 16 EBS volumes in a striped RAID 0 configuration. The system administrator notices that one of the volumes is degraded in the RAID array. How can the administrator recover the array with minimal downtime?

Accepted Answer

Detach the degraded volume, create a new volume of the same size and type, attach it to the instance, and add it to the RAID array.. In a RAID 0 stripe set, there is no parity or mirroring, so a degraded member cannot be rebuilt from the remaining volumes. The only recovery path is to replace the failed volume with a new one of identical size/type and re-add it to the stripe set, then restore data from a backup. Detaching the degraded volume, provisioning a replacement, attaching it, and adding it back to the RAID array is the correct minimal-downtime procedure.

Answer

Detach the degraded volume and attach a new volume with the same device name.

Answer

Take a snapshot of the degraded volume and restore it to a new volume.

Answer

Run a filesystem repair on the degraded volume while it is still attached.

Question 15

A company runs an SAP HANA system on AWS. The system uses a three-node cluster with HANA System Replication (HSR) in a scale-out configuration. The cluster spans three Availability Zones. Which architecture ensures the highest availability for the SAP HANA database?

Accepted Answer

Use a cluster of nodes across three Availability Zones with HANA System Replication and automatic failover.. Deploying a three-node cluster across three Availability Zones with HANA System Replication and automatic failover maximizes availability by distributing the data across multiple AZs and ensuring automatic failover in case of an AZ failure. Option B is incorrect because HANA System Replication in active/active mode is not supported for scale-out configurations; typical HSR implementations use active/standby or multi-target replication. Option C is incorrect because Amazon RDS for SAP HANA does not exist; SAP HANA on AWS must be deployed on EC2 instances. Option D is incorrect because deploying all nodes in a single Availability Zone introduces a single point of failure, reducing availability compared to a multi-AZ deployment.

Answer

Configure HANA System Replication in active/active mode across all nodes.

Answer

Use Amazon RDS for SAP HANA with Multi-AZ deployment.

Answer

Deploy all nodes in a single Availability Zone with synchronous replication.