PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Test 34 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A company is running SAP on AWS and needs to back up their SAP HANA database daily. The backup must be stored cost-effectively and retained for 7 years for compliance. Which AWS service should be used for long-term backup storage?

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

Accepted Answer

Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive. Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive is the correct choice because it provides the lowest-cost storage for long-term archival data, with retrieval times ranging from 12 to 48 hours, which is acceptable for a daily backup retained for 7 years. This service is specifically designed for compliance and regulatory retention where infrequent access is expected, making it the most cost-effective option for the given requirements.

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Amazon S3 One Zone-IA

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Amazon S3 Standard

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Amazon EBS Snapshots

Question 2

A company is planning to migrate their SAP system to AWS. They need to ensure that the SAP application servers and database servers are in the same AWS Region but in different Availability Zones for high availability. The network latency between Availability Zones must be minimal. Which AWS service should be used to connect the instances?

Accepted Answer

Use the default VPC network within the same VPC spanning multiple Availability Zones. A single VPC can span multiple Availability Zones within the same AWS Region, and by default, instances in different AZs within the same VPC communicate over the AWS private network with low latency, typically under 1-2 ms. This meets the requirement for minimal latency between SAP application and database servers while keeping them in the same Region for high availability.

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Set up VPC Peering between the Availability Zones

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Establish an AWS Direct Connect connection

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Use AWS Transit Gateway to connect the subnets

Question 3

An SAP Basis administrator needs to automate the start and stop of SAP application servers on AWS to reduce costs during non-business hours. The instance must be stopped (not terminated) to preserve the data. Which AWS service can be used to schedule the start and stop?

Accepted Answer

AWS Instance Scheduler. AWS Instance Scheduler is a solution that uses AWS Lambda and Amazon CloudWatch Events (Amazon EventBridge) to automatically start and stop EC2 instances based on a defined schedule. For SAP Basis administrators, this allows stopping (not terminating) SAP application server instances during non-business hours, preserving all data on the attached EBS volumes. The solution supports tagging instances with schedule tags, making it ideal for cost optimization without data loss.

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AWS Auto Scaling

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Amazon CloudWatch Alarms

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AWS Systems Manager Maintenance Windows

Question 4

An SAP system administrator is designing the storage layout for an SAP HANA database on AWS. The HANA data volume requires 5000 IOPS and 250 MB/s throughput. Which EBS volume type and configuration should be used to meet these requirements cost-effectively?

Accepted Answer

Use a single gp3 volume with 5000 IOPS and 250 MB/s throughput. A gp3 volume can be provisioned with 5000 IOPS and 250 MB/s throughput independently of volume size, meeting the requirement cost-effectively. gp3 supports up to 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s, so this configuration is valid and generally more cost-effective than io1.

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Use a single sc1 volume with 5000 IOPS and 250 MB/s throughput

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Use a single st1 volume with 5000 IOPS and 250 MB/s throughput

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Use a single io1 volume with 5000 provisioned IOPS and 250 MB/s throughput

Question 5

A company is designing a new SAP S/4HANA workload on AWS. Which storage service should be used for the SAP HANA data volume to meet the required throughput and latency for production systems?

Accepted Answer

Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes. Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes are the correct choice for SAP HANA data volumes because they provide sub-millisecond latency and up to 256,000 IOPS per volume with 99.999% durability, meeting the strict throughput and latency requirements of SAP HANA production systems. SAP specifically certifies io2 Block Express for SAP HANA data volumes on AWS, ensuring consistent performance for mission-critical workloads.

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Amazon S3

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Amazon EFS

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Amazon EBS gp3 volumes

Question 6

A company is migrating an SAP Business Suite system to AWS. The system has a large database and requires high network throughput between the application and database tiers. Which Amazon EC2 placement group strategy should be used?

Accepted Answer

Cluster placement group. A cluster placement group is the correct choice because it provides low-latency, high-throughput networking by placing all instances in a single Availability Zone within the same logical rack. For SAP Business Suite with a large database, the application and database tiers require high network throughput (e.g., up to 100 Gbps for supported instance types) and minimal latency, which a cluster placement group delivers by ensuring all instances are in close physical proximity. In contrast, a spread placement group distributes instances across distinct hardware to reduce risk of simultaneous failure but does not optimize network performance. A partition placement group spreads instances across logical partitions to isolate failures but also lacks the high-bandwidth, low-latency benefits of a cluster group. Using no placement group may result in instances being placed on separate racks, increasing network latency and reducing throughput.

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Spread placement group

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Partition placement group

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No placement group

Question 7

An SAP system on AWS is experiencing high CPU ready time on the application server VMs. Which configuration change is most likely to reduce CPU contention?

Accepted Answer

Move the instance to a dedicated host. CPU ready time indicates that the VM is ready to process instructions but is waiting for the physical CPU to become available, which is a symptom of CPU overcommitment on the host. Moving the instance to a dedicated host eliminates resource contention with other AWS customers' VMs by providing the instance with exclusive access to the physical CPU cores, thereby reducing or eliminating CPU ready time.

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Increase the number of vCPUs assigned to the instance

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Change instance tenancy to default

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Increase the instance memory

Question 8

An SAP system on AWS is using Amazon EBS volumes for the database. The company wants to take crash-consistent snapshots of the entire database volume set. Which approach is recommended?

Accepted Answer

Use AWS Backup with pre- and post-scripts for volume groups. AWS Backup with pre- and post-scripts for volume groups is the recommended approach because it orchestrates crash-consistent snapshots across multiple EBS volumes by freezing the application (e.g., SAP HANA) and flushing I/O before the snapshot, then unfreezing after. This ensures all volumes are captured at the same point in time without downtime, which is critical for SAP databases requiring consistency across the entire volume set.

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Stop the instance, take snapshots, then restart

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Use EBS Multi-Attach to attach volumes to a backup instance

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Take snapshots of each volume individually at the same time

Question 9

A company is planning to run SAP HANA on AWS and needs to ensure that the instance is optimally placed for low latency between the application and database tiers. Which AWS feature should be used?

Accepted Answer

Cluster placement group. A cluster placement group is the correct choice because it provides low-latency, high-throughput network connectivity by placing instances in a single Availability Zone with non-blocking, fully bisectioned bandwidth. For SAP HANA, where the application and database tiers require sub-millisecond latency for optimal performance, a cluster placement group ensures that all instances are physically close together, minimizing network hops and jitter.

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Application Load Balancer

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VPC endpoint

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Auto Scaling group

Question 10

A company is using SAP S/4HANA on AWS and wants to optimize costs. Which THREE actions would help reduce costs without impacting performance? (Choose THREE.)

Accepted Answer

Implement automatic start/stop for development and test instances. Option A is correct because scheduling automatic start/stop of non-production development and test instances via AWS Instance Scheduler or EventBridge/Lambda eliminates charges for idle compute hours without affecting production performance. Option B is correct because AWS Compute Optimizer analyzes CloudWatch metrics and recommends optimal EC2 instance types, allowing right-sizing that reduces cost while maintaining the required performance for SAP S/4HANA workloads. Option E is correct because purchasing Reserved Instances for the steady-state production database server provides significant discounts (up to 72% versus On-Demand) for a predictable, always-on workload without any performance impact. Option C is not correct because Dedicated Hosts typically increase cost and are used for licensing or compliance isolation, not cost optimization. Option D is not correct because replacing io2 Block Express with gp2 would reduce IOPS and latency performance for SAP S/4HANA, which is performance-impacting and not a valid cost optimization here.

Answer

Use Dedicated Hosts for better isolation

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Replace io2 Block Express volumes with gp2 volumes

Question 11

A company is planning to run SAP NetWeaver on AWS. Which TWO services are recommended for monitoring the SAP system? (Choose TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Amazon CloudWatch with SAP monitoring agent. Amazon CloudWatch with the SAP monitoring agent (option A) is correct because AWS recommends installing the CloudWatch agent on SAP NetWeaver instances to collect OS-level metrics (CPU, memory, disk, swap) and custom SAP metrics, which are then published to CloudWatch for alarms and dashboards. SAP Solution Manager (option D) is correct because it is SAP's own application lifecycle and monitoring platform, and AWS documentation recommends it for end-to-end monitoring of the SAP NetWeaver stack, including ABAP and Java stacks, alongside CloudWatch. Amazon Inspector (option B) is a vulnerability management service for EC2 workloads, not an SAP application monitoring tool, so it does not fit. AWS Trusted Advisor (option C) provides best-practice checks across cost, security, and limits, but it does not monitor SAP NetWeaver components. AWS Config (option E) tracks resource configuration changes and compliance, which is unrelated to SAP system health monitoring.

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Amazon Inspector

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AWS Trusted Advisor

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AWS Config

Question 12

An SAP administrator is designing a new SAP NetWeaver system on AWS. They need to choose an EC2 instance type that is certified for SAP. Which source should they consult?

Accepted Answer

SAP Note 2235581 (SAP HANA Hardware Directory). SAP Note 2235581 is the authoritative source for the SAP HANA Hardware Directory, which lists all EC2 instance types certified for SAP HANA and SAP NetWeaver. AWS relies on SAP's own certification process, so only SAP's official directory provides the definitive list of supported instance types.

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Amazon EC2 console

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AWS Pricing Calculator

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AWS documentation on EC2 instance types

Question 13

A company is planning to run SAP S/4HANA on AWS and needs to ensure that the system can automatically recover from an Availability Zone failure. They want to use SAP HANA System Replication with automatic failover. Which AWS configuration is required?

Accepted Answer

Pacemaker cluster with STONITH across two Availability Zones. SAP HANA System Replication with automatic failover requires a Pacemaker cluster with STONITH (Shoot The Other Node In The Head) configured across two Availability Zones. This setup provides the fencing mechanism necessary to prevent split-brain scenarios and ensures that the failed primary node is forcibly isolated before the secondary node takes over, enabling reliable automatic failover for SAP S/4HANA on AWS.

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AWS Auto Scaling groups with lifecycle hooks

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Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployment

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Amazon EFS as shared storage for HANA data

Question 14

A company wants to automate the deployment of SAP systems on AWS. Which AWS service is most appropriate for infrastructure as code (IaC) for SAP?

Accepted Answer

AWS CloudFormation. AWS CloudFormation is the most appropriate service for infrastructure as code (IaC) for SAP because it allows you to define and provision AWS infrastructure declaratively using templates. This enables repeatable, version-controlled deployments of complex SAP landscapes, including EC2 instances, networking, storage, and security groups, which is critical for SAP's strict architectural requirements.

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AWS OpsWorks

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AWS Elastic Beanstalk

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AWS CodeDeploy

Question 15

A company is migrating its SAP HANA database to AWS. The system requires high network throughput and low latency between the application and database tiers. Which AWS service should be used to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Amazon EC2 placement group. Amazon EC2 placement groups, specifically cluster placement groups, provide low-latency, high-throughput networking by placing instances in a single Availability Zone within a logical group, ensuring they are physically close to each other. This minimizes network latency and maximizes throughput for tightly coupled workloads like SAP HANA, where application and database tiers require consistent, high-speed communication.

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Amazon Route 53 latency-based routing

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AWS Global Accelerator

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Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes