PAS-C01 Migration Practice Question
A company is migrating a legacy mainframe application to AWS. The application uses COBOL and VSAM files. Which AWS service can best replicate the VSAM file system?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP
Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP provides a fully managed NetApp ONTAP file system that supports NFS, SMB, and iSCSI protocols. VSAM files from mainframe can be migrated to an NFS share on FSx for ONTAP, preserving file access patterns. Option A is incorrect because Amazon S3 is object storage and does not provide a file system interface required for VSAM. Option C is incorrect because Amazon EBS is block-level storage that attaches to EC2 instances and does not offer a native file system for VSAM. Option D is incorrect because Amazon EFS is a POSIX-compliant file system but does not support the specific VSAM file structures and features needed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Amazon S3 with Object Lock
Why it's wrong here
S3 is object storage, not suitable for VSAM.
- ✓
Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP
Why this is correct
FSx for ONTAP supports VSAM files via NFS.
- ✗
Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)
Why it's wrong here
EBS is block storage, but does not directly replace VSAM.
- ✗
Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)
Why it's wrong here
EFS does not natively support VSAM.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PAS-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PAS-C01 exam.