PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
A company is migrating an SAP HANA system from on-premises to AWS. The database size is 3 TB, and the network bandwidth to AWS is 1 Gbps. The migration window is limited to 48 hours. What is the most efficient migration strategy?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often overestimate network transfer speeds and underestimate the total time required for backup, transfer, and restore, leading them to choose Direct Connect or S3 multipart upload without considering the physical data transport option for large datasets.
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
✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge to transfer the HANA backup
The 3 TB database size and 1 Gbps bandwidth would require approximately 7 hours for data transfer alone, but the 48-hour migration window includes backup, transfer, and restore time. AWS Snowball Edge provides a petabyte-scale physical data transport solution that bypasses network constraints entirely, making it the most efficient strategy for transferring a 3 TB HANA backup within the limited window. Snowball Edge supports direct integration with SAP HANA backup workflows via NFS or S3-compatible endpoints, ensuring minimal migration time.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set up an AWS Direct Connect connection and use HANA backup and restore
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect still limited to 1 Gbps unless multiple connections.
- ✗
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) for continuous replication
Why it's wrong here
DMS is for ongoing replication, not initial load.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge to transfer the HANA backup
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge can transfer data offline at high speed.
- ✗
Upload the HANA backup to Amazon S3 using multipart upload
Why it's wrong here
Uploading a 3 TB HANA backup over a 1 Gbps link via multipart upload would take approximately 7 hours under ideal conditions, but the total transfer time for the full dataset—including backup creation, upload, and restore—far exceeds the 48-hour window when factoring in network overhead and the need to restore from S3 into the target SAP HANA instance. This option is tempting because multipart upload is designed for large objects and improves upload reliability, making it a correct choice for long-running, non-time-critical migrations where the network can sustain the transfer without a strict deadline.
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.