Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes, as they are the only AWS storage solution certified by SAP for production HANA databases requiring high IOPS and low latency. These volumes deliver up to 256,000 IOPS per volume with sub-millisecond latency and 99.999% durability, making them ideal for the demanding random I/O patterns of SAP HANA. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of SAP’s official storage certification requirements and the distinction between general-purpose EBS types and the io2 Block Express, which is purpose-built for mission-critical SAP HANA workloads. A common trap is selecting io1 or gp3 volumes, which lack the certified performance guarantees and durability for production HANA. Remember the memory tip: “io2 Block Express for HANA’s success” — the “2” in io2 stands for the two key requirements: high IOPS and low latency.
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of design of sap workloads on aws. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is migrating an SAP S/4HANA system to AWS and needs to choose the storage for the HANA database. The database requires high IOPS and low latency. Which AWS storage solution is most suitable?
Amazon EFS
Why wrong: EFS is file storage, not block storage.
Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes
io2 Block Express offers high IOPS and low latency for HANA.
Amazon S3
Why wrong: S3 is object storage, not suitable for database storage.
Amazon EBS st1 volumes
Why wrong: st1 is throughput-optimized, not designed for high IOPS.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes
Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes are designed for mission-critical SAP HANA workloads, offering up to 256,000 IOPS per volume and sub-millisecond latency. They provide 99.999% durability and are the only EBS volume type certified by SAP for production HANA databases on AWS, meeting the high IOPS and low latency requirements.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon EFS
Why it's wrong here
EFS is file storage, not block storage.
Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes
Why this is correct
io2 Block Express offers high IOPS and low latency for HANA.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 is object storage, not suitable for database storage.
Amazon EBS st1 volumes
Why it's wrong here
st1 is throughput-optimized, not designed for high IOPS.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse high-throughput HDD volumes (st1) with high-IOPS requirements, or mistakenly think that any EBS volume type can support SAP HANA, but only io2 Block Express meets SAP's certification and the specific low-latency, high-IOPS demands.
Detailed technical explanation
io2 Block Express volumes use a scalable block storage architecture that leverages NVMe over PCIe and a dedicated storage server to deliver consistent single-digit millisecond latency and up to 4,000 MB/s throughput per volume. In real-world SAP HANA deployments, these volumes are typically configured in a striped RAID 0 across multiple volumes to achieve the aggregate IOPS needed for large memory databases, and they support Elastic Volumes for dynamic performance adjustments without downtime.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — This question tests Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes — Amazon EBS io2 Block Express volumes are designed for mission-critical SAP HANA workloads, offering up to 256,000 IOPS per volume and sub-millisecond latency. They provide 99.999% durability and are the only EBS volume type certified by SAP for production HANA databases on AWS, meeting the high IOPS and low latency requirements.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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