PAS-C01 Elastic IP Practice Question
A company is migrating its SAP ERP system to AWS and needs to ensure high availability for the SAP Central Services (ASCS) and Enqueue Replication Server (ERS). They plan to use two EC2 instances in different Availability Zones with a shared file system. Which AWS service should they use to manage the failover of the virtual IP address?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may think Route 53 is the solution for virtual IP failover, but DNS failover is not equivalent to IP address failover. The correct approach uses a floating IP address, typically via an Elastic IP or Network Load Balancer.
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 an Elastic IP address and reassign it during failover using a script.
An Elastic IP address can be used as a virtual IP for SAP ASCS/ERS failover. By associating the Elastic IP with the active EC2 instance in one Availability Zone, and having a script (e.g., a watchdog process) automatically reassociate the Elastic IP to the standby instance upon failure, you can achieve virtual IP failover. This is a common pattern on AWS for SAP high availability when using shared file systems. Option B is incorrect because Amazon Route 53 provides DNS failover, not virtual IP management; DNS time-to-live (TTL) delays make it unsuitable for fast failover in SAP environments. Option C is incorrect because an Application Load Balancer operates at Layer 7 and does not provide a static IP for SAP protocols. Option D is incorrect because Classic Load Balancer is deprecated and lacks the required static IP failover capability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use an Elastic IP address and reassign it during failover using a script.
Why this is correct
Correct. Elastic IP can be reassigned between instances in different Availability Zones via automated scripts, providing a manageable virtual IP for SAP ASCS/ERS failover.
- ✗
Configure Amazon Route 53 with failover routing and health checks for the virtual IP.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Route 53 performs DNS failover, which involves DNS propagation delays and does not directly manage a virtual IP address. It is not suitable for the sub-second failover needed by SAP ASCS/ERS.
- ✗
Deploy an Application Load Balancer to route traffic to the active instance.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Application Load Balancer is a Layer 7 load balancer that doesn't support static IP failover; it is designed for HTTP/HTTPS traffic, not SAP protocols.
- ✗
Set up a Classic Load Balancer with cross-zone load balancing enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Classic Load Balancer is deprecated and does not provide the necessary static IP or failover capabilities for SAP ASCS/ERS.
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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.