- A
Deploy SAP HANA in a single Availability Zone with asynchronous replication to a secondary instance in another AZ, and use manual failover.
Why wrong: Manual failover would exceed the 2-hour RTO.
- B
Deploy SAP HANA in a Multi-AZ cluster using synchronous replication across two Availability Zones, with the SAP application servers in an Auto Scaling group across the same AZs.
Multi-AZ synchronous replication provides automatic failover and meets RPO and RTO.
- C
Deploy SAP HANA on a single EC2 instance with EBS snapshots every 5 minutes, and use a secondary instance in another AZ with snapshots restored.
Why wrong: EBS snapshots are not suitable for HANA database replication and recovery would be slow.
- D
Deploy SAP HANA on a single EC2 instance with hourly backups to Amazon S3 and a script to restore the backup on a new instance in a different AZ.
Why wrong: Hourly backups exceed the 15-minute RPO and restore time would exceed RTO.
PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
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 its SAP ERP system to AWS. The system has strict high availability requirements with a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 2 hours. The SAP application and database (SAP HANA) must be in the same AWS Region but can be in different Availability Zones. Which architecture should the company use to meet these requirements?
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
Deploy SAP HANA in a Multi-AZ cluster using synchronous replication across two Availability Zones, with the SAP application servers in an Auto Scaling group across the same AZs.
Option B is correct because it uses synchronous replication for SAP HANA across two Availability Zones, which ensures zero data loss and meets the RPO of 15 minutes. The Multi-AZ cluster with automatic failover achieves the RTO of 2 hours, while the SAP application servers in an Auto Scaling group across the same AZs provide high availability and load balancing. This architecture aligns with AWS best practices for SAP HANA HA, leveraging HANA System Replication (HSR) in sync mode.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Deploy SAP HANA in a single Availability Zone with asynchronous replication to a secondary instance in another AZ, and use manual failover.
Why it's wrong here
Manual failover would exceed the 2-hour RTO.
- ✓
Deploy SAP HANA in a Multi-AZ cluster using synchronous replication across two Availability Zones, with the SAP application servers in an Auto Scaling group across the same AZs.
Why this is correct
Multi-AZ synchronous replication provides automatic failover and meets RPO and RTO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Deploy SAP HANA on a single EC2 instance with EBS snapshots every 5 minutes, and use a secondary instance in another AZ with snapshots restored.
Why it's wrong here
EBS snapshots are not suitable for HANA database replication and recovery would be slow.
- ✗
Deploy SAP HANA on a single EC2 instance with hourly backups to Amazon S3 and a script to restore the backup on a new instance in a different AZ.
Why it's wrong here
Hourly backups exceed the 15-minute RPO and restore time would exceed RTO.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse asynchronous replication (which risks data loss) with synchronous replication (which ensures zero RPO), or they underestimate the recovery time of snapshot-based or backup-based approaches, assuming they can meet strict RTO/RPO targets.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SAP HANA System Replication (HSR) in synchronous mode uses a log-based replication protocol where every committed transaction is acknowledged by both primary and secondary nodes before completion, ensuring zero RPO. In a Multi-AZ deployment, AWS recommends using a dedicated replication network with low latency (typically <1 ms) to avoid performance impact, and the failover process involves promoting the secondary to primary using HANA's takeover command. Real-world scenarios often require careful sizing of EBS volumes (e.g., io2 Block Express) to meet HANA's I/O demands during replication.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PAS-C01 questions
1,733 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PAS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PAS-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Design of SAP Workloads on AWS.
Technology practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Technology.
Migration practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Migration.
Operations and Maintenance practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Operations and Maintenance.
PAS-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to PAS-C01 fundamentals.
PAS-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to PAS-C01 scenario.
PAS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to PAS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free PAS-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PAS-C01 question test?
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — This question tests Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy SAP HANA in a Multi-AZ cluster using synchronous replication across two Availability Zones, with the SAP application servers in an Auto Scaling group across the same AZs. — Option B is correct because it uses synchronous replication for SAP HANA across two Availability Zones, which ensures zero data loss and meets the RPO of 15 minutes. The Multi-AZ cluster with automatic failover achieves the RTO of 2 hours, while the SAP application servers in an Auto Scaling group across the same AZs provide high availability and load balancing. This architecture aligns with AWS best practices for SAP HANA HA, leveraging HANA System Replication (HSR) in sync mode.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.