SAP HANA EC2 Instance Selection — Memory, Certification, EBS-Optimized
A company is planning to migrate an SAP HANA database to AWS. Which THREE factors should the company consider when selecting an EC2 instance type for the SAP HANA database?
Quick Answer
Selecting an EC2 instance type for SAP HANA isn't just a matter of picking something with enough memory - SAP maintains its own certification process, and only instance types that appear on the SAP Certified Instance Types for SAP HANA list are actually supported for running HANA in production, which makes certification itself one of the required factors to check, independent of the instance's raw specifications. Alongside certification, the instance needs to be memory-optimized, since HANA's core resource demand is memory capacity for holding its working data set in RAM, and general-purpose or compute-optimized instance families typically won't offer the memory density HANA workloads require. The instance also needs to be EBS-optimized, meaning it provides dedicated bandwidth to EBS volumes rather than sharing bandwidth with other network traffic, which keeps storage I/O for HANA's data and log writes consistent and predictable rather than subject to contention. Two other-sounding criteria are worth ruling out explicitly: burstable performance instance families aren't suitable because HANA needs consistent, sustained performance rather than performance that varies with burst credits, and while running on the Nitro System is generally recommended for modern EC2 instances, it isn't itself a strict SAP HANA requirement the way certification, memory optimization, and EBS optimization are. When a question asks what to check before selecting a HANA instance type, expect certification status, memory characteristics, and I/O or EBS optimization to be the three pillars.
⚠ Common exam trap
Avoid choosing 'burstable performance' or 'Nitro System' as strict requirements. The key mandatory factors are EBS-optimized, memory-optimized, and SAP-certified.
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
✓
The instance must be EBS-optimized
For SAP HANA on AWS, EC2 instance types must be memory-optimized (e.g., r5, r6i, x1e) and listed in the SAP Certified Instance Types for SAP HANA. Additionally, instances must be EBS-optimized to provide dedicated bandwidth to EBS volumes. Burstable performance (option A) is not suitable for SAP HANA's consistent performance requirements. While the Nitro System (option C) is recommended, it is not a strict requirement.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The instance type must support burstable performance
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Burstable performance instances (e.g., T3) are not suitable for SAP HANA, which requires consistent high CPU performance.
- ✓
The instance must be EBS-optimized
Why this is correct
Correct. EBS-optimized instances are required for dedicated EBS bandwidth to ensure consistent I/O performance for HANA data volumes.
- ✗
The instance must be based on the AWS Nitro System
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. While the AWS Nitro System is recommended, it is not a mandatory requirement for all SAP HANA instances.
- ✓
The instance type must be memory-optimized (e.g., r5, r6i, x1e)
Why this is correct
Correct. SAP HANA is memory-intensive and requires memory-optimized instance types to meet its memory and compute needs.
- ✓
The instance type must be listed in the SAP Certified Instance Types for SAP HANA
Why this is correct
Correct. SAP HANA must run only on EC2 instance types that are officially certified by SAP, as listed in the SAP Certified Instance Types.
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Variation 1. A company is migrating a SAP HANA database to AWS. Which THREE factors should be considered when choosing the EC2 instance type for SAP HANA?
medium- ✓ A.The instance must be listed in the SAP HANA certified instance list.
- ✓ B.The instance must have enough memory (RAM) to hold the entire HANA database.
- C.The instance must have a GPU for accelerated processing.
- D.The instance must be EBS-optimized by default.
- ✓ E.The instance must have high network bandwidth for SAP HANA system replication.
Why A: Correct options: A, B, E. SAP HANA requires AWS certified instance types (A), enough memory to hold the database in RAM (B), and high network bandwidth for system replication (E). GPU is not required (C). EBS-optimized is not a selection factor; it is a feature that may be enabled on certain instance types but not a primary consideration for choosing the instance type (D).
JA
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.