PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
A company is running a critical SAP HANA database on an EC2 instance with a single EBS volume for /hana/data. They need to ensure high durability and recoverability of the data. Which storage configuration meets SAP best practices?
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 a single gp3 EBS volume with provisioned IOPS.
For SAP HANA on AWS, a single gp3 EBS volume can be configured with up to 16,000 IOPS and speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s. This meets the performance requirements for many production HANA systems. RAID 0 striping adds complexity and does not improve durability; durability is achieved through backup and snapshots. Using a single gp3 volume with sufficient provisioned IOPS is more cost-effective and simpler to manage. Therefore, option C is the best configuration for high durability and recoverability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Mount an Amazon EFS filesystem for /hana/data.
Why it's wrong here
EFS is a file share, not suitable for high-performance database storage like HANA data. It does not provide the required IOPS or low latency.
- ✗
Configure RAID 0 over multiple EBS volumes for the /hana/data filesystem.
Why it's wrong here
While striping can increase performance, it is not necessary with modern gp3 volumes that offer high IOPS. Also, RAID 0 does not provide data redundancy; durability comes from backups, not from striping.
- ✓
Use a single gp3 EBS volume with provisioned IOPS.
Why this is correct
Correct. gp3 volumes can be provisioned with up to 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s throughput, meeting HANA requirements. A single volume simplifies management and is cost-effective.
- ✗
Use EBS Multi-Attach to attach the same volume to multiple instances.
Why it's wrong here
EBS Multi-Attach is not supported for SAP HANA and does not provide durability. It is intended for clustered applications, not for database storage.
Quick reference
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Disks | Fault Tolerance | Read | Write | Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 50% |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 67–94% |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 disks | Good | Lower | 50–88% |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 disk per mirror | Excellent | Good | 50% |
RAID is not a backup strategy — it protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion, ransomware, or site-level events.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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