PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
A company runs a critical SAP HANA database on an Amazon EC2 instance. The operations team receives an alert that the instance's EBS-optimized throughput is consistently exceeding the baseline performance of the gp2 volume. Which action should the team take to resolve the performance issue without downtime?
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
✓
Modify the volume type to gp3 and adjust the throughput setting.
Modifying the volume type from gp2 to gp3 allows you to independently adjust IOPS and throughput settings without downtime, directly addressing the performance issue. Option A is incorrect because EBS optimization is already enabled on the instance by default for certain instance types, and the issue is with volume performance, not instance optimization. Option B is incorrect because increasing the volume size to improve baseline IOPS does not address the specific throughput issue and may not be sufficient, and it also requires resizing the file system, which can cause downtime. Option D is incorrect because stopping the instance to increase volume size introduces downtime, and it is unnecessary when a no-downtime solution like gp3 exists.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable EBS optimization on the EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
EBS optimization is typically already enabled on current generation instances; enabling it on a running instance requires a reboot, causing downtime, and it does not directly resolve throughput limitations of a gp2 volume.
- ✗
Increase the volume size to improve baseline IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the volume size of a gp2 volume increases baseline IOPS and throughput, but it may require resizing the OS partition and potentially downtime. It is less efficient than switching to gp3, which allows independent adjustment of throughput without size changes.
- ✓
Modify the volume type to gp3 and adjust the throughput setting.
Why this is correct
Modifying the volume type to gp3 allows you to configure the desired throughput and IOPS independently, and this change can be applied to a running instance without downtime, directly solving the throughput issue.
- ✗
Stop the EC2 instance and increase the volume size.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the EC2 instance to increase volume size causes downtime, which is not necessary since modifications like changing volume type can be done while the instance is running.
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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.