This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 runs a critical SAP HANA database on an m5.24xlarge EC2 instance. The database has high transaction volume and requires low latency storage. The current setup uses EBS gp2 volumes with 10,000 IOPS. During peak hours, the database performance degrades due to IOPS burst balance depletion. Which storage solution should the company use to maintain consistent performance?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Provision EBS io2 Block Express volumes with 10,000 provisioned IOPS.
Option C is correct because EBS io2 Block Express volumes provide consistent IOPS performance without bursting and support higher IOPS than gp2. Option A is wrong because gp3 provides baseline 3000 IOPS and burst, but may not guarantee the required 10,000 IOPS. Option B is wrong because Instance Store provides ephemeral storage, which is not persistent and may cause data loss on instance stop. Option D is wrong because EFS is a file system, not suitable for high-performance database block storage.
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.
✗
Migrate to EBS gp3 volumes with provisioned IOPS of 10,000.
Why it's wrong here
gp3 has a baseline of 3000 IOPS; additional IOPS can be provisioned but cost may be higher than io2.
✗
Use EC2 Instance Store (NVMe SSD) for the database data and logs.
Why it's wrong here
Instance Store is ephemeral and not suitable for persistent data.
✓
Provision EBS io2 Block Express volumes with 10,000 provisioned IOPS.
Why this is correct
io2 Block Express provides consistent IOPS and is designed for high-performance workloads.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Move the database to Amazon EFS with provisioned throughput.
Why it's wrong here
EFS is a file system and not optimized for database block storage.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Technology — This question tests Technology — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Provision EBS io2 Block Express volumes with 10,000 provisioned IOPS. — Option C is correct because EBS io2 Block Express volumes provide consistent IOPS performance without bursting and support higher IOPS than gp2. Option A is wrong because gp3 provides baseline 3000 IOPS and burst, but may not guarantee the required 10,000 IOPS. Option B is wrong because Instance Store provides ephemeral storage, which is not persistent and may cause data loss on instance stop. Option D is wrong because EFS is a file system, not suitable for high-performance database block storage.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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