PAS-C01 Cross-region read replica (Aurora) Practice Question
A company runs SAP on AWS and needs to implement a disaster recovery (DR) strategy that meets a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of 15 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 2 hours. The DR region must have the SAP application stack ready but the database can be replayed from backups. Which TWO actions should be taken to meet these requirements? (Choose two.)
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
✓
Set up a cross-region read replica for the Aurora PostgreSQL database.
Options C and E are correct. A cross-region read replica for Aurora PostgreSQL provides near-real-time replication, meeting the 15-minute RPO. Pre-provisioning EC2 instances with the SAP application stack in the DR region reduces RTO to within 2 hours. Option A (single-region Multi-AZ) does not provide DR across regions. Option B (S3 cross-region replication for logs) is not sufficient for database recovery. Option D (daily snapshots copied to DR) would exceed the 15-minute RPO.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a single-region Multi-AZ deployment for the database.
Why it's wrong here
Multi-AZ is for high availability, not disaster recovery across regions.
- ✗
Use S3 cross-region replication for the application log files.
Why it's wrong here
This does not address database replication required for RPO.
- ✓
Set up a cross-region read replica for the Aurora PostgreSQL database.
Why this is correct
Cross-region read replicas provide low RPO (usually seconds) and can be promoted quickly.
- ✗
Take daily snapshots of the database and copy them to the DR region.
Why it's wrong here
Daily snapshots do not meet the 15-minute RPO.
- ✓
Pre-provision EC2 instances with the SAP application stack in the DR region.
Why this is correct
Pre-provisioning reduces RTO as the infrastructure is ready.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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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.