PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
A company runs SAP S/4HANA on AWS. The environment includes an SAP HANA database on an EC2 instance with multiple EBS volumes for data, log, and backup. The backup strategy uses AWS Backup to create daily snapshots of all EBS volumes. During a disaster recovery test, the team discovers that the snapshots are not crash-consistent and the database cannot be restored to a consistent state. The backup window is set to 2 AM daily. What should the team do to ensure crash-consistent backups?
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
✓
Configure AWS Backup to create multi-volume crash-consistent snapshots for the instance.
AWS Backup supports creating multi-volume crash-consistent snapshots, which ensures that all EBS volumes are snapshotted at the same point in time. This provides crash consistency for the SAP HANA database. Option B is incorrect because while SAP HANA backup to S3 is a valid backup method, the question specifically asks about ensuring crash-consistent EBS snapshots. Option C is incorrect because taking individual snapshots sequentially does not guarantee cross-volume consistency. Option D is incorrect because stopping the instance causes unnecessary downtime; crash-consistent snapshots can be achieved without stopping the instance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Configure AWS Backup to create multi-volume crash-consistent snapshots for the instance.
Why this is correct
Multi-volume snapshots ensure all volumes are snapshotted at the same point in time, providing crash consistency.
- ✗
Use SAP HANA backup to S3 instead of EBS snapshots for database backups.
Why it's wrong here
This does not solve the issue of crash-consistent EBS snapshots; HANA backup to S3 is a separate backup method.
- ✗
Take individual EBS snapshots of each volume sequentially within the backup window.
Why it's wrong here
Sequential snapshots are not consistent across volumes; data changes between snapshots can cause inconsistency.
- ✗
Stop the EC2 instance before the backup window and start it after the snapshots complete.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the instance causes downtime and is not necessary; crash-consistent snapshots can be taken without stopping.
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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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.