The answer is that sticky sessions enabled on the ALB are the most likely cause of uneven load distribution across SAP application servers. When session stickiness is active, the ALB uses a cookie to pin a client’s entire session to a single SAP Web Dispatcher target, preventing subsequent requests from being routed to other healthy instances. This directly contradicts the round-robin or least outstanding request algorithms that normally balance traffic, so if a few users generate heavy or long-running sessions, those specific targets become overloaded while others remain idle. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how ALB stickiness interacts with SAP’s stateless Web Dispatcher architecture—a common trap is assuming uneven load must be a health check or scaling issue. Remember the mnemonic: “Sticky sessions stick, balance breaks.”
PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of design of sap workloads on aws. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 SAP Business Suite on AWS. They notice that their SAP application servers are not evenly distributing load across multiple instances. They have configured an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in front of the SAP Web Dispatchers. What is the MOST likely cause of uneven load distribution?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Sticky sessions (session stickiness) are enabled on the ALB.
When sticky sessions (session stickiness) are enabled on an Application Load Balancer, the ALB uses a cookie to bind a client's session to a specific target (SAP Web Dispatcher). This prevents the load balancer from distributing subsequent requests from that client to other healthy targets, causing an uneven distribution of load across the SAP application servers, especially if a few clients generate a disproportionate number of requests.
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.
✓
Sticky sessions (session stickiness) are enabled on the ALB.
Why this is correct
Sticky sessions cause uneven distribution with long-lived sessions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The ALB health check interval is too short.
Why it's wrong here
Health check interval doesn't cause uneven distribution.
✗
Cross-zone load balancing is enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Cross-zone balancing helps distribution.
✗
The ALB is using the least outstanding requests routing algorithm.
Why it's wrong here
That algorithm balances based on pending requests, not uneven.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume sticky sessions are always beneficial for stateful applications, but they fail to recognize that sticky sessions directly contradict the goal of even load distribution by pinning clients to specific targets.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the ALB's sticky session feature uses a load balancer-generated cookie (AWSALB) that is set for the duration of the session. The ALB reads this cookie on subsequent requests and routes them to the same target, bypassing the normal routing algorithm. In SAP environments, this can cause a 'hot server' scenario where one Web Dispatcher handles the majority of user sessions while others remain underutilized, particularly if users maintain long-lived sessions or if the application does not properly balance session creation across dispatchers.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — This question tests Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Sticky sessions (session stickiness) are enabled on the ALB. — When sticky sessions (session stickiness) are enabled on an Application Load Balancer, the ALB uses a cookie to bind a client's session to a specific target (SAP Web Dispatcher). This prevents the load balancer from distributing subsequent requests from that client to other healthy targets, causing an uneven distribution of load across the SAP application servers, especially if a few clients generate a disproportionate number of requests.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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