PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
An organization runs SAP ERP on AWS with an SAP HANA database. The database is deployed on an EC2 instance with EBS storage. The company is planning to upgrade the HANA database from version 2.0 to 2.0 SPS 05. The upgrade process requires a system copy to a new instance. The company wants to minimize the downtime during the upgrade and ensure that the existing system remains available until the new system is ready. The current HANA instance has 1 TB of data. The company has a test environment that can be used for the upgrade. Which approach should the company take to minimize downtime?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose Option C (backup and restore) because it seems straightforward, but they overlook that it does not keep the new instance synchronized with ongoing production changes, resulting in longer downtime than the replication-based approach.
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 SAP HANA System Replication from the production instance to a new instance. Perform the upgrade on the replica. Once upgraded, perform a takeover to make the new instance the primary.
SAP HANA System Replication allows you to replicate data from the production instance to a new instance in near real-time. You can then perform the upgrade on the replica while the production system remains fully available. Once the upgrade is complete and validated, a takeover operation promotes the replica to primary, minimizing downtime to just the seconds required for the takeover and DNS switch.
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 SAP HANA Studio to export the production database to a file, import it into a new instance, and upgrade. Then redirect users to the new instance.
Why it's wrong here
Export/import is slow and not suitable for large databases.
- ✗
Perform the upgrade directly on the production HANA instance during a maintenance window.
Why it's wrong here
Direct upgrade requires downtime and carries risk.
- ✗
Take a full backup of the production HANA database, restore it to a new instance, and perform the upgrade on the new instance. Then switch DNS to the new instance.
Why it's wrong here
Backup and restore takes time and causes extended downtime.
- ✓
Set up SAP HANA System Replication from the production instance to a new instance. Perform the upgrade on the replica. Once upgraded, perform a takeover to make the new instance the primary.
Why this is correct
Replication allows the production system to stay online; takeover is quick.
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.