This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
An SAP administrator is troubleshooting a performance issue on an SAP HANA database running on AWS. The HANA data volume is an EBS io1 volume with 10,000 provisioned IOPS. The administrator notices that the average queue length is consistently above 10, and the average latency is 20 ms. Which TWO actions will most likely improve performance?
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
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000.
Option A and Option D are correct. Increasing IOPS (A) directly addresses the queue. Using a larger instance with higher EBS bandwidth (D) can improve throughput. Option B (NVMe) requires instance store, not EBS. Option C (gp3) may not provide enough IOPS. Option E (Multiple volumes) adds complexity and may not help if the bottleneck is IOPS.
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 the volume to an instance with NVMe instance store.
Why it's wrong here
Instance store is ephemeral and not suitable for persistent data.
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000.
Why this is correct
More IOPS reduces queue depth and latency.
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.
✓
Move the database to a larger EC2 instance type that supports higher EBS bandwidth.
Why this is correct
Larger instances have higher EBS bandwidth, reducing bottlenecks.
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.
✗
Configure multiple EBS volumes in a RAID 0 stripe to increase IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
This could help, but it is not listed as a best practice for HANA; also, it adds management overhead.
✗
Change the volume type to gp3 with 10,000 IOPS.
Why it's wrong here
gp3 max is 16,000 IOPS but may not improve latency significantly.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
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: Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000. — Option A and Option D are correct. Increasing IOPS (A) directly addresses the queue. Using a larger instance with higher EBS bandwidth (D) can improve throughput. Option B (NVMe) requires instance store, not EBS. Option C (gp3) may not provide enough IOPS. Option E (Multiple volumes) adds complexity and may not help if the bottleneck is IOPS.
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.
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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Question Discussion
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