PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
An SAP administrator needs to apply a security patch to the operating system of an EC2 instance running SAP. The instance is part of an Auto Scaling group. What is the best practice to apply the patch while minimizing downtime?
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
✓
Create a new AMI with the patch applied, update the launch configuration, and perform a rolling update using an Auto Scaling lifecycle hook.
The best practice because it leverages a lifecycle hook to perform a rolling update, replacing old instances with new ones based on a patched AMI without downtime. This approach ensures that each instance is gracefully terminated after a new instance is ready. Option B is incorrect because simply updating the launch configuration and manually terminating instances can cause downtime and is not automated. Option C is incorrect because stopping the Auto Scaling group and patching in place leads to downtime and is not scalable. Option D is incorrect because applying patches manually via SSH is error-prone and requires sequential instance patching, causing downtime.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create a new AMI with the patch applied, update the launch configuration, and perform a rolling update using an Auto Scaling lifecycle hook.
Why this is correct
Rolling updates replace instances one at a time, minimizing downtime.
- ✗
Update the launch configuration with the patched AMI and manually terminate running instances.
Why it's wrong here
Terminating instances causes downtime; Auto Scaling should replace them gradually.
- ✗
Stop the Auto Scaling group, patch the instance, and restart the group.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the group stops all instances, causing downtime.
- ✗
SSH into each instance and apply the patch manually.
Why it's wrong here
Manual patching is error-prone and may cause downtime if not coordinated.
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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.