PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
An SAP administrator needs to migrate an on-premises SAP HANA system to AWS. The total size of the HANA data and log volumes is 5 TB. The administrator wants to minimize downtime and use the fastest possible initial data transfer method. Which approach should they use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates choose Direct Connect (Option C) assuming a dedicated network is always fastest, but for large initial bulk transfers (multi-TB), physical shipping via Snowball Edge is faster because it avoids network bandwidth constraints and transfer time, which is a key concept tested in the PAS-C01 exam for minimizing downtime during SAP HANA migrations.
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
✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge to physically ship the data
AWS Snowball Edge provides a physical data transfer device that can be shipped to the on-premises site, loaded with the 5 TB of SAP HANA data and log volumes, and then shipped back to AWS for ingestion into an S3 bucket. This approach offers the fastest initial transfer for large datasets (multi-TB) over a WAN, as it bypasses network bandwidth limitations entirely, minimizing downtime compared to internet-based or dedicated network transfers.
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 Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration to upload the data over the internet
Why it's wrong here
Upload over the internet may be slower and less reliable for large datasets.
- ✓
Use AWS Snowball Edge to physically ship the data
Why this is correct
Snowball Edge can transfer 5 TB quickly and securely, minimizing downtime.
- ✗
Use AWS Direct Connect to transfer the data over a dedicated network connection
Why it's wrong here
Direct Connect provides a dedicated line but still limited by bandwidth; 5 TB may take days.
- ✗
Use VPC Peering to connect on-premises to AWS and copy data
Why it's wrong here
VPC Peering is for connecting VPCs, not for on-premises connectivity.
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
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,616 original PAS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.