PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
An SAP administrator receives an alert that the SAP HANA database is using 95% of its allocated memory. The system is running on an EC2 instance with 1 TB of RAM. The administrator needs to add more memory without significant downtime. Which action should be taken?
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
✓
Stop the SAP HANA database, change the EC2 instance type to one with more memory, then restart the database.
To increase the RAM of an EC2 instance running SAP HANA, you must stop the instance (and the database) and change the instance type to one with more memory. This is the only way to add memory with minimal downtime, as memory cannot be added dynamically. Option A is incorrect because changing the instance type while running is not supported for all instance types and requires a stop for memory changes. Option B is incorrect because EBS volumes provide storage, not memory. Option D is incorrect because swap space is virtual memory and not a suitable solution for SAP HANA, which requires physical RAM for performance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Modify the EC2 instance type to a larger size while the instance is running.
Why it's wrong here
Not all instance types support in-place modification; may require stop.
- ✗
Add additional EBS volumes to the instance to increase memory capacity.
Why it's wrong here
EBS is storage, not memory.
- ✓
Stop the SAP HANA database, change the EC2 instance type to one with more memory, then restart the database.
Why this is correct
This provides the needed memory increase with controlled downtime.
- ✗
Increase the swap space on the instance to provide virtual memory.
Why it's wrong here
Swap is not a substitute for RAM and will degrade performance.
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