PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
An SAP Basis administrator needs to apply an SAP kernel patch to the SAP Central Services (ASCS) instance running on an EC2 instance in a Multi-AZ deployment. The ASCS instance is configured with a floating IP address using Elastic IP. The administrator wants to minimize downtime during the patching process. Which approach should the administrator take?
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 EC2 instance with the patched kernel, associate the Elastic IP to the new instance, and terminate the old one.
It implements a blue/green deployment, allowing the patch to be applied on a new EC2 instance without affecting the running ASCS instance. After patching, associate the Elastic IP to the new instance and terminate the old one, minimizing downtime to a brief DNS propagation delay. Option A is wrong because stopping the instance causes downtime during the patch. Option C is wrong because an Application Load Balancer does not support floating IP setups like Elastic IP for ASCS. Option D is wrong because Auto Scaling rolling updates are designed for scaling groups, not a single ASCS instance, and would still cause 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.
- ✗
Stop the ASCS instance, apply the patch, and start the instance.
Why it's wrong here
Stopping the ASCS instance causes downtime during the entire patching process, which does not minimize downtime.
- ✓
Create a new EC2 instance with the patched kernel, associate the Elastic IP to the new instance, and terminate the old one.
Why this is correct
It implements a blue/green deployment. By creating a new EC2 instance with the patched kernel and associating the Elastic IP, the running ASCS instance is not affected, and downtime is minimized to the brief period required to update the Elastic IP association.
- ✗
Add the ASCS instance to an Application Load Balancer and then perform the patch.
Why it's wrong here
An Application Load Balancer does not support the floating IP setup used with Elastic IP for ASCS, and adding the instance to an ALB would not facilitate patching with minimal downtime.
- ✗
Use an Auto Scaling group with a rolling update to apply the patch.
Why it's wrong here
Auto Scaling groups with rolling updates are designed for scaling groups, not for a single ASCS instance with a floating IP, and would still cause downtime or complexity.
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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.