PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
An SAP system is deployed on EC2 instances with EBS volumes. The operations team needs to implement a backup strategy that provides point-in-time recovery for the EBS volumes with minimal downtime. Which AWS service should they use?
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
✓
Amazon EBS Snapshots
Amazon EBS Snapshots are the correct service for point-in-time recovery of EBS volumes with minimal downtime. They capture the volume data at a specific point in time and can be taken while the volume is attached and in use, with minimal performance impact (by taking snapshots during low usage). Option A, AWS Storage Gateway, is used for hybrid cloud storage, not for direct EBS backups. Option B, AWS Backup, is a centralized backup service that can automate EBS snapshots, but the question asks which service provides point-in-time recovery for EBS volumes directly; EBS Snapshots are the underlying mechanism. Option D, Amazon S3, is object storage and not directly for EBS volume backups.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Storage Gateway
Why it's wrong here
Storage Gateway is for on-premises to cloud integration, not for EBS backup.
- ✗
AWS Backup
Why it's wrong here
AWS Backup manages backups but uses EBS snapshots under the hood; the question asks for the service that directly provides point-in-time recovery.
- ✓
Amazon EBS Snapshots
Why this is correct
EBS Snapshots are designed for point-in-time backup of EBS volumes.
- ✗
Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 is not directly used for EBS volume backups.
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
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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.