PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
An SAP system is experiencing slow performance. The SAP team suspects a memory bottleneck in the HANA database. The database runs on an r5.24xlarge instance with 768 GB RAM. CloudWatch metrics show the HANA memory usage is consistently above 90%. Which action should be taken first?
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
✓
Increase the HANA memory allocation parameter in the global.ini file.
The HANA database may have a memory allocation parameter that is lower than the available physical memory, causing a bottleneck even when RAM is available. Increasing this parameter in the global.ini file allows HANA to use more memory, addressing the issue without scaling up. Option A is wrong because reducing HANA services does not directly increase memory availability for the database; it may reduce workload but not the memory bottleneck. Option B is wrong because upgrading the instance is a more disruptive and costly step that should be considered only after tuning parameters. Option D is wrong because swap space is much slower than RAM and is a temporary fix, not a solution for a persistent memory bottleneck.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reduce the number of HANA services.
Why it's wrong here
Reducing services may impact functionality; not the first step.
- ✗
Upgrade the instance to a larger memory-optimized type.
Why it's wrong here
This is a longer-term solution; first try adjusting existing resources.
- ✓
Increase the HANA memory allocation parameter in the global.ini file.
Why this is correct
Adjusting the memory allocation can reduce pressure without changing instance type.
- ✗
Increase the swap space on the instance.
Why it's wrong here
Swap is slower than RAM; this may degrade performance further.
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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.