PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
An SAP system on AWS experiences intermittent performance issues. CloudWatch metrics show high CPU credit usage on the t3.large EC2 instance hosting the SAP application. The instance is configured as a 'standard' placement group. What is the MOST likely cause and recommended action?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume a larger burstable instance (Option A) solves the problem, but the PAS-C01 exam tests understanding that burstable instances are fundamentally inappropriate for sustained SAP workloads, regardless of size.
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
✓
The burstable instance is exhausting its CPU credits. Change to a non-burstable instance.
The t3.large is a burstable instance that earns CPU credits when idle and spends them when active. SAP applications often have sustained CPU demands that can exhaust the credit balance, causing performance throttling. Switching to a non-burstable instance (e.g., m5.large) provides consistent baseline CPU performance without credit-based limitations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The instance size is too small. Move to a larger t3 instance.
Why it's wrong here
Larger t3 instances still have credit limits and can also be exhausted.
- ✓
The burstable instance is exhausting its CPU credits. Change to a non-burstable instance.
Why this is correct
T3 instances use CPU credits; sustained high usage depletes them, causing throttling.
- ✗
The placement group is causing network bottlenecks. Move to a cluster placement group.
Why it's wrong here
Placement group type does not affect CPU credits.
- ✗
The EBS volume is not provisioned with enough IOPS. Increase the volume size.
Why it's wrong here
EBS performance does not affect CPU credits.
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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.