PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
An SAP system on AWS is experiencing high read latency from the SAP HANA database. The system uses Provisioned IOPS EBS volumes. Which action would most likely improve read latency?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently think increasing IOPS always helps, but the key nuance is that the system already uses Provisioned IOPS, so the correct action is to increase the provisioned IOPS value, not change volume types or rely on ephemeral storage.
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 provisioned IOPS on the EBS volumes.
Increasing the provisioned IOPS on the EBS volumes directly addresses high read latency by raising the I/O performance ceiling for the SAP HANA database. Since the system already uses Provisioned IOPS (io1/io2) volumes, higher IOPS reduces queue depth and read latency under heavy workloads. Other options are incorrect: changing to gp2 reduces IOPS, disabling write caching does not improve read latency, and instance store volumes are ephemeral and not recommended for HANA data persistence.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Change the EBS volume type to gp2.
Why it's wrong here
Changing to gp2 reduces the IOPS performance, which would worsen read latency rather than improve it.
- ✗
Disable write caching on the EBS volumes.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling write caching does not affect read latency; it primarily impacts write performance and data durability.
- ✗
Move the HANA data to instance store volumes.
Why it's wrong here
Instance store volumes provide lower latency but are ephemeral and unsupported for SAP HANA data persistence; they are not a viable solution for improving read latency in a production system.
- ✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the EBS volumes.
Why this is correct
Increasing provisioned IOPS directly raises the I/O throughput limit, reducing read latency under load. This is the correct action.
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