PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
An SAP system on AWS is experiencing performance issues during peak hours. The system includes SAP application servers and a HANA database. The CloudWatch metrics show high CPU utilization on the application servers and high disk read latency on the database EBS volumes. Which THREE actions should be taken to improve performance?
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 attached to the HANA database.
Increasing provisioned IOPS on the EBS volumes reduces disk read latency, addressing the high disk read latency issue. Option B is correct because upgrading the HANA database to a larger instance type provides more CPU and memory, which helps with high CPU utilization and overall performance. Option C is correct because adding more SAP application servers distributes the load, reducing high CPU utilization on existing servers. Option D is incorrect because a NAT Gateway is for outbound internet traffic and does not improve internal network performance or address CPU/disk latency. Option E is incorrect because a read replica for HANA would not help with disk read latency or CPU utilization; it is typically used for disaster recovery or offloading reporting, not for improving performance of the primary database under high write or read load.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the EBS volumes attached to the HANA database.
Why this is correct
Higher IOPS reduces read latency.
- ✓
Upgrade the HANA database to a larger instance type with more CPU and memory.
Why this is correct
More CPU addresses high utilization.
- ✓
Add more SAP application servers to the Auto Scaling group.
Why this is correct
Increases capacity to handle higher load.
- ✗
Add a NAT Gateway to the VPC to improve network performance.
Why it's wrong here
NAT Gateway is for outbound internet, not for internal performance.
- ✗
Deploy a read replica for the HANA database.
Why it's wrong here
Read replicas are for read-heavy workloads, not for reducing disk latency.
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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.