PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
An SAP system on AWS needs to be highly available across two Availability Zones. The application tier runs on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The database tier uses an RDS Multi-AZ deployment. What additional step is REQUIRED to ensure complete high availability for the application tier?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume an Auto Scaling group (Option D) automatically provides high availability across AZs, but without explicitly configuring subnets in multiple AZs and a multi-AZ distribution strategy, the Auto Scaling group could launch all instances in a single AZ, leaving the application tier vulnerable.
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
✓
Launch EC2 instances in at least two different Availability Zones.
For the application tier to be highly available across two Availability Zones, EC2 instances must be distributed across at least two AZs so that if one AZ fails, the Application Load Balancer can route traffic to instances in the other AZ. Option B directly addresses this requirement. Without instances in multiple AZs, the application tier remains a single point of failure, even if the ALB and RDS Multi-AZ are configured correctly.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a larger EC2 instance type.
Why it's wrong here
Does not improve availability.
- ✓
Launch EC2 instances in at least two different Availability Zones.
Why this is correct
Ensures application survives AZ failure.
- ✗
Enable EBS Multi-Attach for the root volumes.
Why it's wrong here
Not applicable for HA.
- ✗
Configure an Auto Scaling group with a dynamic scaling policy.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling, not HA.
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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.