Quick Answer
The answer is to use EFS Max I/O performance mode or Provisioned Throughput. This directly reduces high read latency on the transport directory because Max I/O scales to higher aggregate throughput and IOPS for workloads with high concurrency, while Provisioned Throughput decouples throughput from stored data size, ensuring consistent performance for SAP batch jobs. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of EFS performance modes and their fit for SAP transport directories, which demand low-latency, high-throughput shared storage. A common trap is choosing General Purpose mode, which optimizes for low-latency metadata operations but cannot handle the bursty, concurrent I/O of batch processing. Remember the memory tip: “Max I/O for max throughput; Provisioned for predictable pace.”
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of design of sap workloads on aws. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An SAP system on AWS uses a shared file system via Amazon EFS for transport directory (/usr/sap/trans). The system experiences slow batch jobs. Monitoring shows high read latency on EFS. Which action would most likely reduce latency?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Use a larger EC2 instance for the application server
Why wrong: Does not address EFS performance.
Migrate the transport directory to Amazon S3
Why wrong: S3 is not a POSIX file system.
Use EFS Max I/O performance mode or Provisioned Throughput
Max I/O increases IOPS; Provisioned Throughput increases throughput.
Move the transport directory to instance store volumes
Why wrong: Instance store is ephemeral and not shared.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Use EFS Max I/O performance mode or Provisioned Throughput
EFS Max I/O performance mode is designed to scale to higher levels of aggregate throughput and IOPS with lower latencies for workloads like SAP transport directories that experience high concurrency and throughput demands. Provisioned Throughput allows you to specify a higher throughput level independent of the amount of data stored, directly addressing the high read latency issue. This is the most effective action because it optimizes the file system's performance characteristics for the SAP batch job workload.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Use a larger EC2 instance for the application server
Why it's wrong here
Does not address EFS performance.
Migrate the transport directory to Amazon S3
Why it's wrong here
S3 is not a POSIX file system.
Use EFS Max I/O performance mode or Provisioned Throughput
Why this is correct
Max I/O increases IOPS; Provisioned Throughput increases throughput.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Move the transport directory to instance store volumes
Why it's wrong here
Instance store is ephemeral and not shared.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse EFS performance modes with storage tiers (e.g., Standard vs. Infrequent Access) or assume that increasing compute power (Option A) will fix storage latency, when in fact the bottleneck is the file system's throughput ceiling, not the application server's CPU or memory.
Detailed technical explanation
EFS Max I/O mode uses a distributed data plane that can scale to thousands of concurrent connections and provide up to 1 GB/s of throughput per file system, but it does so at the cost of slightly higher variability in latency compared to General Purpose mode. Provisioned Throughput allows you to set a specific throughput value (in MiB/s) independent of the file system's size, which is critical for SAP workloads that have predictable throughput demands but store relatively small amounts of data in the transport directory. In practice, many SAP on AWS architectures combine Max I/O mode with Provisioned Throughput to eliminate latency spikes during peak batch processing windows.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — This question tests Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Use EFS Max I/O performance mode or Provisioned Throughput — EFS Max I/O performance mode is designed to scale to higher levels of aggregate throughput and IOPS with lower latencies for workloads like SAP transport directories that experience high concurrency and throughput demands. Provisioned Throughput allows you to specify a higher throughput level independent of the amount of data stored, directly addressing the high read latency issue. This is the most effective action because it optimizes the file system's performance characteristics for the SAP batch job workload.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Same concept, more angles
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An SAP system uses Amazon EFS for shared file storage for transport directories. The system is deployed across multiple Availability Zones. Which EFS performance mode is most suitable for this workload?
easyWhy C: General Purpose performance mode is the most suitable for SAP transport directories because it provides the lowest latency for file operations, which is critical for the frequent, small I/O operations typical of SAP transport processes. Max I/O mode, while offering higher throughput for large sequential I/O, introduces higher latency that can degrade SAP performance. General Purpose mode is the default and recommended mode for most EFS workloads, including SAP shared file systems.
Variation 2. An SAP system is running on AWS and uses Amazon EFS for the /sapmnt directory. The system is experiencing high latency during file operations. Which configuration change could improve the performance of the EFS file system?
mediumWhy A: Option D is correct because enabling EFS Max I/O performance mode allows higher throughput for large workloads. Option A is wrong because Provisioned Throughput increases cost but may not address latency. Option B is wrong because changing to General Purpose mode is the default and may not help. Option C is wrong because EBS is not shared across multiple instances like EFS.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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