- A
Use AWS Global Accelerator to improve network performance and reduce CPU overhead.
Why wrong: Global Accelerator improves network latency and throughput, but does not directly reduce CPU utilization.
- B
Attach an Elastic Fabric Adapter to offload network processing from the CPU.
Why wrong: Elastic Fabric Adapter is designed for HPC workloads and is not supported on r5 instances; it also does not address general CPU spikes.
- C
Upgrade the instance to a larger size in the r5 family, such as r5.8xlarge, to provide more CPU capacity.
Increasing the instance size provides more vCPUs and memory, directly addressing CPU spikes.
- D
Enable T3 unlimited on the instance to allow sustained high CPU performance.
Why wrong: The r5 instance family does not support T3 unlimited; T3 instances are burstable and different from r5.
PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
A company runs its SAP ERP system on AWS using an SAP HANA database on a single EC2 instance. The system experiences intermittent performance degradation during peak hours. The operations team suspects CPU contention, as the instance type is an r5.4xlarge (16 vCPUs). When they check Amazon CloudWatch metrics, they notice that the CPU utilization averages 60%, but occasionally spikes to 100% for a few seconds. The team wants to improve performance without changing the instance type. They are considering using AWS Compute Optimizer or enabling T2/T3 unlimited. What is the MOST effective action to address the CPU spikes?
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
Upgrade the instance to a larger size in the r5 family, such as r5.8xlarge, to provide more CPU capacity.
While the stem states a desire not to change the instance type, the most effective action to address CPU spikes is to upgrade to a larger instance within the r5 family, such as r5.8xlarge. The other options are ineffective: AWS Global Accelerator improves network performance but does not reduce CPU overhead; Elastic Fabric Adapter is designed for HPC workloads, not general CPU spikes; T3 unlimited is for burstable instance families and does not apply to r5 instances. Therefore, option C is the best choice to provide more CPU capacity.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 AWS Global Accelerator to improve network performance and reduce CPU overhead.
Why it's wrong here
Global Accelerator improves network latency and throughput, but does not directly reduce CPU utilization.
- ✗
Attach an Elastic Fabric Adapter to offload network processing from the CPU.
Why it's wrong here
Elastic Fabric Adapter is designed for HPC workloads and is not supported on r5 instances; it also does not address general CPU spikes.
- ✓
Upgrade the instance to a larger size in the r5 family, such as r5.8xlarge, to provide more CPU capacity.
Why this is correct
Increasing the instance size provides more vCPUs and memory, directly addressing CPU spikes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable T3 unlimited on the instance to allow sustained high CPU performance.
Why it's wrong here
The r5 instance family does not support T3 unlimited; T3 instances are burstable and different from r5.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
- →
Technology — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Technology practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PAS-C01 questions
1,733 questions across all exam domains
- →
AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PAS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PAS-C01 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design of SAP Workloads on AWS practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Design of SAP Workloads on AWS.
Technology practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Technology.
Migration practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Migration.
Operations and Maintenance practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to Operations and Maintenance.
PAS-C01 fundamentals practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to PAS-C01 fundamentals.
PAS-C01 scenario practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to PAS-C01 scenario.
PAS-C01 troubleshooting practice questions
Practise PAS-C01 questions linked to PAS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free PAS-C01 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PAS-C01 question test?
Technology — This question tests Technology — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Upgrade the instance to a larger size in the r5 family, such as r5.8xlarge, to provide more CPU capacity. — While the stem states a desire not to change the instance type, the most effective action to address CPU spikes is to upgrade to a larger instance within the r5 family, such as r5.8xlarge. The other options are ineffective: AWS Global Accelerator improves network performance but does not reduce CPU overhead; Elastic Fabric Adapter is designed for HPC workloads, not general CPU spikes; T3 unlimited is for burstable instance families and does not apply to r5 instances. Therefore, option C is the best choice to provide more CPU capacity.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More PAS-C01 practice questions
- A company runs SAP S/4HANA on AWS. The environment includes an SAP HANA database on an EC2 instance with multiple EBS vo…
- A company runs SAP S/4HANA on AWS with a High Availability (HA) cluster spanning two Availability Zones (us-east-1a and…
- A company is planning to migrate its SAP landscape to AWS. The landscape includes development, quality assurance, and pr…
- A company is using AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager to patch a fleet of EC2 instances. The instances are in a patch gro…
- A company is migrating a legacy on-premises application to AWS. The application uses a MySQL database with a complex sto…
- A company is migrating a large SAP ERP system to AWS using SAP HANA. They want to minimize downtime and ensure consisten…
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
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.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.