This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of design of sap workloads on aws. 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.
An SAP administrator runs the AWS CLI command shown in the exhibit for an EC2 instance used as an SAP HANA database server. The server has two EBS volumes attached: a root volume (/dev/xvda) and a data volume (/dev/sdf). Based on the output, what will happen when the instance is terminated?
The instance cannot be terminated because DeleteOnTermination is set inconsistently.
Why wrong: There is no such restriction.
Both volumes will be deleted.
Why wrong: The data volume's DeleteOnTermination is false, so it is not deleted.
The root volume will be deleted, and the data volume will persist.
The root volume is deleted, the data volume persists.
Both volumes will persist.
Why wrong: The root volume's DeleteOnTermination is true, so it is deleted.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The root volume will be deleted, and the data volume will persist.
The AWS CLI command `describe-instances` output shows that the root volume (`/dev/xvda`) has `DeleteOnTermination` set to `true` (default), while the data volume (`/dev/sdf`) has `DeleteOnTermination` set to `false`. When the EC2 instance is terminated, only volumes with `DeleteOnTermination=true` are automatically deleted. Therefore, the root volume will be deleted, and the data volume will persist as an unattached EBS volume in the same Availability Zone.
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.
The instance cannot be terminated because DeleteOnTermination is set inconsistently.
Why it's wrong here
There is no such restriction.
Both volumes will be deleted.
Why it's wrong here
The data volume's DeleteOnTermination is false, so it is not deleted.
The root volume will be deleted, and the data volume will persist.
Why this is correct
The root volume is deleted, the data volume persists.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Both volumes will persist.
Why it's wrong here
The root volume's DeleteOnTermination is true, so it is deleted.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates assume all volumes attached to an instance share the same termination behavior, but AWS allows independent `DeleteOnTermination` settings per volume, and the default for non-root volumes is `true` only if launched via certain AMIs or block device mappings.
Detailed technical explanation
The `DeleteOnTermination` attribute is a per-volume setting that can be modified at launch or after launch using the `ModifyInstanceAttribute` API. When set to `false`, the volume remains in the `available` state after instance termination, allowing data preservation for backup, migration, or forensic analysis. This is critical for SAP HANA data volumes where database files must survive instance termination to avoid data loss or lengthy recovery.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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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: The root volume will be deleted, and the data volume will persist. — The AWS CLI command `describe-instances` output shows that the root volume (`/dev/xvda`) has `DeleteOnTermination` set to `true` (default), while the data volume (`/dev/sdf`) has `DeleteOnTermination` set to `false`. When the EC2 instance is terminated, only volumes with `DeleteOnTermination=true` are automatically deleted. Therefore, the root volume will be deleted, and the data volume will persist as an unattached EBS volume in the same Availability Zone.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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.
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