The answer is to switch the EFS performance mode to Max I/O to resolve the high PercentIOLimit on EFS for SAP shared directories. This is correct because the General Purpose mode is optimized for low-latency workloads but has a limited baseline throughput, and when the BurstCreditBalance is decreasing, the file system is exhausting its burst credits and hitting its I/O ceiling, causing the PercentIOLimit to spike. Max I/O mode provides much higher IOPS and throughput, which directly addresses the bottleneck for SAP report access in /sapmnt. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of EFS performance modes and their impact on SAP shared file systems; a common trap is confusing storage capacity with I/O limits or attempting to increase burst credits, which is not configurable. Remember the mnemonic “Max I/O for high I/O” to quickly recall that when PercentIOLimit hits 100% and burst credits are draining, you need the higher baseline throughput of Max I/O, not lifecycle policies or storage expansion.
PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of operations and maintenance. 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.
A company has deployed SAP on AWS with a shared file system using Amazon EFS for the /sapmnt directory. The EFS file system is mounted on all SAP application servers. Recently, users reported that the SAP system is slow when accessing reports that are stored as PDF files in the /sapmnt directory. The operations team checks the CloudWatch metrics and finds that the EFS file system's PercentIOLimit metric is consistently at 100% during peak hours. The file system is using the General Purpose performance mode. The team also notices that the BurstCreditBalance is decreasing over time. What action should be taken to resolve this performance issue?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Switch the EFS performance mode to Max I/O to get higher throughput.
Option C is correct because switching to Max I/O performance mode provides higher IOPS and throughput for workloads with high I/O demands. Option A is wrong because the issue is I/O limit, not storage capacity. Option B is wrong because increasing burst credits is not possible; the file system needs higher baseline. Option D is wrong because lifecycle management is for cost optimization, not performance.
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.
✗
Enable EFS lifecycle management to move infrequently accessed files to Infrequent Access storage class.
Why it's wrong here
Lifecycle management does not improve performance.
✗
Increase the size of the EFS file system to improve performance.
Why it's wrong here
EFS performance scales with size, but the issue is I/O limit, not capacity.
✗
Increase the burst credit balance by enabling throughput mode.
Why it's wrong here
Burst credits cannot be increased; mode change is needed.
✓
Switch the EFS performance mode to Max I/O to get higher throughput.
Why this is correct
Max I/O provides higher IOPS and throughput.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
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.
Operations and Maintenance — This question tests Operations and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Switch the EFS performance mode to Max I/O to get higher throughput. — Option C is correct because switching to Max I/O performance mode provides higher IOPS and throughput for workloads with high I/O demands. Option A is wrong because the issue is I/O limit, not storage capacity. Option B is wrong because increasing burst credits is not possible; the file system needs higher baseline. Option D is wrong because lifecycle management is for cost optimization, not performance.
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 →
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. A company is running SAP ERP on AWS with a multi-AZ deployment using Amazon EFS for shared transport directories. The system administrator notices that the SAP transport directory mounted via EFS is experiencing high latency during peak hours. The EFS file system is using the Standard storage class. Which combination of steps should the administrator take to reduce latency? (Choose TWO.)
hard
A.Use EFS Bursting Throughput mode.
✓ B.Move the EFS file system to the One Zone storage class.
C.Change the storage class to EFS Standard-IA.
D.Enable provisioned throughput on the EFS file system.
✓ E.Switch the EFS performance mode to Max I/O.
Why B: Option B is correct because enabling the Max I/O performance mode increases throughput for high-latency workloads. Option D is correct because moving to EFS One Zone can reduce latency if the workload is in a single AZ. Option A is wrong because increasing provisioned throughput is not available with Standard class; need Max I/O. Option C is wrong because changing to Bursting Throughput mode doesn't guarantee low latency. Option E is wrong because switching to EFS Standard-IA doesn't improve latency.
Variation 2. A company runs SAP on AWS and uses a shared file system via Amazon EFS for transport files. Recently, the SAP system experienced slowness when importing transports. The CloudWatch metrics show high BurstCreditBalance for the EFS file system. What action should be taken to improve performance?
hard
✓ A.Enable Max I/O performance mode on the EFS file system.
B.Change the performance mode to General Purpose.
C.Enable encryption at rest to improve data transfer speed.
D.Increase the BurstCreditBalance by purchasing additional credits.
Why A: Option B is correct because if BurstCreditBalance is high, it means the file system is not using burst credits, so performance is limited by baseline throughput. To improve performance, enable max I/O performance mode or increase throughput. Option A is wrong because more credits are not needed. Option C is wrong because the issue is throughput, not encryption. Option D is wrong because General Purpose performance mode is the default and may not be sufficient for high throughput.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
Question Discussion
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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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