- A
Increase the EC2 instance size.
Increasing the instance size can increase the available EBS bandwidth, allowing the gp3 volume to reach its maximum IOPS and throughput, thus improving performance if the instance was previously the bottleneck.
- B
Increase the volume size to 1,000 GB.
Why wrong: Increasing the volume size to 1,000 GB does not directly affect gp3 IOPS or throughput, as these are provisioned independently of size. This change would not improve performance.
- C
Change the volume type to gp2.
Why wrong: Changing to gp2 would tie IOPS to volume size, and to match the current 16,000 IOPS would require a volume of at least 5,333 GB (with burst credits). This is likely a downgrade in performance and not an improvement.
- D
Increase the volume's IOPS to 20,000.
Why wrong: gp3 volumes have a maximum IOPS of 16,000. Attempting to increase to 20,000 is not supported by the volume type, so this change is impossible.
PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 HANA database is running on an EC2 instance with a gp3 EBS volume. The database workload requires high IOPS and throughput. The current configuration shows 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s throughput. Which change could improve performance?
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
Increase the EC2 instance size.
Option A is correct because increasing the EC2 instance size can provide additional EBS bandwidth, which may remove a bottleneck if the current instance's bandwidth is insufficient to fully utilize the gp3 volume's maximum IOPS (16,000) and throughput (1,000 MB/s). Options B, C, and D are incorrect: increasing volume size does not directly improve gp3 performance since IOPS and throughput are independent of size; changing to gp2 would likely reduce performance due to burst limitations; and gp3 volumes have a maximum of 16,000 IOPS, so increasing to 20,000 is not possible.
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.
- ✓
Increase the EC2 instance size.
Why this is correct
Increasing the instance size can increase the available EBS bandwidth, allowing the gp3 volume to reach its maximum IOPS and throughput, thus improving performance if the instance was previously the bottleneck.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Increase the volume size to 1,000 GB.
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the volume size to 1,000 GB does not directly affect gp3 IOPS or throughput, as these are provisioned independently of size. This change would not improve performance.
- ✗
Change the volume type to gp2.
Why it's wrong here
Changing to gp2 would tie IOPS to volume size, and to match the current 16,000 IOPS would require a volume of at least 5,333 GB (with burst credits). This is likely a downgrade in performance and not an improvement.
- ✗
Increase the volume's IOPS to 20,000.
Why it's wrong here
gp3 volumes have a maximum IOPS of 16,000. Attempting to increase to 20,000 is not supported by the volume type, so this change is impossible.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap is that candidates may assume gp3 IOPS can be provisioned beyond the 16,000 limit, or that increasing volume size will boost performance. In reality, gp3 has a fixed IOPS cap and performance improvements may require addressing instance bandwidth constraints or switching to a higher-performance volume type like io2.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
gp3 volumes decouple IOPS and throughput from storage capacity, allowing independent provisioning up to 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s. For SAP HANA, which is sensitive to storage latency and throughput, ensuring the volume’s provisioned IOPS match or exceed the workload demand is critical; however, the EC2 instance’s EBS-optimized bandwidth must also be sufficient — for example, a c5.4xlarge instance provides up to 4,750 Mbps of EBS bandwidth, which can support 16,000 IOPS with 256 KiB I/O size (4,000 MB/s), but smaller instances may throttle performance. The trap is that gp3’s maximum provisioned IOPS is 16,000, so increasing to 20,000 is not possible unless the volume is changed to io2 Block Express (up to 256,000 IOPS) or io1 (up to 64,000 IOPS).
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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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: Increase the EC2 instance size. — Option A is correct because increasing the EC2 instance size can provide additional EBS bandwidth, which may remove a bottleneck if the current instance's bandwidth is insufficient to fully utilize the gp3 volume's maximum IOPS (16,000) and throughput (1,000 MB/s). Options B, C, and D are incorrect: increasing volume size does not directly improve gp3 performance since IOPS and throughput are independent of size; changing to gp2 would likely reduce performance due to burst limitations; and gp3 volumes have a maximum of 16,000 IOPS, so increasing to 20,000 is not possible.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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