- A
Increase the IOPS of the EBS gp2 volume or switch to io1.
Higher IOPS improves disk throughput, reducing I/O wait.
- B
Change the EBS volume to instance store.
Why wrong: Instance store is ephemeral and not for persistent data.
- C
Move the EC2 instance to a larger instance family.
Why wrong: Instance size increase may not address disk I/O bottleneck.
- D
Increase the number of vCPUs on the EC2 instance.
Why wrong: CPU is underutilized; more vCPUs won't help.
Question 215 of 1,733
PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. 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 Basis administrator is troubleshooting a performance issue on an SAP NetWeaver application server running on Amazon EC2. The administrator notices that the CPU utilization is low but the application response times are high. The system is using an Amazon EBS gp2 volume. Which configuration change is most likely to improve performance?
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.
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 IOPS of the EBS gp2 volume or switch to io1.
Low CPU utilization with high application response times on an SAP NetWeaver server indicates that the bottleneck is I/O latency, not compute capacity. Amazon EBS gp2 volumes have a baseline IOPS performance that scales with volume size, and if the volume is small or the workload exceeds the burst balance, throughput can be throttled. Increasing the IOPS (by resizing the gp2 volume or switching to io1/io2 with provisioned IOPS) directly addresses the I/O bottleneck, reducing latency and improving application response times.
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 IOPS of the EBS gp2 volume or switch to io1.
Why this is correct
Higher IOPS improves disk throughput, reducing I/O wait.
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.
- ✗
Change the EBS volume to instance store.
Why it's wrong here
Instance store is ephemeral and not for persistent data.
- ✗
Move the EC2 instance to a larger instance family.
Why it's wrong here
Instance size increase may not address disk I/O bottleneck.
- ✗
Increase the number of vCPUs on the EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
CPU is underutilized; more vCPUs won't help.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume low CPU utilization means the instance is underpowered, leading them to choose a larger instance or more vCPUs, when in fact the symptom points to an I/O bottleneck that requires increasing EBS IOPS or switching to a provisioned IOPS volume.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
EBS gp2 volumes use a credit-based burst model where each volume earns I/O credits at a baseline rate of 3 IOPS per GiB (up to 16,000 IOPS) and can burst up to 3,000 IOPS for volumes up to 1 TiB. When the burst balance is depleted, throughput is throttled to the baseline, causing high latency. Provisioned IOPS volumes (io1/io2) guarantee consistent performance regardless of volume size, which is critical for SAP workloads with steady-state I/O demands. Additionally, SAP NetWeaver application servers often rely on synchronous I/O for database commits and log writes, making I/O latency a primary factor in response time.
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
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 exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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 IOPS of the EBS gp2 volume or switch to io1. — Low CPU utilization with high application response times on an SAP NetWeaver server indicates that the bottleneck is I/O latency, not compute capacity. Amazon EBS gp2 volumes have a baseline IOPS performance that scales with volume size, and if the volume is small or the workload exceeds the burst balance, throughput can be throttled. Increasing the IOPS (by resizing the gp2 volume or switching to io1/io2 with provisioned IOPS) directly addresses the I/O bottleneck, reducing latency and improving application response times.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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