SAP HANA Cluster Placement Group
A company is planning to migrate its SAP HANA workload to AWS. The system requires high network throughput and low latency between application and database servers. Which AWS networking feature should be used to meet these requirements?
Quick Answer
The answer is a Cluster Placement Group. This AWS networking feature is the correct choice because it places all EC2 instances within a single Availability Zone in close physical proximity, ensuring the low latency and high network throughput required for SAP HANA workloads between application and database servers. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of how to optimize tightly coupled, latency-sensitive architectures—a common scenario for SAP HANA migrations. A frequent trap is selecting a Spread Placement Group, which isolates instances across hardware for high availability but sacrifices the low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity that a Cluster Placement Group provides. Remember the mnemonic: “Cluster for Closeness, Spread for Separation.”
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Enhanced Networking (which improves individual instance performance) with the co-location benefits of a Cluster Placement Group, failing to recognize that low latency between instances requires physical proximity, not just faster virtualized networking.
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
✓
Place the instances in a Cluster Placement Group.
A Cluster Placement Group (CPG) is a logical grouping of instances within a single Availability Zone that provides low-latency, high-throughput network connectivity by placing them in close physical proximity. For SAP HANA workloads requiring consistent high network throughput and low latency between application and database servers, a CPG ensures that all instances are co-located, minimizing network hops and jitter. This is the correct choice because it directly addresses the need for low-latency, high-bandwidth communication between tightly coupled components.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create a VPC Peering connection between the application and database subnets.
Why it's wrong here
VPC Peering is for connectivity between VPCs, not within the same VPC.
- ✗
Use Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) for network connectivity.
Why it's wrong here
EFA is for HPC workloads, not typically for SAP.
- ✗
Use Enhanced Networking on all instances.
Why it's wrong here
Enhanced Networking improves performance but does not guarantee low latency across instances.
- ✓
Place the instances in a Cluster Placement Group.
Why this is correct
A Cluster Placement Group places instances within a single Availability Zone, ensuring low-latency, non-blocking 10 Gbps or 25 Gbps network connectivity between SAP HANA application and database servers. This satisfies the requirement for high throughput and low latency by minimising physical distance and network hops, unlike spread or partition groups which prioritise fault isolation over performance.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PAS-C01
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Variation 1. A company is planning to run SAP HANA on AWS and needs to ensure that the instance is optimally placed for low latency between the application and database tiers. Which AWS feature should be used?
easy- A.Application Load Balancer
- B.VPC endpoint
- ✓ C.Cluster placement group
- D.Auto Scaling group
Why C: A cluster placement group is the correct choice because it provides low-latency, high-throughput network connectivity by placing instances in a single Availability Zone with non-blocking, fully bisectioned bandwidth. For SAP HANA, where the application and database tiers require sub-millisecond latency for optimal performance, a cluster placement group ensures that all instances are physically close together, minimizing network hops and jitter.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.