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Design of SAP Workloads on AWS →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SAP HANA Disaster Recovery with HSR and Standby in Different AZ

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.

A company is running a large SAP S/4HANA production system on AWS. The system consists of a single HANA database instance running on an r5.24xlarge EC2 instance (with 768 GB of RAM), and multiple application server instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The database uses six EBS io1 volumes for data and log files, each with 20,000 provisioned IOPS. The application servers are in an Auto Scaling group. Recently, the company experienced a prolonged database outage when the primary EC2 instance failed. The recovery took over 4 hours because a new instance had to be launched and snapshots restored. The company wants to improve the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) to less than 30 minutes for the HANA database. They also want to minimize data loss with an RPO of less than 5 minutes. The company has a second AWS region (us-west-2) available for disaster recovery but prefers to keep costs low for the DR site. Which solution should the company implement?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

  • Clue: "primary"

    Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.

  • Clue: "minimum / minimize"

    Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.

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

✓

Set up SAP HANA System Replication to a standby HANA instance in a different Availability Zone. Use a smaller instance type for the standby to reduce costs. Automate failover using a cluster manager like Pacemaker.

Option C is correct because SAP HANA System Replication (HSR) with a standby instance in a different Availability Zone provides synchronous replication, achieving an RPO of less than 5 minutes, and automated failover via a cluster manager like Pacemaker can bring the database online in under 30 minutes. Using a smaller instance for the standby reduces DR costs while still allowing the system to run in degraded mode during failover. This meets the RTO and RPO requirements without the high cost of a full-sized DR site in another region.

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.

  • ✗

    Configure SAP HANA System Replication to a standby instance in the same region but use a larger instance to ensure capacity.

    Why it's wrong here

    This does not utilize the second region for DR.

  • ✗

    Configure automated Amazon EBS snapshots every 5 minutes and create an AMI for the HANA instance. In the event of a failure, launch a new instance from the AMI in the same Availability Zone.

    Why it's wrong here

    Snapshot restore is too slow for 30-minute RTO.

  • ✓

    Set up SAP HANA System Replication to a standby HANA instance in a different Availability Zone. Use a smaller instance type for the standby to reduce costs. Automate failover using a cluster manager like Pacemaker.

    Why this is correct

    HSR with failover can achieve RTO < 30 minutes and RPO < 5 minutes.

    Clue confirmation

    The clue words "primary&quot;, &quot;minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • ✗

    Use Amazon RDS for SAP HANA with Multi-AZ deployment to automatically failover to a standby in another Availability Zone.

    Why it's wrong here

    RDS does not support SAP HANA.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may assume a second region is required for DR, but the question explicitly allows using a different Availability Zone within the same region to meet the RTO and RPO goals while keeping costs low, and they may also mistakenly think Amazon RDS supports SAP HANA.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

SAP HANA System Replication uses log-based replication (either synchronous or synchronous with full sync) to maintain a consistent copy of the database on the standby. In a multi-AZ setup, synchronous replication ensures zero data loss at the cost of increased latency, but with AWS placement groups and optimized network paths, the impact is minimal. The cluster manager (e.g., Pacemaker with STONITH) monitors the primary instance and triggers automatic failover by promoting the standby to primary, typically completing within minutes. Using a smaller instance for the standby is viable because HANA can run with reduced memory and CPU during the failover window, and the company can scale up later if needed.

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 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 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?

Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — This question tests Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Set up SAP HANA System Replication to a standby HANA instance in a different Availability Zone. Use a smaller instance type for the standby to reduce costs. Automate failover using a cluster manager like Pacemaker. — Option C is correct because SAP HANA System Replication (HSR) with a standby instance in a different Availability Zone provides synchronous replication, achieving an RPO of less than 5 minutes, and automated failover via a cluster manager like Pacemaker can bring the database online in under 30 minutes. Using a smaller instance for the standby reduces DR costs while still allowing the system to run in degraded mode during failover. This meets the RTO and RPO requirements without the high cost of a full-sized DR site in another region.

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: "primary", "minimum / minimize". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.

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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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.