The correct solution is to increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000. This directly addresses the SAP HANA EBS throughput performance bottleneck because for io1 volumes, the maximum throughput is calculated as provisioned IOPS multiplied by the I/O block size, typically 256 KB for SAP HANA; at 10,000 IOPS, the ceiling is 250 MB/s, so doubling the IOPS to 20,000 raises the throughput limit to 500 MB/s, eliminating the write latency without any application changes. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of the relationship between IOPS and throughput for EBS volumes, a common trap where candidates mistakenly focus on volume size or instance types rather than the IOPS-to-throughput formula. Remember the key memory tip: for io1, throughput (MB/s) = IOPS × 0.256 (since 256 KB = 0.256 MB), so to break a 250 MB/s barrier, you must increase IOPS, not just volume size.
PAS-C01 Design of SAP Workloads on AWS Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of design of sap workloads on aws. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 runs a large SAP ERP system on AWS. The SAP application servers are deployed across multiple Availability Zones using an Auto Scaling group behind an Application Load Balancer. The SAP HANA database is a single-node instance on a large EC2 instance with EBS io1 volumes. The database experiences high write latency during peak hours. The administrator investigates and finds that the EBS volume write throughput is consistently at the maximum limit of 250 MB/s. The volume is 4 TB with 10,000 provisioned IOPS. The application servers are idle during the peak hour due to database slowness. The company needs a solution to reduce write latency without changing the application. Which solution should the administrator implement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000
Option C is correct because increasing the volume size increases the throughput limit (baseline throughput for io1 is 0.5 MB/s per GB, so 4 TB gives 2048 MB/s, but maximum throughput per volume is 500 MB/s; however, the current limit is 250 MB/s due to IOPS limit. Actually, io1 throughput = (provisioned IOPS) * (I/O size). At 10,000 IOPS and 256 KB I/O size, throughput is 250 MB/s. Increasing IOPS to 20,000 would double throughput to 500 MB/s. Option A is wrong because gp3 has lower throughput per GB. Option B is wrong because EBS-optimized instances are already enabled. Option D is wrong because enabling EBS Multi-Attach is not for single-node and adds complexity.
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 EBS Multi-Attach and add additional EC2 instances to share the volume
Why it's wrong here
Multi-Attach is for clustered setups, not for a single database instance.
✓
Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000
Why this is correct
Doubling IOPS doubles the throughput to 500 MB/s, which should reduce write latency.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable EBS-optimized on the EC2 instance
Why it's wrong here
EBS-optimized is typically enabled by default on current generation instances.
✗
Change the volume type to gp3 and increase throughput to 500 MB/s
Why it's wrong here
gp3 has a maximum throughput of 1000 MB/s, but the baseline is lower; however, the current io1 can be modified to increase IOPS.
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
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 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.
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: Increase the provisioned IOPS on the io1 volume to 20,000 — Option C is correct because increasing the volume size increases the throughput limit (baseline throughput for io1 is 0.5 MB/s per GB, so 4 TB gives 2048 MB/s, but maximum throughput per volume is 500 MB/s; however, the current limit is 250 MB/s due to IOPS limit. Actually, io1 throughput = (provisioned IOPS) * (I/O size). At 10,000 IOPS and 256 KB I/O size, throughput is 250 MB/s. Increasing IOPS to 20,000 would double throughput to 500 MB/s. Option A is wrong because gp3 has lower throughput per GB. Option B is wrong because EBS-optimized instances are already enabled. Option D is wrong because enabling EBS Multi-Attach is not for single-node and adds complexity.
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.
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