Quick Answer
The answer is the x1e.32xlarge. This instance is the correct choice because it is purpose-built for SAP HANA large memory EC2 instance migrations, offering up to 3,904 GiB of memory and high-speed NVMe SSD storage with low-latency networking, all certified by SAP for production HANA environments. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to match specific SAP HANA memory and performance requirements to the correct instance family, often appearing in scenario-based questions about large-scale migrations. A common trap is selecting the general-purpose x1 instance instead of the x1e, which provides higher memory density and better I/O performance for HANA. Remember the mnemonic: “x1e = extreme memory for enterprise HANA.”
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of migration. 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 is migrating a large-scale SAP HANA workload to AWS. The system requires high memory and low latency. Which EC2 instance type is most suitable for this migration?
x1e.32xlarge
x1e instances are memory-optimized and SAP HANA certified.
m5.24xlarge
Why wrong: m5 instances are general-purpose, not suitable for HANA.
c5.18xlarge
Why wrong: c5 instances are compute-optimized, not memory-optimized.
r5.24xlarge
Why wrong: r5 instances are memory-optimized but may not be certified for SAP HANA.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
x1e.32xlarge
The x1e.32xlarge is purpose-built for high-memory, SAP HANA workloads, offering up to 3,904 GiB of memory and high-speed NVMe SSD storage with low-latency networking. It is certified by SAP for running production HANA environments, making it the most suitable choice for this migration.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
x1e.32xlarge
Why this is correct
x1e instances are memory-optimized and SAP HANA certified.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
m5.24xlarge
Why it's wrong here
m5 instances are general-purpose, not suitable for HANA.
c5.18xlarge
Why it's wrong here
c5 instances are compute-optimized, not memory-optimized.
r5.24xlarge
Why it's wrong here
r5 instances are memory-optimized but may not be certified for SAP HANA.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often choose the r5 family (memory-optimized) thinking it is sufficient for SAP HANA, but they overlook the specific memory capacity requirements and SAP certification needed for large-scale workloads, which only the x1e instance meets.
Detailed technical explanation
SAP HANA is an in-memory database that loads all data into RAM for processing, so memory size and bandwidth are critical. The x1e.32xlarge uses Intel Xeon E7-8880 v4 processors and supports up to 3,904 GiB of memory, with dedicated NVMe storage for data persistence. In real-world scenarios, SAP HANA requires at least 512 GiB for small systems, and large-scale deployments often exceed 2 TiB, which only the x1e family can accommodate among the options.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
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FAQ
Migration — This question tests Migration — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: x1e.32xlarge — The x1e.32xlarge is purpose-built for high-memory, SAP HANA workloads, offering up to 3,904 GiB of memory and high-speed NVMe SSD storage with low-latency networking. It is certified by SAP for running production HANA environments, making it the most suitable choice for this migration.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Same concept, more angles
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Variation 1. A company is migrating an SAP HANA system from on-premises to AWS. The HANA system uses a large amount of memory (2 TB). Which EC2 instance type is most suitable for this workload?
hardWhy A: Option B is correct because the x2iedn instance type is memory-optimized and can support up to 4 TB of memory, making it suitable for large HANA systems. Option A is wrong because r5 instances have less memory (max 768 GB). Option C is wrong because c5 instances are compute-optimized. Option D is wrong because m5 instances are general-purpose.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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