The correct answer is to set up SAP HANA System Replication (HSR) across two Availability Zones and configure a Pacemaker cluster to automate failover. HSR provides synchronous, real-time data replication between the primary and secondary HANA instances, ensuring zero data loss during a zone failure. Pacemaker then monitors the primary instance and automatically triggers failover to the secondary if the primary becomes unavailable, eliminating the need for manual intervention. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this pairing tests your understanding that high availability requires both replication and automated orchestration—a common trap is confusing manual failover or backup-based recovery (like EBS snapshots or S3 replication) with true HA. Remember the memory tip: “HSR moves the data, Pacemaker moves the workload.”
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. 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 designing an SAP system on AWS with SAP HANA as the database. The system must be highly available across multiple Availability Zones. Which TWO actions should the company take to meet this requirement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Configure SAP HANA System Replication (HSR) in synchronous mode
Options A and B are correct. A: HANA System Replication is the primary method for synchronous replication across AZs. B: A Pacemaker cluster manages automatic failover. Option C is wrong because manual failover is not HA. Option D is wrong because EBS snapshots are not real-time. Option E is wrong because S3 replication is not for database.
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 (HSR) in synchronous mode
Why this is correct
HSR provides real-time replication to a secondary instance in another AZ.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Perform periodic EBS snapshots and restore in another AZ
Why it's wrong here
Snapshots are not real-time and do not provide automatic failover.
✗
Use Amazon S3 cross-region replication for the database files
Why it's wrong here
S3 is not suitable for SAP HANA database files.
✓
Set up a Pacemaker cluster to automate failover between primary and secondary
Why this is correct
Pacemaker monitors and automatically fails over to the secondary if the primary fails.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use manual failover by changing DNS records
Why it's wrong here
Manual failover does not meet high availability requirements.
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
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
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: Configure SAP HANA System Replication (HSR) in synchronous mode — Options A and B are correct. A: HANA System Replication is the primary method for synchronous replication across AZs. B: A Pacemaker cluster manages automatic failover. Option C is wrong because manual failover is not HA. Option D is wrong because EBS snapshots are not real-time. Option E is wrong because S3 replication is not for database.
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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is planning to migrate its SAP HANA database to AWS. They need to ensure high availability with automatic failover. Which AWS service should they use to achieve this?
easy
✓ A.AWS Launch Wizard for SAP
B.AWS OpsWorks
C.AWS CloudFormation
D.Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)
Why A: AWS Launch Wizard for SAP is the correct service because it automates the deployment of SAP HANA on AWS with built-in high availability and automatic failover configurations. It orchestrates the setup of a multi-AZ cluster, including the installation of SAP HANA system replication, the configuration of a Pacemaker cluster, and the integration with AWS resources such as Elastic IPs and Amazon Route 53 health checks to ensure seamless failover.
Variation 2. A company runs SAP HANA on AWS and needs to ensure that the database can survive a single Availability Zone failure without manual intervention. The SAP HANA system is currently deployed on a single EC2 instance. Which solution meets this requirement?
medium
A.Use an Auto Scaling group to launch a new SAP HANA instance if the current instance fails
✓ B.Configure SAP HANA System Replication with a secondary instance in a different Availability Zone and enable automatic takeover
C.Deploy the SAP HANA instance in a placement group within a single Availability Zone
D.Take daily EBS snapshots and copy them to another AWS Region
Why B: SAP HANA System Replication with automatic takeover in a Multi-AZ setup provides automatic failover. Option A is wrong because a single instance in one AZ does not survive AZ failure. Option C is wrong because manual snapshots require intervention. Option D is wrong because Auto Scaling is for stateless applications, not databases.
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 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.
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