- A
Migrate the instance to a larger instance type permanently.
Why wrong: Permanent scaling increases cost unnecessarily.
- B
Enable termination protection on the instance.
Why wrong: Does not improve performance.
- C
Implement an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a scheduled scaling policy to add instances during peak hours.
Cost-effectively adds capacity only when needed.
- D
Increase the provisioned IOPS for the EBS volumes attached to the instance.
Why wrong: Addresses storage performance, not CPU.
Question 1,031 of 1,733
PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 an SAP HANA database on an AWS EC2 instance. The SAP application team reports occasional performance issues during peak hours. The CloudWatch metrics show high CPU utilization. What is the MOST cost-effective solution to address this issue?
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
✓
Implement an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a scheduled scaling policy to add instances during peak hours.
Option C is correct because implementing an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a scheduled scaling policy allows the company to add additional EC2 instances during peak hours to handle increased CPU load, then scale down during off-peak hours. This approach is cost-effective as it only provisions extra capacity when needed, avoiding the expense of permanently running a larger instance. For SAP HANA, which is typically deployed on a single large instance, this solution assumes the application can distribute workload across multiple instances (e.g., via application-level load balancing), which is a common pattern for scaling out SAP application servers.
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.
- ✗
Migrate the instance to a larger instance type permanently.
Why it's wrong here
Permanent scaling increases cost unnecessarily.
- ✗
Enable termination protection on the instance.
Why it's wrong here
Does not improve performance.
- ✓
Implement an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a scheduled scaling policy to add instances during peak hours.
Why this is correct
Cost-effectively adds capacity only when needed.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Increase the provisioned IOPS for the EBS volumes attached to the instance.
Why it's wrong here
Addresses storage performance, not CPU.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse high CPU utilization with a storage performance issue (Option D) or assume permanent resizing (Option A) is the only solution, overlooking the cost-effective dynamic scaling approach (Option C) that AWS specifically recommends for variable workloads.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
SAP HANA on AWS often uses a scale-out architecture where multiple EC2 instances (e.g., worker nodes) can be added to handle increased workload, but the database itself (HANA) typically runs on a single large instance with high memory and CPU. For application-tier scaling, Auto Scaling with scheduled policies aligns with predictable peak patterns, and the use of Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) can distribute traffic. Under the hood, Auto Scaling launches instances from an AMI, registers them with the target group, and CloudWatch alarms can trigger scaling actions, but scheduled scaling is more cost-predictable for known peak hours.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PAS-C01 question test?
Technology — This question tests Technology — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a scheduled scaling policy to add instances during peak hours. — Option C is correct because implementing an EC2 Auto Scaling group with a scheduled scaling policy allows the company to add additional EC2 instances during peak hours to handle increased CPU load, then scale down during off-peak hours. This approach is cost-effective as it only provisions extra capacity when needed, avoiding the expense of permanently running a larger instance. For SAP HANA, which is typically deployed on a single large instance, this solution assumes the application can distribute workload across multiple instances (e.g., via application-level load balancing), which is a common pattern for scaling out SAP application servers.
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.
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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