SAP HANA Best Practices on AWS
Which TWO of the following are best practices for running SAP HANA on AWS? (Choose TWO.)
Quick Answer
The answer is to use a dedicated EC2 instance for the HANA database, separate from application servers, and to ensure the instance is EBS-optimized. This is correct because SAP HANA relies on consistent, high-throughput I/O for its data and log volumes; an EBS-optimized instance dedicates network bandwidth exclusively to Amazon EBS, eliminating contention with other traffic and guaranteeing the low-latency, high-IOPS performance that HANA demands. On the AWS Certified SAP on AWS Specialty PAS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of how to apply SAP HANA best practices on AWS, often appearing as a trap where candidates mistakenly think colocating application and database tiers saves costs or improves performance. A common memory tip is to remember that HANA is an in-memory database that writes everything to disk—so it needs a dedicated, uncontaminated I/O path, just like a surgeon needs a sterile operating room.
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse general best practices (like using swap for memory pressure) with SAP HANA's specific requirements, where swap is harmful, or they assume that any storage service (like EFS) can substitute for block storage, ignoring HANA's need for low-latency, direct-attached block devices.
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
✓
Use EBS-optimized instances or instances with dedicated EBS bandwidth.
SAP HANA requires consistent, high-throughput I/O for its data and log volumes. EBS-optimized instances provide dedicated network bandwidth to Amazon EBS, eliminating contention with other traffic and ensuring the low-latency, high-IOPS performance that HANA demands. Without this dedicated bandwidth, EBS performance can degrade under load, risking database stability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Use a burstable instance type (e.g., t3) for non-production HANA systems.
Why it's wrong here
Burstable instances are not recommended for any HANA workload.
- ✓
Use EBS-optimized instances or instances with dedicated EBS bandwidth.
Why this is correct
EBS optimization provides consistent performance for storage.
- ✓
Use a dedicated EC2 instance for the HANA database, separate from application servers.
Why this is correct
Dedicated instance ensures consistent performance.
- ✗
Configure a large swap space on the HANA instance to handle memory pressure.
Why it's wrong here
HANA should avoid swap; it relies on in-memory processing.
- ✗
Mount the HANA data volume using Amazon EFS for high throughput.
Why it's wrong here
HANA requires block storage (EBS), not file storage (EFS).
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Same concept, more angles
3 more ways this is tested on PAS-C01
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. Which TWO of the following are recommended best practices for deploying SAP HANA on AWS? (Choose two.)
easy- A.Deploy HANA in a single Availability Zone to reduce costs.
- B.Disable hyper-threading on the HANA instance.
- C.Store HANA data on instance store volumes for better performance.
- ✓ D.Use EBS-optimized instances for HANA workloads.
- ✓ E.Use EBS snapshots for backup of HANA data volumes.
Why D: EBS-optimized instances provide dedicated network bandwidth for Amazon EBS I/O, which is critical for SAP HANA's high-throughput, low-latency storage requirements. Without EBS optimization, network traffic can contend with EBS traffic, causing performance degradation and potential SLA violations for HANA workloads.
Variation 2. Which TWO of the following are recommended best practices for running SAP HANA on AWS? (Choose two.)
medium- ✓ A.Install HANA on a separate EBS volume mounted under /hana/data
- B.Configure swap space on the instance to handle memory pressure
- C.Enable multi-attach on EBS volumes for HANA shared storage in scale-out
- ✓ D.Use EBS io2 Block Express volumes for HANA data and log
- E.Change the hostname after the HANA installation to match the DNS name
Why A: SAP HANA requires separate EBS volumes for data and log files to ensure performance and manageability. Installing HANA on a separate EBS volume mounted under /hana/data is a standard best practice. Option D is correct because EBS io2 Block Express volumes provide the high IOPS, low latency, and consistent performance required for SAP HANA data and log volumes, meeting SAP's storage performance recommendations. Option C, while valid in scale-out scenarios, is not considered a general best practice for all SAP HANA deployments and thus is not one of the two best practices asked for in this question.
Variation 3. Which TWO of the following are best practices for running SAP HANA on AWS? (Choose 2)
easy- A.Stop HANA instances when not in use to save costs
- B.Use general-purpose instances (e.g., t3) to reduce costs
- ✓ C.Use separate EBS volumes for HANA data and log files
- ✓ D.Use EBS-optimized instances for dedicated EBS bandwidth
- E.Launch all HANA instances in a single placement group
Why C: SAP HANA requires separate EBS volumes for data and log files to ensure I/O isolation and meet performance requirements. Data and log volumes have different I/O patterns (sequential for logs, random for data), and using separate volumes prevents contention, which is critical for HANA's high-throughput demands.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.