AWS SAP on AWS Specialty (PAS-C01) Practice Exam

The AWS Certified: SAP on AWS Specialty (PAS-C01) exam validates your expertise in designing, implementing, migrating, and operating SAP workloads on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform. This advanced certification signifies your ability to deliver secure, performant, and cost-effective SAP solutions within the AWS environment.

Who Should Take This Exam?

This certification is ideal for IT professionals with experience in both AWS and SAP, particularly those involved in:

• SAP Basis and Basis Administration: Specialists responsible for deploying, managing, and maintaining SAP systems on AWS.
• Cloud Architects: Designing and implementing cloud architectures for SAP workloads on AWS.
• Solutions Architects: Specializing in SAP deployments within the AWS cloud.
• DevOps Engineers: Automating and streamlining SAP deployments and operations on AWS.

Prerequisites

The AWS recommends that candidates have:

• Five or more years of experience working with SAP systems: This could include experience with SAP ECC, S/4HANA, HANA, NetWeaver, etc.
• Hands-on experience with SAP on AWS for at least one year: Familiarity with deploying, managing, and operating SAP workloads on AWS is essential.
• Understanding of AWS Well-Architected Framework and SAP certification and support requirements: The ability to design SAP solutions that adhere to both AWS best practices and SAP's specific requirements.

While not mandatory, the following can be beneficial:

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate (SAA-C02) certification: Demonstrates a foundational understanding of core AWS services and their applications.
• Existing SAP certifications: Validates your knowledge of SAP systems and administration tasks.

Roles and Responsibilities 

The PAS-C01 exam focuses on the technical aspects of managing SAP on AWS. However, the skills are relevant to various professionals involved in SAP cloud deployments:

• SAP Cloud Operations Teams: Providing ongoing support and maintenance for SAP deployments in AWS.
• Cloud Security Specialists: Implementing security best practices for SAP on AWS.
• Network Engineers: Configuring the network infrastructure for optimal SAP performance on AWS.

Exam Details 

• Exam Name AWS Certified: SAP on AWS - Specialty 
• Exam Code (PAS-C01)
• Exam Duration 170 mins
• Exam Format Multiple Choice and Multi-Response Questions
• Exam Type Cloud Computing
• Number of Questions 65 Questions

Course Outline

The AWS SAP on AWS Specialty (PAS-C01) Exam covers the following topics - 

Module 1: Understanding Design of SAP workloads on AWS

1.1 Design the AWS account structure and connectivity patterns for SAP workloads on AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• AWS global infrastructure
• Account strategy for SAP workloads
• VPC patterns for SAP workloads
• SAP connectivity strategies (for example, AWS Direct Connect, AWS VPN, SAProuter, SAP GUI, Amazon AppStream)

Skills To - 

• Evaluating the use of a single AWS account versus the use of multiple AWS accounts
• Evaluating the use of a single VPC versus the use of multiple VPCs, including user restrictions with VPC sharing
• Evaluating on-premises, co-location, and cloud integration connectivity options
• Defining AWS Regions and Availability Zones based on network and latency requirements
• Designing connectivity options between different AWS accounts and different VPCs

1.2 Design a secure solution for hosting SAP workloads on AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• Route tables, security groups, and network ACLs
• Encryption options for data at rest and data in transit
• AWS service endpoints

Skills To -

• Defining IAM users and roles for SAP workloads on AWS
• Defining inbound and outbound network flows by using security group rules and network ACL rules
• Troubleshooting traffic flow by using AWS native tools
• Defining the encryption strategy for data at rest and data in transit
• Defining service endpoints for service integrations

1.3 Define optimized and cost-effective infrastructure solutions for SAP workloads on AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• Certified operating system releases for SAP
• Certified database release versions for SAP
• Certified block storage solutions for SAP
• Certified instance types
• Best practices to define shared storage solutions
• AWS pricing models
• SAP transport strategy

Skills To -

• Defining SAP certified solutions on AWS based on operating system, database, and SAP combinations
• Selecting the optimal instance family for SAP workloads
• Defining instance sizing based on SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS) performance measurements, database sizing tools, and SAP Early Watch Alert (EWA) reports
• Defining the right storage selection for SAP workloads
• Defining shared storage solutions for SAP file systems
• Evaluating AWS pricing models
• Evaluating a shared solution versus a dedicated solution for database licensing
• Evaluating dedicated hardware solution benefits (for example, SAP certified Nitro based EC2 instance)

1.4 Design highly resilient solutions for SAP workloads on AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• High-availability solution options for SAP workloads on AWS
• Disaster recovery solution options for SAP workloads on AWS

Skills To -

• Defining the optimal architecture by considering operating system, database, and application cluster requirements
• Designing single and distributed SAP solutions on AWS infrastructure
• Designing highly available solutions for SAP systems based on availability requirements
• Designing disaster recovery solutions for SAP systems based on recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) requirements
• Defining the optimal architecture by considering scale-up and scale-out options
• Evaluating instance placement options for availability improvement

Module 2: Understanding Implementation of SAP workloads on AWS

2.1 Deploy databases for SAP workloads on AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• Administration of operating systems (for example, Linux, Windows)
• File system layout of databases
• AWS network concepts
• Database administration and security

Skills To

• Installing database systems
• Installing database clients

2.2 Deploy SAP applications on AWS.

• Required Knowledge 
• Administration of operating systems (for example, Linux, Windows)
• File system layout of SAP applications
• AWS network concepts
• SAP Basis and SAP security

Skills To -

• Installing SAP applications
• Configuring SAP applications

2.3 Configure high availability for SAP workloads.

• Required Knowledge 
• AWS global infrastructure
• Administration of operating systems and databases
• SAP certified high-availability solutions on AWS
• AWS networking concepts (for example, Amazon Route 53, overlay IP addresses, routing methods)
• High-availability cluster concepts

Skills To - 

• Evaluating SAP certified high-availability solutions
• Configuring a highly available cluster between ABAP SAP Central Services (ASCS) and Enqueue Replication Server (ERS) nodes
• Configuring a highly available cluster between database nodes
• Performing cluster failover tests

2.4 Configure the disaster recovery setup for SAP workloads.

Required Knowledge 

• AWS global infrastructure
• Administration of operating systems and databases
• AWS networking concepts (for example, Route 53, routing methods)
• RTO and RPO
• Disaster recovery scenarios (for example, backup and restore, pilot light, warm standby, multi-site)
• Disaster recovery solutions on AWS

Skills To - 

• Configuring disaster recovery solutions
• Configuring database replication
• Performing disaster recovery testing

2.5 Automate deployments of SAP workloads.

Required Knowledge 

• Infrastructure as code (IaC) (for example, AWS CloudFormation)
• Configuration management tools (for example, AWS Systems Manager)
• AWS Launch Wizard for SAP
• DevOps tools

Skills To -

• Automating infrastructure deployments by using IaC
• Automating SAP application installations
• Automating SAP deployments by using Launch Wizard
• Using configuration management tools

2.6 Validate AWS infrastructure for hosting SAP workloads.

Required Knowledge -

• Administration of operating systems (for example, Linux, Windows)
• Database file system layout
• AWS network concepts
• Database administration and security
• Performance baseline for SAP

Skills To - 

• Performing tests with the HANA Hardware and Cloud Measurement Tools (HCMT)
• Reviewing instance families and sizes
• Validating dedicated hardware solution benefits (for example, SAP certified Nitro based EC2 instance)
• Performing license checks for infrastructure for SAP workloads on AWS
• Performing storage checks by using the flexible I/O tester (FIO) and the dd command
• Performing network latency tests
• Validating infrastructure (for example, Well-Architected Review, SAP OSS Notes, certified operating systems, relational database management system combinations)

Module 3: Understanding Migration of SAP workloads to AWS

3.1 Determine the optimal migration approach for SAP workloads to AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• Homogeneous migration process and heterogeneous migration process
• Target SAP environment architecture (operating system, database, and application)
• SAP interfaces and integration
• Data migration tools
• Data transfer options
• DNS and AWS networking services (for example, Direct Connect, Site-to-Site VPN, Route 53)
• AWS storage services (for example, Amazon Elastic File System [Amazon EFS], Amazon FSx, Amazon S3)
• AWS compute services (for example, Amazon EC2)
• AWS directory services specific to SAP workloads on Windows

Skills To - 

• Creating a technical migration and cutover plan
• Determining the suitable tools and methodologies for cloud migration
• Evaluating the compatibility for target SAP environments on AWS

3.2 Perform a homogeneous migration of SAP workloads to AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• Migration process methodologies for homogeneous migration (for example, backup and restore, database replication, block level replication)
• AWS data transfer services (for example, AWS Snowball, AWS DataSync, S3 Transfer Acceleration)
• DNS and AWS networking services (for example, Direct Connect, Site-to-Site VPN, Route 53)
• AWS storage services (for example, Amazon EFS, Amazon FSx, Amazon S3)
• AWS compute services (for example, Amazon EC2)

Skills To - 

• Using SAP and database-specific migration tools (for example, backup and restore, database replication)
• Using AWS native tools for migrations (for example, AWS Server Migration Service [AWS SMS], AWS Application Migration Service [CloudEndure Migration])

3.3 Perform a heterogeneous migration of SAP workloads to AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• Migration process methodologies for heterogeneous migration (for example, SAP export/import with Software Provisioning Manager (SWPM), Software Update Manager - Database Migration Option (SUM-DMO) with System Move, third-party vendor tools)
• AWS data transfer services (for example, Snowball, DataSync, S3 Transfer Acceleration)
• Migration from anyDB to SAP HANA
• DNS and AWS networking services (for example, Direct Connect, Site-to-Site VPN, Route 53, DNS)
• AWS storage services (for example, Amazon EFS, Amazon FSx, Amazon S3)
• AWS compute services (for example, Amazon EC2)

Skills To - 

• Using SAP and database-specific migration tools (for example, export/import, SWPM, SUM-DMO)
• Using AWS native tools for migrations (for example, AWS SMS, AWS Application Migration Service [CloudEndure Migration])

3.4 Optimize the migration of SAP workloads.

Required Knowledge 

• Migration process methodologies
• Data transfer optimization
• Network optimization
• AWS networking services (for example, Direct Connect, Site-to-Site VPN, Route 53)
• AWS storage services (for example, Amazon EFS, Amazon FSx, Amazon S3)
• AWS compute services (for example, Amazon EC2)
• AWS automation tools (for example, Launch Wizard, CloudFormation, Systems Manager)

Skills To - 

• Deploying target SAP environments in an automated way
• Fine-tuning data transfer
• Architecting for migration acceleration

Module 4: Understanding Operation and maintenance of SAP workloads on AWS

4.1 Monitor the underlying infrastructure of SAP environments on AWS for performance, availability, and security.

Required  Knowledge 

• Performance monitoring of AWS services for SAP
• Availability monitoring of AWS services for SAP

Skills To - 

• Configuring custom metrics and alarms for SAP (for example, Amazon CloudWatch)
• Configuring alarm notifications and invoking actions (for example, Amazon Simple Notification Service [Amazon SNS])
• Installing and updating AWS Data Provider for SAP
• Monitoring API calls for accounts (for example, AWS CloudTrail)
• Monitoring and invoking responses for alerts (for example, Amazon GuardDuty)

4.2 Manage the data protection of SAP applications by using AWS native services.

Required Knowledge 

• RTO and RPO
• Backup and recovery strategies for SAP databases and applications
• Protection of data at rest and data in transit (for example, data encryption)
• Network traffic logging, monitoring, threat detection, and analytics
• IAM

Skills To - 

• Configuring and managing backup and restore of SAP databases by using database native tools and AWS Backint Agent for databases
• Managing S3 Lifecycle policies
• Configuring and managing Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) snapshots and Amazon Machine Images (AMIs)
•  Automating backup of SAP components on AWS (for example, AWS Backup, AWS Storage Gateway)
• Configuring encryption for AWS storage and backup services and tools
• Creating and managing accounts, users, groups, access policies, and roles in IAM
• Implementing detective controls (for example, CloudTrail, CloudWatch, GuardDuty)

4.3 Perform routine and proactive maintenance activities for SAP applications on AWS.

Required Knowledge 

• Patch management of different operating systems, SAP applications, and databases
• Downtime management of SAP systems on AWS
• Basics of Linux and Windows clustering
• Architectures and administration for high availability and disaster recovery

Required Skills 

• Configuring and automating patching by using Systems Manager Patch Manager
• Managing downtime schedules by using Systems Manager maintenance windows
• Defining maintenance actions by using Systems Manager documents
• Restoring data from AWS sources (for example, EBS snapshots, AMIs)
• Operating and maintaining high-availability architectures (for example, application failovers, database failovers)
• Maintaining a disaster recovery landscape and performing disaster recovery drills
• Performing operations as code (for example, CloudFormation, Systems Manager, AWS Lambda)

4.4 Review and optimize the architecture of SAP environments on AWS on a regular basis.

Required Knowledge 

• AWS cost and usage monitoring tools (for example, AWS Trusted Advisor, AWS Pricing Calculator)
• Storage configurations and utilization monitoring for SAP workloads on AWS
• EC2 instance sizing for SAP applications and databases

Skills To - 

• Performing SAP capacity planning and reconfiguring AWS services
• Monitoring cost and usage with AWS tools (for example, Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets)