Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumAWS Pricing Models

A biotechnology startup runs genomic sequencing batch jobs that take 4 to 6 hours to complete. The sequencing application is designed to automatically checkpoint its progress every 15 minutes, allowing any interrupted job to resume from the last saved state without data loss. The startup needs to run these jobs at the lowest possible cost. Which Amazon EC2 pricing model is the most cost-effective choice for this workload?

  1. Spot InstancesAnswer
  2. B
    On-Demand Instances
  3. C
    Reserved Instances
  4. D
    Dedicated Hosts

Answer

Spot Instances
Spot Instances are ideal for workloads that have flexible start and end times, can withstand interruptions, and require low cost. Because the genomic sequencing jobs checkpoint their progress every 15 minutes, they can easily recover from an interruption when AWS reclaims the capacity, allowing the startup to take advantage of the substantial discounts (up to 90% off) offered by Spot Instances.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the workload characteristics described in the scenario.
The genomic sequencing batch jobs are flexible in timing, take 4 to 6 hours, and are fault-tolerant because they save checkpoints every 15 minutes. This means they can be interrupted and resumed without significant loss of progress.
Understanding the tolerance for interruptions is key to selecting the correct EC2 pricing model.
2
Compare the cost-effectiveness and operational behavior of EC2 pricing models against these characteristics.
Spot Instances utilize spare EC2 capacity at steep discounts but can be reclaimed by AWS with a 2-minute warning. Since the application checkpoints every 15 minutes, it can handle reclaim events gracefully, making Spot Instances the lowest-cost option.
Selecting the option that matches the highest discount with the workload's ability to tolerate interruptions.

Key Concept

AWS Pricing Models
Rate this question

Topics

AWS Pricing Models

More questions from this topic