Question

Difficulty: EasyEstimating GCP Costs with the Pricing Calculator

An engineer is using the Google Cloud Pricing Calculator to estimate monthly infrastructure costs for a fault-tolerant batch processing workload on Compute Engine that can tolerate sudden instance interruptions. Which configuration choice in the pricing calculator provides the most cost-effective option for these compute instances?

  1. Provisioning the instances as Spot (Preemptible) virtual machines.Answer
  2. B
    Applying a 3-year Committed Use Discount for steady-state 24/7 usage.
  3. C
    Configuring Archive storage class for the active boot disks of the virtual machines.
  4. D
    Selecting GKE Autopilot to completely waive all compute and node resource charges.

Answer

Provisioning the instances as Spot (Preemptible) virtual machines is the most cost-effective choice for fault-tolerant batch processing workloads.
Selecting Spot virtual machines is the correct choice because Spot VMs offer significant discounts off standard on-demand prices. They are specifically intended for batch processing and fault-tolerant workloads that can tolerate instance preemptions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the workload characteristics provided in the scenario.
The workload consists of fault-tolerant batch jobs that can handle unexpected instance shutdowns.
Identifying fault tolerance enables selecting discounted compute models in Google Cloud.
2
Evaluate pricing models available in the Google Cloud Pricing Calculator.
Spot VMs leverage excess Compute Engine capacity at discounts of 60% to 91% compared to standard on-demand pricing.
Spot instances are specifically designed for workloads that can handle preemption, providing maximum cost savings.

Key Concept

Estimating Compute Engine Spot VM costs for fault-tolerant workloads
Estimated Time:45s
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