Question

Difficulty: EasyEstimating GCP Costs with the Pricing Calculator

A system administrator is creating an initial cost estimate using the Google Cloud Pricing Calculator for a set of standard Compute Engine virtual machines that will run continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Which pricing discount is automatically factored into the estimated monthly compute cost by the calculator without requiring a long-term contractual commitment?

  1. Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs), which automatically reduce the hourly rate as the virtual machines run for a significant portion of the billing month.Answer
  2. B
    Committed Use Discounts (CUDs), which are automatically selected by default for any instance configured to run full-time.
  3. C
    Spot VM rates, which are automatically applied by the calculator whenever workload usage exceeds 700 hours per month.
  4. D
    Free Tier billing credits, which are automatically deducted from the monthly VM instance calculation total.

Answer

Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs), which automatically reduce the hourly rate as the virtual machines run for a significant portion of the billing month.
Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs) are automatic discounts provided by Google Cloud for running supported Compute Engine resources for a significant portion of the billing month. The Google Cloud Pricing Calculator automatically includes SUDs in net monthly cost estimates when instances are configured for continuous 24/7 usage.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the workload characteristics
The workloads consist of standard Compute Engine virtual machines running continuously (24/7) across the entire month.
Understanding usage duration determines eligibility for automatic vs. commitment-based discounts.
2
Evaluate Google Cloud discount mechanisms in the Pricing Calculator
Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs) automatically apply to N1, N2, and other supported machine types when instances run for more than 25% of the month, requiring no upfront user commitment.
SUDs are built-in automatic discounts calculated based on incremental monthly usage.
3
Select the option describing automatic non-committal discounting
The option specifying Sustained Use Discounts (SUDs) correctly identifies the behavior of the pricing calculator.
Committed Use Discounts require explicit 1-year or 3-year contractual selection, whereas Spot pricing is a distinct provision model.

Key Concept

Sustained Use Discounts in GCP Pricing Estimations
Estimated Time:50s
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