AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Practice Questions: Billing and Pricing Domain

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: AWS Direct Connect offers lower data transfer rates compared to internet data transfer, making it a cost-effective option for large volumes of data. Data transfer in is generally free on AWS, but data transfer out is charged. Port hours are also billed, so there are additional charges beyond just data transfer. Option D is incorrect as both port hours and data transfer are chargeable.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that helps deliver content with low latency and high transfer speeds, which is cost-effective for global delivery. AWS Global Accelerator can be used in conjunction with CloudFront to further optimize the path to the application, improving performance and reducing costs. Option B, AWS Direct Connect, is used for dedicated network connections, not for content delivery. Option C, Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration, is specific for speeding up uploads to S3, not general content delivery. Option D, AWS Global Accelerator alone, does not provide the CDN capabilities needed for cost-effective content delivery.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: On-Demand Instances allow you to pay for compute capacity by the hour or second with no long-term commitments. This is ideal for applications with unpredictable workloads or those that cannot be interrupted, as it provides flexibility and cost-efficiency. Reserved Instances offer cost savings for long-term commitments, Spot Instances provide lower prices for unused capacity but can be interrupted, and Dedicated Hosts are suitable for specific compliance requirements and are more costly.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Leveraging Amazon CloudFront to cache static content can significantly reduce data transfer costs between regions by serving content from the edge locations closest to the user, minimizing the need for long-distance data transfer. AWS Direct Connect is a dedicated network connection to AWS and does not reduce inter-region data transfer costs. Deploying resources in a single region with backups in another region does not address the cost of transferring data between regions for active workloads. AWS Global Accelerator improves application availability and performance but does not specifically reduce data transfer costs between regions.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: AWS Budgets allows you to set custom cost and usage budgets and receive alerts when you exceed them, while Cost Explorer helps visualize spending patterns. Trusted Advisor provides best practice checks, but not direct cost tracking. CloudTrail logs API activity, and CloudWatch is for monitoring performance metrics, neither of which directly track costs.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The best approach to handle a baseline steady load with periodic spikes is to use Reserved Instances for the baseline, as they offer a significant discount over On-Demand pricing for consistent usage. On-Demand Instances can then be used to handle the periodic spikes in traffic, providing flexibility without long-term commitment. Spot Instances (option A and C) are less reliable for handling spikes due to their potential for termination when the spot price exceeds your bid. Dedicated Hosts (option D) are generally used for compliance or licensing needs rather than cost optimization for variable traffic.

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: Amazon Route 53 is a DNS web service that routes end-user requests to the nearest AWS region, optimizing latency and potentially reducing data transfer costs. AWS Direct Connect is a dedicated network connection that doesn't optimize routing across regions. Amazon CloudFront is a CDN that caches content at edge locations but doesn't manage routing to the nearest region. AWS Global Accelerator improves availability and performance for global applications but is not specifically focused on routing to the nearest region.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: On-Demand Instances are ideal for applications with unpredictable workloads that cannot be interrupted, as they provide flexibility and no upfront costs. Reserved Instances require a long-term commitment, which might not suit variable workloads. Spot Instances can be terminated by AWS, which is not suitable for applications that require guaranteed availability. Savings Plans offer cost savings for consistent usage but are not as flexible for variable workloads.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The correct answer is C: AWS Pricing Calculator. The AWS Pricing Calculator allows you to estimate the cost of your AWS architecture solution. It provides a detailed view of the monthly costs based on your planned usage, making it suitable for planning migrations. Option A, AWS Cost Explorer, is used for analyzing your current AWS spending, not for estimating future costs. Option B, AWS Simple Monthly Calculator, was the predecessor to AWS Pricing Calculator but is now deprecated. Option D, AWS Budgets, is used for setting budgets and alerts for your current AWS costs and usage.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: On-Demand Instances allow you to pay for compute capacity by the hour or second with no long-term commitments. This model is ideal for applications with unpredictable workloads or applications that cannot be interrupted.