Hosting a Database Server: Minimizing Costs | Exam Prep

The Least Cost Option for Hosting a Database Server

Question

There is a requirement to host a database server for a minimum period of one year.

Which of the following would result in the least cost?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

Answer - D.

If the database is going to be used for a minimum of one year at least, it is better to get Reserved Instances.

You can save on costs if you use partial upfront options.

For more information on AWS Reserved Instances, please visit the Link:

https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/reserved-instances/

A is incorrect.

Spot instances can be terminated with fluctuations in market prices.

Unless the question specifies a use case where high availability is not a requirement, this cannot be assumed.

B is incorrect.

On-Demand is not the most cost-efficient solution.

C is incorrect.

No upfront payment is required.

However, it's a costlier option than Partial/All upfront payment.

For more information on the Reserved Instances Payment option, please check below AWS Docs:

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-technical-content/latest/cost-optimization-reservation-models/reserved-instance-payment-options.html

Note:

Reserved Instances do not renew automatically.

When they expire, you can continue using the EC2 instance without interruption.

But you are charged On-Demand rates.

In the above example, when the Reserved Instances that cover the T2 and C4 instances expire, you go back to paying the On-Demand rates until you terminate the instances or purchase new Reserved Instances that match the instance attributes.

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-reserved-instances.html

To host a database server for a minimum period of one year, the least cost-effective option would be a Reserved Instance (RI).

Reserved Instances provide a significant discount compared to On-Demand instances. Reserved Instances are a billing option that allows customers to reserve Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) capacity for a specific term, in exchange for a significant discount. RI's have three payment options: No upfront costs, Partial upfront costs, and Full upfront costs.

No Upfront costs Reserved Instances offer the lowest upfront payment, but the hourly rate is higher than Partial or Full upfront payment options. Partial Upfront Reserved Instances offer a lower hourly rate than No Upfront payment options and require a portion of the cost to be paid upfront. Full Upfront Reserved Instances offer the lowest hourly rate of all payment options, with the entire cost paid upfront.

However, Reserved Instances are not the most cost-effective option if there is a requirement to host the server for a minimum period of one year, as it may not provide the flexibility to take advantage of newer and cheaper instance types or the ability to scale up or down.

The most cost-effective option in this scenario would be to use Spot Instances, as they are the cheapest option but come with the risk of instance termination. Spot Instances are a billing option that allows customers to bid on unused Amazon EC2 capacity, with the price fluctuating based on supply and demand. Spot Instances offer a discount of up to 90% compared to On-Demand instances. Spot Instances are suitable for workloads that are not time-sensitive and can tolerate interruptions.

Therefore, in this scenario, the least cost-effective option would be Reserved Instances, and the most cost-effective option would be Spot Instances.