MLA-C01 ML Model Development Practice Question
A data scientist is training a large language model using SageMaker and wants to reduce training costs. The training job is expected to run for several days. Which TWO actions should the data scientist take to minimize costs? (Choose TWO.)
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable managed spot training
Using spot instances can save up to 90% compared to on-demand. Choosing a cheaper instance type like ml.g5 reduces cost. Managed spot training in SageMaker handles interruptions automatically. GPU instances are not always necessary; the cheapest instance that meets requirements should be selected. Checkpointing is needed for spot instance resilience.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Enable managed spot training
Why this is correct
Spot instances are much cheaper than on-demand; SageMaker managed spot automatically handles interruptions.
- ✗
Use the most powerful GPU instance available to finish faster
Why it's wrong here
More powerful instances are more expensive; cost savings come from using cheaper instances, not faster ones.
- ✓
Select ml.g5.xlarge instead of ml.p3.2xlarge
Why this is correct
ml.g5 instances are generally more cost-effective than older p3 instances for many workloads.
- ✗
Increase the number of instances to reduce time
Why it's wrong here
Adding more instances increases total cost, even if job finishes faster; the goal is to minimize cost, not time.
- ✗
Disable checkpointing to save storage costs
Why it's wrong here
Checkpointing is essential for spot instance training to resume from failures; without it, all progress could be lost.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every MLA-C01 question from scratch — 835 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MLA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MLA-C01 exam.