Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company wants to reduce costs for a batch analytics job that runs nightly for 4 hours on Compute Engine VMs. The job is fault-tolerant and can handle instance restarts. Which Compute Engine VM pricing model is MOST cost-effective?
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
✓
Preemptible VMs
Preemptible VMs offer the lowest cost (up to 80% discount) and are ideal for fault-tolerant, short-lived batch workloads that can handle interruptions. Sustained use discounts apply automatically but require running a VM for at least 25% of a month. Committed use discounts require a 1- or 3-year commitment and are not as flexible for a short nightly job.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
3-year committed use discount (CUD)
Why it's wrong here
Similar to 1-year CUD, a 3-year commitment is too long and inflexible for a batch job that runs only 4 hours per day.
- ✗
1-year committed use discount (CUD)
Why it's wrong here
CUDs require a 1-year commitment, which is not flexible for a nightly 4-hour job. They also require consistent usage to be cost-effective.
- ✗
Sustained use discounts
Why it's wrong here
Sustained use discounts apply automatically but require running a VM for a significant portion of the month. A nightly 4-hour job may not benefit fully.
- ✓
Preemptible VMs
Why this is correct
Preemptible VMs offer the maximum discount (approx. 60-80%) and are designed for fault-tolerant, batch workloads that can be interrupted and restarted.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Google Cloud Compute Options Overview
Key term
Compute Engine
Compute Engine is Google Cloud's Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering that lets you create and run virtual machines on Google's infrastructure.
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
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