- A
Spot VMs — up to 91% savings over on-demand pricing.
Why wrong: Spot VMs provide the deepest discounts but can be preempted with 30 seconds notice. Continuous 24/7 workloads cannot tolerate preemption.
- B
Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) — 1-year or 3-year commitment for up to 55% savings.
CUDs are the optimal pricing for stable, continuous workloads. 1-year CUD = ~37% savings, 3-year CUD = ~55% savings. Since the workload runs 24/7 indefinitely, the commitment is fully utilized.
- C
On-demand pricing — pay per minute with no commitment.
Why wrong: On-demand pricing is the baseline rate with no discount. For continuous workloads, CUDs provide significant savings over on-demand.
- D
Sustained Use Discounts — automatically applied to all running VMs.
Why wrong: Sustained Use Discounts apply automatically to VMs running >25% of the month and provide up to ~30% savings. CUDs provide greater savings (37-55%) for known, stable workloads.
Quick Answer
The answer is Committed Use Discounts (CUDs), which provide the greatest savings for stable, long-running workloads. This pricing model offers up to a 55% discount in exchange for a 1-year or 3-year commitment to a consistent level of resource usage, making it ideal for baseline compute workloads that run continuously 24/7. On the Google Cloud Digital Leader exam, this concept tests your understanding of cost optimization strategies, often appearing in scenarios contrasting CUDs with preemptible VMs or sustained-use discounts. A common trap is selecting sustained-use discounts, which offer smaller, automatic savings without a commitment, but CUDs deliver far deeper discounts for predictable, always-on workloads. Remember the memory tip: “Commit to save more” — if your workload never sleeps, lock in a CUD for the deepest cut.
Cloud Digital Leader Scaling with Google Cloud operations Practice Question
This GCDL practice question tests your understanding of scaling with google cloud operations. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company wants to optimize their Google Cloud spending. They have baseline compute workloads that run continuously 24/7 for at least one year. Which pricing option provides the greatest savings for these stable, long-running workloads?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
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
Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) — 1-year or 3-year commitment for up to 55% savings.
Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) are ideal for stable, long-running workloads because they offer significant savings (up to 55% for 1-year or 3-year commitments) in exchange for a predictable resource usage commitment. Since the workloads run continuously 24/7 for at least one year, a 1-year CUD directly matches this usage pattern and provides the greatest savings among the listed options for such non-preemptible, always-on VMs.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Spot VMs — up to 91% savings over on-demand pricing.
Why it's wrong here
Spot VMs provide the deepest discounts but can be preempted with 30 seconds notice. Continuous 24/7 workloads cannot tolerate preemption.
- ✓
Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) — 1-year or 3-year commitment for up to 55% savings.
Why this is correct
CUDs are the optimal pricing for stable, continuous workloads. 1-year CUD = ~37% savings, 3-year CUD = ~55% savings. Since the workload runs 24/7 indefinitely, the commitment is fully utilized.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
On-demand pricing — pay per minute with no commitment.
Why it's wrong here
On-demand pricing is the baseline rate with no discount. For continuous workloads, CUDs provide significant savings over on-demand.
- ✗
Sustained Use Discounts — automatically applied to all running VMs.
Why it's wrong here
Sustained Use Discounts apply automatically to VMs running >25% of the month and provide up to ~30% savings. CUDs provide greater savings (37-55%) for known, stable workloads.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that Spot VMs offer the highest savings for any workload, but the trap here is that candidates overlook the critical requirement of workload stability and the risk of preemption, which makes Spot VMs unsuitable for continuous 24/7 operations.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) are applied at the project level based on vCPU and memory usage in a specific region, and they are not tied to individual VM instances; any VM in the project that matches the commitment's resource configuration receives the discount. Under the hood, CUDs are a contractual agreement where you commit to spending a minimum amount per hour for 1 or 3 years, and Google applies the discount to the first resources that match the commitment, with any overage billed at on-demand rates. In real-world scenarios, combining CUDs with Sustained Use Discounts can yield additional savings, but for purely stable workloads, CUDs alone provide the highest predictable discount.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this GCDL question test?
Scaling with Google Cloud operations — This question tests Scaling with Google Cloud operations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) — 1-year or 3-year commitment for up to 55% savings. — Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) are ideal for stable, long-running workloads because they offer significant savings (up to 55% for 1-year or 3-year commitments) in exchange for a predictable resource usage commitment. Since the workloads run continuously 24/7 for at least one year, a 1-year CUD directly matches this usage pattern and provides the greatest savings among the listed options for such non-preemptible, always-on VMs.
What should I do if I get this GCDL question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This GCDL practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 GCDL exam.
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