CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture, and Design Practice Question
An organization is evaluating a cloud provider's SLA for a critical application. The provider offers a 99.95% uptime SLA with a 10% service credit for each 30-minute downtime period exceeding the threshold. The organization's business impact analysis requires a maximum downtime of 4.38 hours per year. Does the provider's SLA meet this requirement, and what is the annual allowed downtime based on the SLA?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing service credits with uptime guarantees — candidates assume a 10% credit improves availability, when credits are purely a financial remedy and the uptime percentage is unchanged.
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
✓
Yes, because the SLA guarantees 99.95% uptime, which equals 4.38 hours of downtime per year.
99.95% uptime translates to 0.05% of a year. A standard 365-day year has 8,760 hours, so 8,760 × 0.0005 = 4.38 hours of allowed downtime per year. Since the business impact analysis requires a maximum of 4.38 hours, the SLA exactly meets the requirement. The 10% service credit is a financial remedy, not an uptime guarantee, so it does not change the calculation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
No, because service credits only apply after 30 minutes of downtime, so actual uptime is lower.
Why it's wrong here
Service credits are a financial remedy for missed uptime; they do not reduce the downtime actually experienced, so the 99.95% commitment still permits 4.38 hours annually and meets the BIA. It is tempting because credits feel like compensation, but the correct answer is the option stating yes with 4.38 hours.
- ✗
Yes, because the 10% credit effectively increases the uptime commitment.
Why it's wrong here
A service credit is a retrospective financial remedy and does not alter the measured uptime or extend the committed availability, so it cannot raise the 99.95% figure. It is tempting because credits appear to strengthen the guarantee, but the correct answer confirms the SLA meets the 4.38-hour requirement without any credit effect.
- ✗
No, because 99.95% uptime allows 5 hours of downtime per year.
Why it's wrong here
99.95% of 8,760 hours is 4.38 hours, not 5 hours, so the arithmetic is wrong and the conclusion is wrong: the SLA does meet the BIA. It is tempting because 5 hours is a plausible rounding, but the correct answer is yes with 4.38 hours.
- ✓
Yes, because the SLA guarantees 99.95% uptime, which equals 4.38 hours of downtime per year.
Why this is correct
A 99.95% uptime commitment permits 0.05% annual unavailability, which equals 4.38 hours across a 8,760-hour year — precisely the maximum downtime the business impact analysis specifies. The service credit mechanism does not alter this allowance; it only compensates financially once any single 30-minute period exceeds the threshold.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISC2 exam blueprint
This CCSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CCSP exam.