CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ (CLO-002)Management and Technical OperationsMedium
A cloud administrator is reviewing resource utilization metrics and notices that several virtual machines (VMs) are consistently operating at less than 20% CPU and memory utilization, even during peak hours. The goal is to reduce cloud spending without impacting application performance. Which cost optimization technique should be applied?
- APurchasing Reserved Instances for these VMs.
- BMigrating these VMs to a different cloud region.
- CImplementing a more aggressive auto-scaling policy.
- DRight-sizing these VMs to smaller instance types.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Right-sizing these VMs to smaller instance types.
Right-sizing involves adjusting the size of a virtual machine or other cloud resource to match its actual usage requirements. Since the VMs are consistently underutilized, reducing their instance size (CPU, memory) will directly lower costs without affecting performance if the smaller size can still handle the workload.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Reserved Instances offer discounts but don't address over-provisioning; you'd still pay for an oversized, underutilized resource.
- B. Migrating to a different region might change pricing slightly but doesn't fix the fundamental issue of oversized resources.
- C. Auto-scaling is for scaling *out* or *up* during spikes; if VMs are consistently underutilized, auto-scaling won't fix the baseline over-provisioning.
Right-Sizing
The process of matching cloud resource capacity (e.g., CPU, memory, storage) to the actual application workload requirements to optimize performance and cost.
- Reduces costs by eliminating over-provisioning.
- Ensures resources are adequate for performance.
- Requires continuous monitoring of resource utilization.
Memory trick: Right-Size to Save Your Cloud Bucks.