How to Optimize EC2 Costs for Production and Nonproduction Instances?
Short answer
C Use Compute Savings Plans for the constant production EC2 workload, keep nonproduction on On-Demand, and shut down nonproduction instances when not in use.
Question
Key Takeaways
It tests matching commitment discounts to predictable 24/7 load while avoiding commitments for schedulable dev/test capacity; the common trap is putting Reserved Instances on nonproduction instances or choosing Dedicated Hosts without a licensing or compliance requirement.
This SAA-C03 cost-optimization question asks how to combine EC2 purchasing options for steady production usage and weekday-only nonproduction environments. The best fit is Compute Savings Plans for production with On-Demand nonproduction instances that are shut down when idle (C).
Common mistake: The common wrong choice is B, applying Reserved Instances to nonproduction instances that run only during weekday business hours, because the one- or three-year commitment would be paid even when those instances are stopped.
Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Production EC2 instances run constantly because customers span multiple time zones, so a commitment-based discount is appropriate for that steady baseline. A Compute Savings Plan is more flexible than an EC2 Instance Savings Plan or Reserved Instance because it applies across instance families, Regions, tenancy, and also to Lambda and Fargate usage, which matches this event-driven architecture. Nonproduction instances run only during weekday business hours and are stopped on weekends, so keeping them on On-Demand and shutting them down when idle avoids paying for unused nights and weekends. Combining those two choices in option C directly addresses both the steady production load and the intermittent development load at the lowest cost.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A uses Dedicated Hosts for nonproduction instances, which are physical servers priced for licensing and compliance needs, not for weekend-only dev/test workloads. Option B applies Reserved Instances to nonproduction instances; a one- or three-year commitment is wasteful when those instances are stopped most of the time and are not a steady production workload. Option D uses Dedicated Hosts for production and EC2 Instance Savings Plans for nonproduction, so it pays a dedicated-host premium for production and gives a less flexible commitment to an intermittent environment. None of these alternatives matches the steady-versus-schedulable split as cost-effectively as C.
Community Comment Notes
MatAlves correctly rules out A and D because an EC2 Dedicated Host is "a physical server fully dedicated for your use" and there is "no need to use reserved instances for non-prod." Scheldon points out that the solution needs both a savings plan for production and a way to disable development servers, and observes that "Only Option C has both." Andy_09, MattBJ, stephensimudemy, and Naveena_Devanga also selected C, which aligns with the production-hours analysis. Penjerla's argument for B describes Reserved Instance flexibility during stop-start scenarios, but it does not overcome the fact that nonproduction capacity is idle outside weekday business hours.
Official Reference
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/savingsplans/latest/userguide/what-is-savings-plans.html
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-reserved-instances.html
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/dedicated-hosts-overview.html
These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
Separate steady 24/7 production load from schedulable nonproduction load before comparing purchase options: use commitment discounts for production and On-Demand plus shutdown for dev/test. Eliminate Dedicated Hosts unless the scenario explicitly requires licensing or compliance isolation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why not use Reserved Instances for the nonproduction instances?
Do Compute Savings Plans apply to the Lambda functions in this architecture?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Discussion 6 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 6
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Penjerla 👍 2 Answered BA Reserved Instance is preferred if you use the reserve capacity for the full duration of the one- or three-year term. You may also find that a Reserved Instance offers cost savings over On-Demand Instances, even if you are only using the instance at half capacity. Reserved Instances also offer guaranteed availability for stop-and-start scenarios. In addition, by utilizing and continuously monitoring Convertible Reserved Instances, you can save more money.
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MatAlves 👍 2 Answered C"An Amazon EC2 Dedicated Host is a physical server fully dedicated for your use, so you can help address corporate compliance requirements." https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/dedicated-hosts/ That already eliminates "A" and "D". No need to pay extra since there is no requirement for eligible software licences. B is INCORRECT = no need to use reserved instances for non-prod, since they will only be active during business hours during weekdays.
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Scheldon 👍 2 Answered CAnswerC We need to use somekind of savings plans for production and disable Development servers when we are not using them. Only Option C has both.
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Andy_09 👍 12Option C
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MattBJ 👍 5 Answered CDefinitely C.
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stephensimudemy 👍 4 Answered CIt's C
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