MLA-C02 practice question: Inference cost and capacity (2 of 2)
Operating, Monitoring, and Securing ML and AI Solutions A free question from our original MLA-C02 practice exam. Try it, then open the answer to see why each option is right or wrong.
A solar installer runs two kinds of ML workloads on AWS. Nightly model training jobs run for about four hours each and can be restarted if interrupted. A real-time forecasting endpoint runs all day at a steady load on the same instance type for the whole year.
The finance team wants lower cost for both workloads without changing the models, the instance families they are built for, or the forecasting service targets.
Which TWO actions meet these requirements? (Choose two.)
Choose two answers.
AA. Use managed Spot training for the nightly jobs, with checkpoints saved to Amazon S3 so that an interrupted job resumes.
BB. Purchase a SageMaker AI Savings Plan for the steady, all-year inference usage, so the hourly rate for the endpoint is lower.
CC. Move the nightly jobs to On-Demand capacity with larger instance types, so that each job finishes in one hour and costs less overall.
DD. Reduce the endpoint's minimum instance count to zero during the day, so the endpoint stops running when traffic is low.
EE. Turn off the training jobs entirely and use the previous quarter's model for all forecasts, which removes the training cost.
B. Right: Correct. Savings Plans give a lower rate in exchange for a steady commitment, which fits an endpoint that runs all year on the same type. The endpoint and its instance type do not change. Learn more: What are Savings Plans? (opens in a new tab)
C. Wrong: Larger On-Demand instances cost more per hour, and the stem asks for lower cost. The option pays more for the same training work.
D. Wrong: The stem describes steady traffic all day, so scaling to zero would break the forecasting service targets. The option conflicts with the stated requirement.
E. Wrong: The stem requires the models to keep their current training. Skipping retraining would also let the forecasts drift, which the team does not want.
Explanation
Managed Spot training with checkpoints lowers the cost of restartable nightly training, and a Savings Plan lowers the rate for steady, all-year endpoint usage. Larger On-Demand instances, scaling to zero during steady traffic and skipping retraining each raise cost or break a stated requirement.
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