[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"cheat-sheet---en":3,"domain-info---en":3,"topic-info----en":3,"lesson-aws-certified-cloud-practitioner-cloud-concepts-cloud-migration-aws-snow-family-en":4,"next-aws-certified-cloud-practitioner-cloud-concepts-cloud-migration-aws-snow-family-en":18,"prev-aws-certified-cloud-practitioner-cloud-concepts-cloud-migration-aws-snow-family-en":285},null,{"locked":5,"reason":6,"meta":7,"item":3},true,"paywall",{"title":8,"description":9,"isFree":10,"estimatedMinutes":11,"difficulty":12,"learningObjectives":13},"The AWS Snow Family","Learn how the AWS Snow Family moves large datasets to AWS when the network is too slow, how the offline transfer works, and when to use it instead of transferring over the internet.",false,14,"beginner",[14,15,16,17],"Explain why physical transfer devices exist when the network is too slow or unreliable","Describe how an offline Snow Family data transfer works end to end","Identify the current Snow Family devices and their main use cases","Compare online transfer with AWS DataSync to offline transfer with the Snow Family",{"locked":10,"reason":3,"meta":19,"item":28},{"title":20,"description":21,"isFree":5,"estimatedMinutes":22,"difficulty":12,"learningObjectives":23},"Fixed vs Variable Costs","Learn how the cloud shifts IT spending from large upfront capital expense to pay-as-you-go variable expense, and why that change matters for the business.",13,[24,25,26,27],"Define capital expense (CapEx) and operating expense (OpEx)","Explain how the cloud trades fixed expense for variable expense","Identify which IT costs disappear or change when you move to the cloud","Match a spending pattern to the cost model it represents",{"id":29,"title":20,"body":30,"description":21,"difficulty":12,"estimatedMinutes":22,"extension":223,"infographics":224,"isFree":5,"learningObjectives":236,"meta":237,"navigation":5,"path":238,"quiz":239,"seo":282,"stem":283,"__hash__":284},"courses/courses/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner/en/domains/01-cloud-concepts/04-cloud-economics/01-fixed-vs-variable-costs.md",{"type":31,"value":32,"toc":211},"minimark",[33,38,42,45,49,52,55,58,62,65,68,73,77,80,83,86,90,93,109,112,116,193,197],[34,35,37],"h2",{"id":36},"why-the-cost-model-matters","Why the cost model matters",[39,40,41],"p",{},"Two companies can run the same application and pay very different ways. One buys servers, installs them, and owns them for years. The other rents capacity from AWS and pays for what it uses each month. The technology can look similar, but the financial picture is not. Understanding this difference is the heart of cloud economics, and it shows up often on the exam.",[39,43,44],{},"The shift comes down to two kinds of spending: capital expense and operating expense. Once you can tell them apart, most of the cost arguments for the cloud fall into place.",[34,46,48],{"id":47},"capital-expense-capex","Capital expense (CapEx)",[39,50,51],{},"A capital expense is money you spend upfront to buy an asset you expect to use for a long time. Buying servers, storage arrays, and networking gear for your own data center is capital expense. So is the building work to house them.",[39,53,54],{},"The defining trait is timing and commitment. You pay a large amount before the resource produces any value, and you are committed to that hardware whether your needs grow, shrink, or change. If you buy 50 servers and only ever need 30, you still paid for 50. If you need 70, you place another order and wait.",[39,56,57],{},"This model forces a guess. You size your purchase for the demand you predict, often years ahead, and you carry the risk of guessing wrong in either direction.",[34,59,61],{"id":60},"operating-expense-opex","Operating expense (OpEx)",[39,63,64],{},"An operating expense is an ongoing cost for running something, paid as you use it. Your monthly electricity bill is an operating expense. So is a cloud bill that charges you for the compute, storage, and data transfer you actually consumed.",[39,66,67],{},"In the cloud, you pay only when you consume resources, and only for how much you consume. Turn a server on for 3 hours and you pay for 3 hours. Turn it off and the charge stops. Your cost tracks your real usage instead of a forecast.",[69,70],"infographic",{"alt":71,"slug":72},"A side-by-side comparison showing the on-premises capital-expense model with a large upfront purchase and idle capacity, next to the cloud variable-expense model where cost rises and falls with actual usage.","capex-vs-opex-comparison",[34,74,76],{"id":75},"trade-fixed-expense-for-variable-expense","Trade fixed expense for variable expense",[39,78,79],{},"AWS names this shift directly. The first of its six advantages of cloud computing is \"Trade fixed expense for variable expense\": instead of investing heavily in data centers and servers before you know how you will use them, you pay only when you consume computing resources.",[39,81,82],{},"The practical effect is that your spending follows your business. A startup launches without buying a single server. A retailer scales up for a holiday rush and back down in January, paying more only while the extra capacity runs. A team spins up a large test environment for a week and deletes it, paying for that week alone.",[39,84,85],{},"This is why people describe the cloud as turning fixed costs into variable costs. The bill bends with demand rather than sitting fixed against a guess.",[34,87,89],{"id":88},"what-changes-when-you-make-the-switch","What changes when you make the switch",[39,91,92],{},"Moving to a variable model removes several costs and risks that come with owning hardware:",[94,95,96,100,103,106],"ul",{},[97,98,99],"li",{},"No large upfront purchase before a workload can run.",[97,101,102],{},"No money sunk into idle capacity you bought \"just in case.\"",[97,104,105],{},"No long wait for ordered hardware to ship and be installed.",[97,107,108],{},"No stranded investment when a project is cancelled or changes direction.",[39,110,111],{},"You do take on a new discipline. Because resources are easy to start, they are also easy to leave running. Cost in the cloud is something you manage continuously, not a decision you make once at purchase time. Later lessons cover the tools and habits that keep variable spending under control.",[34,113,115],{"id":114},"fixed-vs-variable-at-a-glance","Fixed vs variable at a glance",[117,118,119,134],"table",{},[120,121,122],"thead",{},[123,124,125,128,131],"tr",{},[126,127],"th",{},[126,129,130],{},"Capital expense (own hardware)",[126,132,133],{},"Variable expense (cloud)",[135,136,137,149,160,171,182],"tbody",{},[123,138,139,143,146],{},[140,141,142],"td",{},"When you pay",[140,144,145],{},"Large amount upfront",[140,147,148],{},"As you use resources",[123,150,151,154,157],{},[140,152,153],{},"Tied to",[140,155,156],{},"A capacity guess",[140,158,159],{},"Actual consumption",[123,161,162,165,168],{},[140,163,164],{},"Idle resources",[140,166,167],{},"You still pay for them",[140,169,170],{},"Turn them off, stop paying",[123,172,173,176,179],{},[140,174,175],{},"New workload",[140,177,178],{},"Buy and wait for hardware",[140,180,181],{},"Start in minutes",[123,183,184,187,190],{},[140,185,186],{},"Risk",[140,188,189],{},"Over-buying or running short",[140,191,192],{},"Overspending if left unmanaged",[34,194,196],{"id":195},"exam-tips","Exam tips",[94,198,199,202,205,208],{},[97,200,201],{},"\"Trade fixed (or capital) expense for variable expense\" is AWS's exact wording for advantage 1; learn it.",[97,203,204],{},"CapEx is a large upfront purchase of long-lived assets; OpEx is an ongoing pay-as-you-go cost.",[97,206,207],{},"Moving to the cloud shifts spending from CapEx to OpEx and ties cost to real usage.",[97,209,210],{},"A bill that rises and falls with how much you run is variable expense; a fixed purchase or lease is not.",{"title":212,"searchDepth":213,"depth":213,"links":214},"",3,[215,217,218,219,220,221,222],{"id":36,"depth":216,"text":37},2,{"id":47,"depth":216,"text":48},{"id":60,"depth":216,"text":61},{"id":75,"depth":216,"text":76},{"id":88,"depth":216,"text":89},{"id":114,"depth":216,"text":115},{"id":195,"depth":216,"text":196},"md",[225],{"slug":72,"concept":226,"style":227,"aspectRatio":228,"labels":229},"Side-by-side comparison of the on-premises capital-expense model (large upfront purchase, fixed cost, idle capacity) against the cloud variable-expense model (pay per use, cost follows demand)","comparison","16:9",[230,231,232,233,234,235],"CapEx","OpEx","Upfront purchase","Pay-as-you-go","Fixed cost","Cost follows usage",[24,25,26,27],{},"/courses/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner/en/domains/01-cloud-concepts/04-cloud-economics/01-fixed-vs-variable-costs",{"passingScore":240,"questions":241},70,[242,251,258,266,272],{"question":243,"type":244,"options":245,"correctAnswer":247,"explanation":250},"What is the main difference between a capital expense and an operating expense?","single",[246,247,248,249],"A capital expense is always smaller than an operating expense","A capital expense is a large upfront purchase of assets, while an operating expense is an ongoing cost for what you use","An operating expense must be paid years in advance","A capital expense applies only to software, not hardware","Capital expense (CapEx) is money spent upfront to buy assets like servers you expect to use for years. Operating expense (OpEx) is the running cost of using resources, billed as you go. The cloud moves spending from the first model to the second.",{"question":252,"type":244,"options":253,"correctAnswer":76,"explanation":257},"How does AWS describe the first of its six advantages of cloud computing?",[254,255,76,256],"Go global in minutes","Stop guessing capacity","Benefit from massive economies of scale","AWS lists 'Trade fixed expense for variable expense' as its first advantage. Instead of investing heavily before you know how you will use the resources, you pay only when you consume them and only for how much you consume.",{"question":259,"type":244,"options":260,"correctAnswer":261,"explanation":265},"A company shuts down 40 test servers over the weekend and its bill drops accordingly. Which cost model does this show?",[261,262,263,264],"Variable expense","Capital expense","A fixed 3-year lease","A one-time hardware purchase","When the cost falls because usage falls, you are paying a variable expense tied to consumption. A capital purchase or fixed lease would keep costing the same whether the servers ran or not.",{"question":267,"type":244,"options":268,"correctAnswer":269,"explanation":271},"Moving to the cloud means you no longer pay a large amount upfront before you can run a workload.",[269,270],"True","False","The pay-as-you-go model removes the upfront capital purchase. You request resources when you need them and pay only for what you use, so a new workload can start without buying hardware first.",{"question":273,"type":274,"options":275,"correctAnswers":280,"explanation":281},"Which of the following are typically reduced or removed when you trade fixed expense for variable expense in the cloud? (Select all that apply.)","multiple",[276,277,278,279],"Large upfront server purchases","Paying for idle capacity you bought but never used","The cost of electricity that powers any computing you do","Long lead times waiting for ordered hardware to arrive",[276,277,279],"The variable model removes the upfront purchase, the waste from idle owned hardware, and the wait for hardware to ship. Computing still consumes electricity, but in the cloud that cost is built into the provider's per-use price rather than a bill you manage.",{"title":20,"description":21},"courses/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner/en/domains/01-cloud-concepts/04-cloud-economics/01-fixed-vs-variable-costs","gZNctafOvJgliWyI5SoS3e6VhqFYlbOdvqhjF4hxoLw",{"locked":5,"reason":6,"meta":286,"item":3},{"title":287,"description":288,"isFree":10,"estimatedMinutes":289,"difficulty":12,"learningObjectives":290},"The 7 Rs Migration Strategies","Learn the seven strategies AWS uses to move applications to the cloud, what each one means, and how to match a workload to the right approach.",16,[291,292,293,294],"List the seven migration strategies known as the 7 Rs","Explain what each strategy means and when to use it","Match a migration scenario to the right strategy","Compare the strategies by how much application change each one requires"]