Billing dashboard overview in AWS - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to select the total cost metric in the billing dashboard query.

AWS

SELECT [1] FROM billing_data WHERE service = 'Amazon EC2'

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aservice_name

Btotal_cost

Cusage_quantity

Dbilling_period

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Selecting service_name instead of total_cost

Using usage_quantity which is not a cost metric

The total_cost column contains the cost values needed for the billing dashboard.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to filter billing data for the month of January 2024.

AWS

SELECT total_cost FROM billing_data WHERE billing_period = [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A'2024-01'

B'2023-11'

C'2024-02'

D'2023-12'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using December 2023 or other months by mistake

Omitting quotes around the date string

To filter for January 2024, use the billing_period value '2024-01'.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the DAX measure to calculate total billing cost.

AWS

TotalCost = SUM([1])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Abilling_data[total_cost]

Bbilling_data[service_name]

Cbilling_data[usage_quantity]

Dbilling_data[billing_period]

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Summing usage_quantity instead of total_cost

Using non-numeric columns like service_name

The SUM function should be applied to the total_cost column to get the total billing cost.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a filter expression that shows costs only for the 'Amazon S3' service in March 2024.

AWS

FILTER(billing_data, billing_data[service] = [1] && billing_data[billing_period] = [2])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A'Amazon S3'

B'2024-03'

C'Amazon EC2'

D'2024-04'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using wrong service name or billing period

Mixing up the order of conditions

The filter should check for 'Amazon S3' service and billing period '2024-03' for March 2024.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a calculated measure that sums total cost for a selected service and billing period.

AWS

TotalCostSelected = CALCULATE(SUM(billing_data[[1]]), billing_data[service] = [2], billing_data[billing_period] = [3])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Atotal_cost

B'Amazon DynamoDB'

C'2024-05'

Dusage_quantity

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using usage_quantity instead of total_cost

Omitting quotes around service or billing period

Swapping service and billing period values

The measure sums the total_cost column filtered by service 'Amazon DynamoDB' and billing period '2024-05'.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of an AWS billing dashboard?

easy

A. To write code for AWS Lambda functions

B. To create new AWS resources automatically

C. To monitor server uptime and performance

D. To show your cloud costs clearly and help manage your budget

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the billing dashboard function

   The billing dashboard is designed to display cloud costs and usage clearly.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct purpose

   It helps users track spending and manage budgets, not resource creation or monitoring uptime.

3. Final Answer:

   To show your cloud costs clearly and help manage your budget -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Billing dashboard = cost visibility [OK]

Hint: Billing dashboard = clear cost view [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing billing dashboard with resource management
• Thinking it monitors server performance
• Assuming it automates AWS resource creation

2. Which AWS service provides the billing dashboard to track your cloud costs?

easy

A. AWS Cost Explorer

B. AWS CloudTrail

C. AWS Lambda

D. Amazon S3

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify AWS services related to billing

   AWS Cost Explorer is the service designed for cost tracking and billing dashboards.

2. Step 2: Eliminate unrelated services

   CloudTrail tracks API calls, Lambda runs code, and S3 stores data, so they don't provide billing dashboards.

3. Final Answer:

   AWS Cost Explorer -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Cost Explorer = billing dashboard tool [OK]

Hint: Cost Explorer shows billing info clearly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing CloudTrail which tracks logs, not costs
• Confusing Lambda with billing tools
• Selecting S3 which is for storage only

3. You create a billing dashboard with a line chart showing monthly AWS costs. If your costs were $100 in January, $150 in February, and $120 in March, what trend does the chart show?

medium

A. Costs decreased every month

B. Costs are steadily increasing every month

C. Costs increased from January to February, then decreased in March

D. Costs stayed the same each month

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the monthly cost values

   January = $100, February = $150, March = $120 shows an increase then a decrease.

2. Step 2: Interpret the trend on the line chart

   The line rises from January to February, then falls from February to March.

3. Final Answer:

   Costs increased from January to February, then decreased in March -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   100 -> 150 ↑, then 150 -> 120 ↓ [OK]

Hint: Look for rises and falls in monthly values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming costs always increase
• Ignoring the drop in March
• Thinking costs stayed constant

4. You set up a billing dashboard but notice the monthly cost chart shows zero for all months. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. Your AWS account has no active resources

B. You forgot to enable cost data collection in AWS Cost Explorer

C. The chart type is set to pie instead of line

D. You used the wrong AWS region in the dashboard

Solution

1. Step 1: Check data collection settings

   If cost data collection is not enabled, the dashboard will show zero costs.

2. Step 2: Consider other causes

   While no active resources or wrong region might affect data, the most common cause is missing cost data collection.

3. Final Answer:

   You forgot to enable cost data collection in AWS Cost Explorer -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Enable cost data collection to see costs [OK]

Hint: Enable cost data collection first [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming no resources means zero costs always
• Changing chart type without checking data
• Ignoring cost data collection settings

5. You want to create a billing dashboard that shows daily AWS costs for the last 30 days and highlights days when costs exceed $200. Which AWS feature combination should you use?

hard

A. AWS Cost Explorer with custom filters and a conditional formatting table

B. AWS CloudWatch to monitor costs and AWS Lambda to send alerts

C. Amazon S3 to store cost data and Amazon QuickSight for visualization

D. AWS IAM to restrict access and AWS Budgets to set alerts

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify tools for cost visualization and filtering

   AWS Cost Explorer allows creating custom filters and visualizations for daily costs.

2. Step 2: Use conditional formatting to highlight costs over $200

   Cost Explorer supports tables with conditional formatting to highlight high costs.

3. Final Answer:

   AWS Cost Explorer with custom filters and a conditional formatting table -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Cost Explorer + filters + formatting = daily cost highlights [OK]

Hint: Use Cost Explorer filters and formatting for highlights [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using CloudWatch which is for performance, not billing visualization
• Choosing S3 without visualization tools
• Confusing IAM and Budgets with visualization features