The least costing server is the application server because it has the lowest used space and allocated space. The file server should have storage increased due to over 70% utilization because it has the highest used space and allocated space. To calculate the cost of each server, we can use the following formula:
Cost = ($1.50 x Used space) + ($0.75 x Allocated space)
Using this formula, we can find the cost of each server as follows:
Application server: Cost = ($1.50 x 186 GB) + ($0.75 x 250 GB) = $279 + $187.50 = $466.50 Mail server: Cost = ($1.50 x 250 GB) + ($0.75 x 300 GB) = $375 + $225 = $600 File server: Cost = ($1.50 x 450 GB) + ($0.75 x 500 GB) = $675 + $375 = $1050 The application server has the lowest cost of $466.50, while the file server has the highest cost of $1050. To find the utilization percentage of each server, we can use the following formula:
Utilization = (Used space / Allocated space) x 100%
Using this formula, we can find the utilization percentage of each server as follows:
Application server: Utilization = (186 GB / 250 GB) x 100% = 74.4%
Mail server: Utilization = (250 GB / 300 GB) x 100% = 83.3%
File server: Utilization = (450 GB / 500 GB) x 100% = 90%
The file server has the highest utilization percentage of 90%, which means that it is running out of storage space and may affect its performance and availability. The application server has the lowest utilization percentage of 74.4%, which means that it has some unused storage space and may be overprovisioned. Therefore, the file server should have storage increased to reduce its utilization and improve its efficiency, while the application server is costing the firm the least and does not need any changes in its storage allocation. Reference: CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ CLO-002 Study Guide, Chapter 3: Cloud Business Principles, Section 3.4: Cloud Billing and Cost Management, Page 87 and [Cloud Storage Utilization and Optimization | CloudHealth by VMware]