Maximize Revenue from Depleting VM Stock
Last updated: August 28, 2026
Quick Overview
The question asks the candidate to devise a strategy to maximize revenue from a limited stock of virtual machines as customers arrive and rent them at varying prices based on availability.
IBM
August 28, 20263
0
26 solved
The question asks the candidate to devise a strategy to maximize revenue from a limited stock of virtual machines as customers arrive and rent them at varying prices based on availability.
This question is typically asked in the online assessment round to evaluate a candidate's problem-solving skills, particularly in coding and algorithms. The interviewer is looking for the candidate's ability to think critically about resource management and revenue optimization in a dynamic environment, which is crucial for roles in software engineering focused on cloud computing and resource allocation.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Clearly explain the approach to maximize revenue based on VM availability.
- Provide a well-structured algorithm with time complexity analysis.
- Implement the solution in Python with clear and efficient code.
- Consider edge cases and how they affect revenue.
- Discuss potential improvements or alternative strategies.
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
- Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
- Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
- Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
- Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- How would your solution change if customers could rent multiple VMs?
- What if the price of VMs fluctuated based on demand?
- Can you explain the trade-offs of your approach compared to other algorithms?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Approach
To maximize revenue from the available VM stock, we can utilize a greedy algorithm. The idea is to always sell the VM type with the highest price based on its current availability when a customer arri...
Algorithm
- Start by sorting the VM types based on their initial stock.
- For each customer that arrives, select the VM type with the highest available instances.
- Decrease the stock of that VM type by ...
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