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Snowflake Certification Practice Paper3 V1-Done
Snowflake Certification Practice Paper3 V1-Done
In order to share data as a producer and consume data as a consumer you must have
two separate Snowflake accounts, one for sharing data and one for consuming shared
data.
• TRUE (Incorrect)
• FALSE (Correct)
Explanation
Incorrect. The same Snowflake account can share (or produce data) and it can also consume
data
Question 2: Correct
Historical data in Transient tables can not be recovered by Snowflake once the time
travel retention period has ended?
• FALSE
• TRUE (Correct)
Explanation
Correct. Transient tables don't have any failsafe therefore once the time travel period has
expired there is no way to recover historical data
Question 3: Correct
If you have an Enterprise Edition of Snowflake, you can designate it for early access
for new Snowflake releases.
• FALSE
• TRUE (Correct)
Explanation
Correct. The recommended approach is that if you have more then one Enterprise or higher
Snowflake instances, designate one or more for early access e.g. you could designate
development system for early access
Question 4: Correct
Snowflake database is based on the traditional shared disk architecture used by
RDBMS like MySQL, Postgres.
• No(Correct)
• Yes
Explanation
Snowflake architecture is an hybrid architecture, in which it uses a single shared storage but
unlike traditional databases it uses multiple compute engines operating on the same
storage.
Question 5: Correct
Data protected by Failsafe can be recovered by?
Explanation
• Yes(Correct)
• No
Explanation
Since snowflake uses cloud based storage like Amazon S3 or Azure Blob storage, the
amount of space available to Snowflake is virtually unlimited.
Question 7: Incorrect
Creating or changing the cluster key on a table doesn't incur any cost.
• FALSE (Correct)
• TRUE (Incorrect)
Explanation
There is a cost associated with reorganization of data when you add a cluster key
Question 8: Incorrect
Snowflake stores the following metadata about rows in a micro-partition. Select all
that apply
Explanation
All of the are valid examples of the metadata that Snowflake stores for micro partitions
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/tables-clustering-micropartitions.html
Question 9: Correct
On the WebUI which button on the top bar should you select to run queries?
• Worksheets(Correct)
• Shares
• Virtual Warehouses
• History
• Account
• Databases
Explanation
Worksheets button will take you to the interface where you can create 1 or more worksheets
in which you can edit & execute SQL queries.
Question 10: Correct
A virtual warehouse can be resized any time, regardless if it is in suspended state or
active and executing queries.
• TRUE (Correct)
• FALSE
Explanation
Explanation
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/sql-reference/sql/show-warehouses.html
Question 12: Correct
You are a the Datawarehouse administrator at a large bank running Snowflake
platform as their data warehouse. You have noticed that every month end the number
of queries executed on Snowflake by the finance department increases many times.
Although the finance department has a large (L) virtual warehouse assigned, but user
queries have to wait while the previous queries execute. What is the best course of
action to improve the user experience during month ends.
• If you are running the Enterprise version of Snowflake then enable multi cluster
warehouse on the finance virtual warehouse.The multi cluster virtual warehouse will auto
spawn (and auto shutdown) additional virtual warehouses as the demand increases and
decreases.(Correct)
• Increase the size of the virtual warehouse dedicated to finance, from L to XL during the
month end processing. This increase will double the processing power of the virtual
warehouse and will result in queries finishing faster.Reduce th e size of the virtual warehouse
after the month end period is complete.(Correct)
• Permanently increase the size of the virtual warehouse dedicated to finance to XL.This
will ensure they will get increased performance throughout the month and not just on the
month end.
• Disable finance users during the month end processing so that the load on the system
decreases.
• FALSE
• TRUE (Correct)
Explanation
Correct. The queries that are in queue will use the resized virtual warehouse
Question 14: Incorrect
The MAXIMUM possible period for which a query result cache may be retained is..
• 31 days(Correct)
• 24 hours(Incorrect)
Explanation
The query result cache is purged after 24 hours unless another query is run which makes use
of the cache. The query result cache is retained for a MAXIMUM of 31 days after being
generated as long as the cache is getting re-used during that period before the 24 hour
period expires https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/querying-persisted-
results.html#retrieval-optimization
Question 15: Correct
The reader account belongs to ?
• The producer(Correct)
• The consumer
• Shared ownership
• Neither
Explanation
A reader account is created by the producer and is owned by the producer itself. A reader
account also uses the compute resources of the producer
Question 16: Correct
In VARIANT column the NULL values are stored as a literal string "null"
• FALSE
• TRUE (Correct)
Explanation
NULL values are stored as literal "null" in VARIANT columns. Please see below link for more
details https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/semistructured-
considerations.html#null-values
Question 17: Correct
Snowflake stores data for each table in a proprietary columnar format.
• No
• Yes(Correct)
Explanation
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/tables-clustering-keys.html
Question 19: Incorrect
A cloned object doesn't contribute to the over all storage unless..
Explanation
Extra Storage is used when the data in the cloned tables are modified or a new table with
data is introduced. There is no setting called CREATE_COPY If you don?t have privileges you
can not clone an object https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/sql-reference/sql/create-
clone.html#general-usage-notes
Question 20: Correct
The snowflake credits used by a virtual warehouses increase proportionately as the
size of the virtual warehouse is increased
• No. The virtual warehouse size has no implication on the number of credits being used
• Yes. The credits usage is tied with the warehouse size (Correct)
Explanation
Snowflake provides a range of virtual warehouse sizes ranging from XS to 4XL. Size vs
Credits used per hour XS S M L XL 2XL 3XL 4XL 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 See
https://www.snowflake.com/pricing/pricing-guide/
Question 21: Correct
You have shared a table with another Snowflake account. A user in the consumer
account has executed a query on the shared table. Who will be charged for the query
cost?
• Consumer(Correct)
• Producer (the account which shared the data)
Explanation
When data is shared with another Snowflake account, the consumer account executing the
query is charged for the compute cost https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/data-
sharing-intro.html#how-does-secure-data-sharing-work
Question 22: Correct
When a new user is created, multi factor authentication (MFA) is automatically
enabled for that user by default
• TRUE
• FALSE (Correct)
Explanation
Incorrect. The multi factor authentication is not enabled by default.
Question 23: Correct
What is the maximum failsafe retention period for transient & temporary tables?
• 7
• 0(Correct)
• 1
• 90
Explanation
Transient and temporary tables don't have any failsafe, this is done to reduce storage costs
for temporary and transient data. https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/data-cdp-
storage-costs.html#temporary-and-transient-tables
Question 24: Correct
A virtual warehouse starts consuming credits once all the servers in the virtual
warehouse are provisioned?
• FALSE
• TRUE (Correct)
Explanation
Correct. The credit consumption starts only once all the servers are provisioned. In rare
cases if one or more servers fail to provision, credits are only charged for the servers which
were successfully provisioned.
Question 25: Correct
A share has been granted to a consumer. If a new object is added to the share it will?
Explanation
Once a share has been granted to a consumer, and the consumer has created a read-only
database on the share, all new objects added to the share by the producer automatically
become accessible to the consumer
Question 26: Incorrect
Which of the following simple transformations can be used while loading data
through the COPY command?
• Pivot
• Re-order Columns(Correct)
• Cast(Correct)
• Truncate(Correct)
• Omit Columns(Correct)
• Transpose
Explanation
You can perform basic transformations such as column re-ordering, column omission, cast
data types & truncating text data while load it through the COPY command
Question 27: Correct
Which of the following operation is not performed by a virtual warehouse?
• INSERT
• DELETE
• SELECT
• SNOWPIPE(Correct)
Explanation
Snowpipe use server less architecture and therefore doesn't consume a virtual warehouse
compute
Question 28: Correct
What is the correct command to list the files contained in a stage? Assume the stage is
called simple_stage
• LIST @simple_stage;(Correct)
• DISPLAY @simple_stage;
• SELECT * FROM @simple_stage;
• TRUE (Correct)
• FALSE
Explanation
Correct. The number of server grows with the size e.g. Small has 2 servers while Medium has
4 servers.
Question 30: Correct
What happens when a multi cluster virtual warehouse is set to auto scale? Select all
that apply
• Snowflake starts minimum required clusters in the multi-cluster virtual warehouse that
can accommodate the number of users & number of queries (Correct)
• If the number of concurrent users and queries increase on the virtual warehouse,
additional clusters are started, up to the defined maximum cluster value (Correct)
• Snowflake starts all clusters in the multi-cluster virtual warehouse
• If the demand is decreased the number of clusters are gradually shutdown, up to the
defined minimum cluster value (Correct)
Explanation
For an auto scale multi cluster virtual warehouse 1) only minimum required clusters are
started 2&3) The running clusters may be scaled up and down within the maximum and
minimum cluster defined https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/warehouses-
multicluster.html#maximized-vs-auto-scale
Question 31: Correct
What best describes Snowflake architecture?
Explanation
Snowflake architecture makes use of shared data but one or more then one cluster
executing on that shared data
Question 32: Correct
Micro partitions are small in size and (before compression) are generally of size ?
• 500MB-1GB
• 50-500 MB (Correct)
• 10-50MB
Explanation
• Trial Accounts
• Standard & Premier Accounts
• Enterprise & Higher Accounts(Incorrect)
• Designated accounts opting for early access(Correct)
Explanation
The staged release process through which Snowflake releases updates is first applied to
early access account who have opted for early access, then standard & premier accounts
and finally Enterprise & upwards
Question 34: Correct
The COPY command can load data from which of the following?
• External Stage i.e. Cloud Storage (Correct)
• Tape drives
• Detachable hard disks
• Internal stage(Correct)
Explanation
The COPY command can load data from external stages i.e. Snowflake Stage defined on
data already present in Cloud Storage. It can also load data from a Snowflake Internal stage
Question 35: Correct
You can not increase the size of a virtual warehouse if one or more queries are
executing on that virtual warehouse.
• TRUE
• FALSE (Correct)
Explanation
False. The resize operation can be done any time, even when it is running queries.
Question 36: Correct
What happens when a virtual warehouse is resized to a LARGER size?
• the already executing queries are not shifted to the new server(s) (Correct)
• the new server(s) will execute queries that are in queue (Correct)
• the already executing queries are suspended, moved to the new server(s) and then
resume executing
Explanation
The existing queries are not impacted and will continue executing to completio n Queries in
queue & future queries are executed on the new servers
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/warehouses-tasks.html
Question 37: Correct
Which of the following are valid Casting function available in Snowflake ?
• TO_VARIANT(Correct)
• TO_BLOB
• TO_BINARY(Correct)
• TO_DECIMAL(Correct)
• TO_NUMERIC(Correct)
• SNOWPIPE
• COPY INTO(Correct)
• SELECT(Correct)
• INSERT(Correct)
Explanation
Snowpipe use server less architecture and therefore doesn't consume a virtual warehouse
compute
Question 39: Correct
You are a data engineer with a telecom company who use Snowflake as a data
warehouse. You have defined a Snowpipe to load some real time transactional data
from an S3 bucket.
You have correctly configured event notification on the S3 bucket but the Snowpipe is
not loading any data. What actions should you take to check if the Snowpipe is
configured correctly.
• Check that the copy command used in the Snowpipe definition actually loads data when
run independently.(Correct)
• Check if the Stage defined is pointing to the correct S3 bucket. (Correct)
• Restart Snowpipe services.
• Check if auto_ingest = true is configured in your Snowpipe definition. (Correct)
• Drop and recreate the Snowpipe so that data starts getting loaded.
Explanation
Explanation for incorrect answers Recreating the Snowpipe is unlikely to fix the issue.
Snowpipe or any other Snowflake services are managed by Snowflake and can not be
restarted.
Question 40: Incorrect
Which of the following statement is correct?
• The charges for data loaded through Snowpipe is based on the actual workload while
the charges for data loaded through COPY command is based on how long the virtual
warehouse is in an active state (Correct)
• The charges for data loaded through Snowpipe is based on how long the virtual
warehouse is active while the charges for data loaded through COPY command is based on
how much data was processed (Incorrect)
• There is no difference between Snowpipe and COPY command in terms of how they are
charged
Explanation
Snowpipe uses a server less compute due to which the billing is based on the actual data
processed, COPY command uses virtual warehouse resources therefore the billing is based
on how long the virtual warehouse was active
Question 41: Incorrect
The provider of data can add multiple databases in a Share definition.
• FALSE (Correct)
• TRUE (Incorrect)
Explanation
Incorrect. Only one database can be added to a share. However multiple schemas, tables
and views can be added to a share.
• Python Components(Correct)
• Unload Connector
• Redshift connector
• Spark Connector(Correct)
• Node.js driver(Correct)
Explanation
• TRUE
• FALSE (Correct)
Explanation
The order & the number of columns in the file and the table can be different
Question 45: Correct
A Small virtual warehouse (comprising of 2 servers) executing for 2 hours will
consume same number of credits as a Medium virtual warehouse (comprising of 4
servers) executing for 1 hour.
• TRUE (Correct)
• FALSE
Explanation
Correct. With a larger size the credit consumption is more. In the given example it is exactly
double.
Question 46: Correct
You are the performance DBA at a large airlines company with a Snowflake Data
warehouse. There is a large table (>5TB) containing telemetry data generated by
airplane sensors.
The table is usually accessed by the "event_date" on which the data was generated,
but often there are queries which access the table through the column "airplane_id".
How can you optimize table so that queries which use either event_date or the
airplane_id in the WHERE clause run faster.
• Concatenate the two columns and generate a new column in the table. Cluster the table
on that column
• Do nothing, Snowflake will take care of ensuring efficiency of querying it self.
• Introduce a cluster key on the combination of the two columns i.e.CLUSTER
BY(event_date,airplane_id) (Correct)
• Increase the size of the virtual warehouse so that queries run faster.
Explanation
Introducing cluster key on both columns will create partitioning scheme which will be
optimal for access via either column.
Question 47: Correct
Which function is used to find the query id of the second query executed in the
current session?
Explanation
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/sql-reference/functions/last_query_id.html
Question 48: Correct
What is the correct command to see all pipes defined under a database called
my_database?
Explanation
Virtual warehouse is the name given to the compute clusters used by Snowflake for query
processing
Question 50: Correct
Please select the correct options that can be used to bring semi structured data into
Snowflake.
• FALSE (Correct)
• TRUE
Explanation
• FALSE (Correct)
• TRUE
Explanation
False. The resize operation can be done any time, even when it is running queries.
Question 53: Correct
Snowflake UDFs can be written in which of the following languages?
• SQL(Correct)
• JAVASCRIPT(Correct)
• PYTHON
• JAVA
Explanation
• No
• Yes
(Correct)
Explanation
Correct. Snowflake has been designed from scratch for the cloud.
Question 55: Correct
You are creating a new virtual warehouse that you want to auto suspend if no query
has been run in last 10 minutes. What is the correct syntax for creating such a virtual
warehouse?
WAREHOUSE_SIZE=large AUTO_SUSPEND=600;(Correct)
WAREHOUSE_SIZE=large SUSPEND_IF_IDLE=600;
WAREHOUSE_SIZE=large AUTO_SUSPEND=10;
Explanation
• The value for query result cache purge setting is set a different number then 24
• Another query is executed within the 24 hours which makes use of the query result
cache(Correct)
Explanation
The query result cache is purged after 24 hours unless another query is run which makes use
of the cache. The query result cache is retained for a maximum of 31 days after being
generated https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/querying-persisted-
results.html#retrieval-optimization
Question 57: Incorrect
A virtual warehouse must be running in order to process SQL queries. For which type
of queries results may be produced without requiring a running virtual warehouse?
• for queries for which results can be fulfilled from the metadata cache (Correct)
• for queries that make use of clustering keys(Incorrect)
• for queries that process less then 10 MB of data
• for queries that have previously run and their results are stored in the result
cache(Correct)
Explanation
Queries, for which results can be fulfilled from cache do not require a virtual warehouse. The
cache could be result cache, metadata cache
Question 58: Incorrect
Is this statement correct? Snowflake is based on existing database technology, which
has been retrofitted to run on the cloud.
• No(Correct)
• Yes(Incorrect)
• TRUE (Correct)
• FALSE
Explanation
Correct. The partitioning is done in the order of the data inserted. Therefore, it may be
required to recluster very large tables in which data has been inserted over time
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/tables-clustering-micropartitions.html
Question 60: Correct
You are loading data from a CSV file, in which the first line is an header row
containing the column names. What is the correct command or set of actions to
execute so that the header row is skipped while loading?
Assume the name of the stage is my_stage & the target table is customer.
• Write a pre-processing script using a programming language to remove the header row
before making the data available to Snowflake.
•
1. copy into customer
2. from @my_stage
3. file_format = (type = csv skip_header = 1); (Correct)
•
1. copy into customer
2. from @my_stage;
You don't need to do anything special. Snowflake will intelligently ignore the header row.
Explanation
You can simply instruct the copy command to ignore header rows. There is no need to do
any additional processing. Snowflake doesn't automatically detect and ignore header rows.
Question 61: Correct
A share must have at least one consumer added to it
• FALSE (Correct)
• TRUE
Explanation
Incorrect. A snowflake share can be defined without a consumer added to it. One or more
consumers can be added to the share after wards
Question 62: Incorrect
Select all that is true about Snowflake Failsafe.
Explanation
Failsafe is different from time travel and provides protection against failures.
https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/data-failsafe.html
Question 63: Correct
The maintenance & tuning and upgrade of Snowflake is performed by the Snowflake
(company) without requiring any action from the customers
• TRUE (Correct)
• FALSE
Explanation
Incorrect. Snowflake is a software as a service offering and doesn't require any such actions
by the customer
Question 64: Correct
Micro partitioning can be disabled for tables if needed.
• TRUE
• FALSE (Correct)
Explanation
Incorrect. The micro partitioning can not be disabled and is automatically managed by
Snowflake. You can only control the clustering key which changes the micro partitioning
approach but does not disable it https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/tables-
clustering-micropartitions.html
Question 65: Correct
Which of the following scaling type would result in Snowflake preserving credits over
performance?
• PERFORMANCE
• ECONOMY(Correct)
• COST
• STANDARD
Explanation
ECONOMY scaling type would let queries queue and if the demand persists and Snowflake
determines that there is enough demand to keep a new cluster busy for 6 minutes then it
scales up the cluster. https://docs.snowflake.net/manuals/user-guide/warehouses-
multicluster.html#setting-the-scaling-policy-for-a-multi-cluster-warehouse
Question 66: Correct
When a database or a schema is cloned, which of the following statements are true for
the snowpipes in that database?
• Any Snowpipes that reference an internal stage are NOT cloned (Correct)
• Any Snowpipes that reference an internal stage are cloned
• Any Snowpipes that reference an external stage are NOT cloned
• Any Snowpipes that reference an external stage are cloned (Correct)
Explanation
• 0(Correct)
• 14
• 90
• 7
Explanation
• Transient
• Temporary(Correct)
• Permanent
• Clustered
Explanation