Snowflake ARA-C01 Practice Test - Questions Answers, Page 9

To create a read-only role for certain employees working in the human resources department, the role needs to have the following permissions on the hr_db database:

USAGEon the database: This allows the role to access the database and see its schemas and objects.

USAGEon all schemas in the database: This allows the role to access the schemas and see their objects.

SELECTon all tables in the database: This allows the role to query the data in the tables.

Option A is the correct answer because it grants the minimum permissions required for a read-only role on the hr_db database.

Option B is incorrect because SELECT on schemas is not a valid permission. Schemas only support USAGE and CREATE permissions.

Option C is incorrect because MODIFY on the database is not a valid permission. Databases only support USAGE, CREATE, MONITOR, and OWNERSHIP permissions. Moreover, USAGE on tables is not sufficient for querying the data. Tables support SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, TRUNCATE, REFERENCES, and OWNERSHIP permissions.

Option D is incorrect because REFERENCES on tables is not relevant for querying the data. REFERENCES permission allows the role to create foreign key constraints on the tables.

: https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/security-access-control-privileges.html#database-privileges

: https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/security-access-control-privileges.html#schema-privileges

: https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/security-access-control-privileges.html#table-privileges

A stage is a named location in Snowflake that can store files for data loading and unloading. A stage can be internal or external, depending on where the files are stored.

The query in the question uses theLISTfunction to list the files in a stage named FILEROWS. The function returns a table with various columns, including FILE_ROW_NUMBER, which is the line number of the file in the stage.

Therefore, the query can be interpreted as listing the files in a stage named FILEROWS and showing the line number of each file in the stage.

: Stages

: LIST Function

According to the Principle of Least Privilege, the Architect should grant the minimum privileges necessary for the USER1 to find the tables in the SANDBOX database.

The USER1 needs to have USAGE privilege on the SANDBOX database and the SANDBOX.PUBLIC schema to be able to access the tables in the PUBLIC schema. Therefore, the commands B and C are the correct ones to run.

The command A is not correct because the PUBLIC role is automatically granted to every user and role in the account, and it does not have any privileges on the SANDBOX database by default.

The command D is not correct because it would transfer the ownership of the SANDBOX database from the Architect to the USER1, which is not necessary and violates the Principle of Least Privilege.

The command E is not correct because it would grant all the possible privileges on the SANDBOX database to the USER1, which is also not necessary and violates the Principle of Least Privilege.

The DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS parameter controls the Time Travel retention period for an object (database, schema, or table) in Snowflake.This parameter specifies the number of days for which historical data is preserved and can be accessed using Time Travel operations (SELECT, CREATE ... CLONE, UNDROP)1.

The requirement for recovery of staging tables on a rolling 7-day basis means that the DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS parameter should be set to 7 at the database level.However, this parameter can be overridden at the lower levels (schema or table) if they have a different value1.

Therefore, one possible cause for certain tables to remain unrecoverable past 1 day is that the DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS for the staging schema has been set to 1 day. This would override the database level setting and limit the Time Travel retention period for all the tables in the schema to 1 day.To fix this, the parameter should be unset or set to 7 at the schema level1. Therefore, option B is correct.

Another possible cause for certain tables to remain unrecoverable past 1 day is that the staging tables are of the TRANSIENT type. Transient tables are tables that do not have a Fail-safe period and can have a Time Travel retention period of either 0 or 1 day.Transient tables are suitable for temporary or intermediate data that can be easily reproduced or replicated2.To fix this, the tables should be created as permanent tables, which can have a Time Travel retention period of up to 90 days1. Therefore, option D is correct.

Option A is incorrect because the MANAGED ACCESS feature is not related to the data recovery requirement. MANAGED ACCESS is a feature that allows granting access privileges to objects without explicitly granting the privileges to roles.It does not affect the Time Travel retention period or the data availability3.

Option C is incorrect because there is no 1 TB limit for data recovery in Snowflake.The data storage size does not affect the Time Travel retention period or the data availability4.

Option E is incorrect because there is no ALLOW_RECOVERY privilege in Snowflake.The privilege required to perform Time Travel operations is SELECT, which allows querying historical data in tables5.

The VALIDATION_MODE parameter is used to specify the behavior of the COPY statement when loading data into a table. It is used to specify whether the COPY statement should return an error if any of the rows in the file are invalid or if it should continue loading the valid rows.The VALIDATION_MODE parameter is only supported for COPY statements that load data from external stages1.

The query in the question uses a data transformation query to load data from an internal stage.A data transformation query is a query that transforms the data during the load process, such as parsing JSON or XML data, applying functions, or joining with other tables2.

According to the documentation, VALIDATION_MODE does not support COPY statements that transform data during a load.If the parameter is specified, the COPY statement returns an error1. Therefore, option C is the correct answer.

To provide the highest uptime and least application disruption in case of a service event, the best option is to use the Business Critical Snowflake edition and connect the applications using the <organization_name>- URL. The Business Critical Snowflake edition offers the highest level of security, performance, and availability for Snowflake accounts. It includes features such as customer-managed encryption keys, HIPAA compliance, and 4-hour RPO and RTO SLAs. It also supports account replication and failover across regions and cloud platforms, which enables business continuity and disaster recovery. By using the <organization_name>- URL, the applications can leverage the Snowflake Client Redirect feature, which automatically redirects the client connections to the secondary account in case of a failover. This way, the applications can seamlessly switch to the backup account without any manual intervention or configuration changes. The other options are less cost-effective or less reliable because they either use a lower edition of Snowflake, which does not support account replication and failover, or they use the <organization_name>-<connection_name> URL, which does not support client redirect and requires manual updates to the connection string in case of a failover.Reference:

[Snowflake Editions]1

[Replication and Failover/Failback]2

[Client Redirect]3

[Snowflake Account Identifiers]4

The most efficient solution is to ask the partner to create a share and add the company's account (Option A). This way, the company can access the live data from the partner without any data movement or manual intervention. Snowflake's secure data sharing feature allows data providers to share selected objects in a database with other Snowflake accounts. The shared data is read-only and does not incur any storage or compute costs for the data consumers. The data consumers can query the shared data directly or create local copies of the shared objects in their own databases. Option B is not efficient because it involves using the data lake export feature, which is intended for exporting data from Snowflake to an external data lake, not for importing data from another Snowflake account. The data lake export feature also requires the data provider to create an external stage on cloud storage and use the COPY INTO <location> command to export the data into parquet files. The data consumer then needs to create an external table or a file format to load the data from the cloud storage into Snowflake. This process can be complex and costly, especially if the data changes frequently. Option C is not efficient because it does not solve the problem of manual data ingestion and adaptation. Keeping the current structure of daily JSON extracts on an FTP server and requesting the partner to stop changing files, instead only appending new files, does not improve the efficiency or reliability of the data ingestion process. The company still needs to upload the data to Snowflake manually and deal with any schema changes or data quality issues. Option D is not efficient because it requires the partner to set up a Snowflake reader account and use that account to get the data for ingestion. A reader account is a special type of account that can only consume data from the provider account that created it. It is intended for data consumers who are not Snowflake customers and do not have a licensing agreement with Snowflake. A reader account is not suitable for data ingestion from another Snowflake account, as it does not allow uploading, modifying, or unloading data. The company would need to use external tools or interfaces to access the data from the reader account and load it into their own account, which can be slow and expensive.Reference: The answer can be verified from Snowflake's official documentation on secure data sharing, data lake export, and reader accounts available on their website. Here are some relevant links:

Introduction to Secure Data Sharing | Snowflake Documentation

Data Lake Export Public Preview Is Now Available on Snowflake | Snowflake Blog

Managing Reader Accounts | Snowflake Documentation

The architecture in the image shows a Snowflake data platform with two databases, DB1 and DB2, and two schemas, SH1 and SH2. DB1 contains a table TBL1 and a stage STAGE1. DB2 contains a table TBL2. The image also shows a snippet of code written in SQL language that copies data from STAGE1 to TBL2 using a file format FF PIPE 1.

To copy data from DB1 to TBL2, there are two possible options among the choices given:

Option B: Use a named external stage that references STAGE1. This option requires creating an external stage object in DB2.SH2 that points to the same location as STAGE1 in DB1.SH1.The external stage can be created using theCREATE STAGEcommand with theURLparameter specifying the location of STAGE11. For example:

SQLAI-generated code. Review and use carefully.More info on FAQ.

use database DB2;

use schema SH2;

create stage EXT_STAGE1

url = @DB1.SH1.STAGE1;

Then, the data can be copied from the external stage to TBL2 using theCOPY INTOcommand with theFROMparameter specifying the external stage name and theFILE FORMATparameter specifying the file format name2. For example:

SQLAI-generated code. Review and use carefully.More info on FAQ.

copy into TBL2

from @EXT_STAGE1

file format = (format name = DB1.SH1.FF PIPE 1);

Option E: Use a cross-database query to select data from TBL1 and insert into TBL2. This option requires using theINSERT INTOcommand with theSELECTclause to query data from TBL1 in DB1.SH1 and insert it into TBL2 in DB2.SH2.The query must use the fully-qualified names of the tables, including the database and schema names3. For example:

SQLAI-generated code. Review and use carefully.More info on FAQ.

use database DB2;

use schema SH2;

insert into TBL2

select * from DB1.SH1.TBL1;

The other options are not valid because:

Option A: It uses an invalid syntax for theCOPY INTOcommand.TheFROMparameter cannot specify a table name, only a stage name or a file location2.

Option C: It uses an invalid syntax for theCOPY INTOcommand.TheFILE FORMATparameter cannot specify a stage name, only a file format name or options2.

Option D: It uses an invalid syntax for theCREATE STAGEcommand.TheURLparameter cannot specify a table name, only a file location1.

1: CREATE STAGE | Snowflake Documentation

2: COPY INTO table | Snowflake Documentation

3: Cross-database Queries | Snowflake Documentation

A star schema model is a type of dimensional data model that consists of a single fact table and multiple dimension tables. A 3NF model is a type of relational data model that follows the third normal form, which eliminates data redundancy and ensures referential integrity. A Snowflake Architect might use a star schema model rather than a 3NF model when designing a data architecture to run in Snowflake for the following reasons:

A star schema model is more suitable for analytical queries that require aggregating and slicing data across different dimensions, such as those performed by a BI tool. A 3NF model is more suitable for transactional queries that require inserting, updating, and deleting individual records.

A star schema model is simpler and faster to query than a 3NF model, as it involves fewer joins and less complex SQL statements. A 3NF model is more complex and slower to query, as it involves more joins and more complex SQL statements.

A star schema model can provide a simple flattened single view of the data to a particular group of end users, such as business analysts or data scientists, who need to explore and visualize the data. A 3NF model can provide a more detailed and normalized view of the data to a different group of end users, such as application developers or data engineers, who need to maintain and update the data.

The other options are not valid reasons for choosing a star schema model over a 3NF model in Snowflake:

Snowflake can handle the joins implied in a 3NF data model, as it supports ANSI SQL and has a powerful query engine that can optimize and execute complex queries efficiently.

The Architect can use both star schema and 3NF models to remove data duplication from the data stored in Snowflake, as both models can enforce data integrity and avoid data anomalies. However, the trade-off is that a star schema model may have more data redundancy than a 3NF model, as it denormalizes the data for faster query performance, while a 3NF model may have less data redundancy than a star schema model, as it normalizes the data for easier data maintenance.

The Architect can use both star schema and 3NF models to design a landing zone to receive raw data into Snowflake, as both models can accommodate different types of data sources and formats. However, the choice of the model may depend on the purpose and scope of the landing zone, such as whether it is a temporary or permanent storage, whether it is a staging area or a data lake, and whether it is a single source or a multi-source integration.

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