Snowflake ARA-R01 Exam Practice Test Instant Access

Question 1

What is a characteristic of loading data into Snowflake using the Snowflake Connector for Kafka?

AThe Connector only works in Snowflake regions that use AWS infrastructure.

BThe Connector works with all file formats, including text, JSON, Avro, Ore, Parquet, and XML.

CThe Connector creates and manages its own stage, file format, and pipe objects.

DLoads using the Connector will have lower latency than Snowpipe and will ingest data in real time.

Answer : C

According to the SnowPro Advanced: Architect documents and learning resources, a characteristic of loading data into Snowflake using the Snowflake Connector for Kafka is that the Connector creates and manages its own stage, file format, and pipe objects. The stage is an internal stage that is used to store the data files from the Kafka topics. The file format is a JSON or Avro file format that is used to parse the data files. The pipe is a Snowpipe object that is used to load the data files into the Snowflake table.The Connector automatically creates and configures these objects based on the Kafka configuration properties, and handles the cleanup and maintenance of these objects1.

The other options are incorrect because they are not characteristics of loading data into Snowflake using the Snowflake Connector for Kafka. Option A is incorrect because the Connector works in Snowflake regions that use any cloud infrastructure, not just AWS.The Connector supports AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms, and can load data across different regions and cloud platforms using data replication2. Option B is incorrect because the Connector does not work with all file formats, only JSON and Avro. The Connector expects the data in the Kafka topics to be in JSON or Avro format, and parses the data accordingly.Other file formats, such as text, ORC, Parquet, or XML, are not supported by the Connector3. Option D is incorrect because loads using the Connector do not have lower latency than Snowpipe, and do not ingest data in real time. The Connector uses Snowpipe to load data into Snowflake, and inherits the same latency and performance characteristics of Snowpipe.The Connector does not provide real-time ingestion, but near real-time ingestion, depending on the frequency and size of the data files4.Reference:Installing and Configuring the Kafka Connector | Snowflake Documentation,Sharing Data Across Regions and Cloud Platforms | Snowflake Documentation,Overview of the Kafka Connector | Snowflake Documentation,Using Snowflake Connector for Kafka With Snowpipe Streaming | Snowflake Documentation

Question 2

Company A has recently acquired company B. The Snowflake deployment for company B is located in the Azure West Europe region.

As part of the integration process, an Architect has been asked to consolidate company B's sales data into company A's Snowflake account which is located in the AWS us-east-1 region.

How can this requirement be met?

AReplicate the sales data from company B's Snowflake account into company A's Snowflake account using cross-region data replication within Snowflake. Configure a direct share from company B's account to company A's account.

BExport the sales data from company B's Snowflake account as CSV files, and transfer the files to company A's Snowflake account. Import the data using Snowflake's data loading capabilities.

CMigrate company B's Snowflake deployment to the same region as company A's Snowflake deployment, ensuring data locality. Then perform a direct database-to-database merge of the sales data.

DBuild a custom data pipeline using Azure Data Factory or a similar tool to extract the sales data from company B's Snowflake account. Transform the data, then load it into company A's Snowflake account.

Answer : A

The best way to meet the requirement of consolidating company B's sales data into company A's Snowflake account is to use cross-region data replication within Snowflake. This feature allows data providers to securely share data with data consumers across different regions and cloud platforms. By replicating the sales data from company B's account in Azure West Europe region to company A's account in AWS us-east-1 region, the data will be synchronized and available for consumption. To enable data replication, the accounts must be linked and replication must be enabled by a user with the ORGADMIN role. Then, a replication group must be created and the sales database must be added to the group. Finally, a direct share must be configured from company B's account to company A's account to grant access to the replicated data. This option is more efficient and secure than exporting and importing data using CSV files or migrating the entire Snowflake deployment to another region or cloud platform. It also does not require building a custom data pipeline using external tools.

Sharing data securely across regions and cloud platforms

Introduction to replication and failover

Replication considerations

Replicating account objects

Question 3

An Architect is integrating an application that needs to read and write data to Snowflake without installing any additional software on the application server.

How can this requirement be met?

AUse SnowSQL.

BUse the Snowpipe REST API.

CUse the Snowflake SQL REST API.

DUse the Snowflake ODBC driver.

Answer : C

The Snowflake SQL REST API is a REST API that you can use to access and update data in a Snowflake database. You can use this API to execute standard queries and most DDL and DML statements. This API can be used to develop custom applications and integrations that can read and write data to Snowflake without installing any additional software on the application server. Option A is not correct because SnowSQL is a command-line client that requires installation and configuration on the application server. Option B is not correct because the Snowpipe REST API is used to load data from cloud storage into Snowflake tables, not to read or write data to Snowflake. Option D is not correct because the Snowflake ODBC driver is a software component that enables applications to connect to Snowflake using the ODBC protocol, which also requires installation and configuration on the application server.Reference: The answer can be verified from Snowflake's official documentation on the Snowflake SQL REST API available on their website. Here are some relevant links:

Snowflake SQL REST API | Snowflake Documentation

Introduction to the SQL API | Snowflake Documentation

Submitting a Request to Execute SQL Statements | Snowflake Documentation

Question 4

Which query will identify the specific days and virtual warehouses that would benefit from a multi-cluster warehouse to improve the performance of a particular workload?

AOption A

BOption B

COption C

DOption D

Answer : B

The correct answer is option B. This query is designed to assess the need for a multi-cluster warehouse by examining the queuing time (AVG_QUEUED_LOAD) on different days and virtual warehouses. When the AVG_QUEUED_LOAD is greater than zero, it suggests that queries are waiting for resources, which can be an indicator that performance might be improved by using a multi-cluster warehouse to handle the workload more efficiently. By grouping by date and warehouse name and filtering on the sum of the average queued load being greater than zero, the query identifies specific days and warehouses where the workload exceeded the available compute resources. This information is valuable when considering scaling out warehouses to multi-cluster configurations for improved performance.

Question 5

What are characteristics of the use of transactions in Snowflake? (Select TWO).

AExplicit transactions can contain DDL, DML, and query statements.

BThe autocommit setting can be changed inside a stored procedure.

CA transaction can be started explicitly by executing a begin work statement and end explicitly by executing a commit work statement.

DA transaction can be started explicitly by executing a begin transaction statement and end explicitly by executing an end transaction statement.

EExplicit transactions should contain only DML statements and query statements. All DDL statements implicitly commit active transactions.

Answer : A, C

A. Snowflake's transactions can indeed include DDL (Data Definition Language), DML (Data Manipulation Language), and query statements. When executed within a transaction block, they all contribute to the atomicity of the transaction---either all of them commit together or none at all. C. Snowflake supports explicit transaction control through the use of the BEGIN TRANSACTION (or simply BEGIN) and COMMIT statements. Alternatively, the BEGIN WORK and COMMIT WORK syntax is also supported, which is a standard SQL syntax for initiating and ending transactions, respectively. Note: The END TRANSACTION statement is not used in Snowflake to end a transaction; the correct statement is COMMIT or COMMIT WORK.

Question 6

A company needs to share its product catalog data with one of its partners. The product catalog data is stored in two database tables: product_category, and product_details. Both tables can be joined by the product_id column. Data access should be governed, and only the partner should have access to the records.

The partner is not a Snowflake customer. The partner uses Amazon S3 for cloud storage.

Which design will be the MOST cost-effective and secure, while using the required Snowflake features?

AUse Secure Data Sharing with an S3 bucket as a destination.

BPublish product_category and product_details data sets on the Snowflake Marketplace.

CCreate a database user for the partner and give them access to the required data sets.

DCreate a reader account for the partner and share the data sets as secure views.

Answer : D

A reader account is a type of Snowflake account that allows external users to access data shared by a provider account without being a Snowflake customer. A reader account can be created and managed by the provider account, and can use the Snowflake web interface or JDBC/ODBC drivers to query the shared data.A reader account is billed to the provider account based on the credits consumed by the queries1. A secure view is a type of view that applies row-level security filters to the underlying tables, and masks the data that is not accessible to the user.A secure view can be shared with a reader account to provide granular and governed access to the data2. In this scenario, creating a reader account for the partner and sharing the data sets as secure views would be the most cost-effective and secure design, while using the required Snowflake features, because:

It would avoid the data transfer and storage costs of using an S3 bucket as a destination, and the potential security risks of exposing the data to unauthorized access or modification.

It would avoid the complexity and overhead of publishing the data sets on the Snowflake Marketplace, and the potential loss of control over the data ownership and pricing.

It would avoid the need to create a database user for the partner and grant them access to the required data sets, which would require the partner to have a Snowflake account and consume the provider's resources.

Reader Accounts

Secure Views

Question 7

A company is designing high availability and disaster recovery plans and needs to maximize redundancy and minimize recovery time objectives for their critical application processes. Cost is not a concern as long as the solution is the best available. The plan so far consists of the following steps:

1. Deployment of Snowflake accounts on two different cloud providers.

2. Selection of cloud provider regions that are geographically far apart.

3. The Snowflake deployment will replicate the databases and account data between both cloud provider accounts.

4. Implementation of Snowflake client redirect.

What is the MOST cost-effective way to provide the HIGHEST uptime and LEAST application disruption if there is a service event?

AConnect the applications using the <organization_name>-<connection_name> URL. Use the Business Critical Snowflake edition.

BConnect the applications using the <organization_name>-<connection_name> URL. Use the Virtual Private Snowflake (VPS) edition.

CConnect the applications using the <organization_name>- URL. Use the Enterprise Snowflake edition.

DConnect the applications using the <organization_name>- URL. Use the Business Critical Snowflake edition.

Answer : D

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

Snowflake ARA-R01 SnowPro Advanced: Architect Recertification Exam Practice Test