ARA-C01 Snowflake Architecture Practice Question
A Data Provider wants to share data with a Consumer who does not have a Snowflake account. Which TWO architectural components are required to facilitate this type of sharing?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often incorrectly assume that a Data Exchange or a Data Marketplace listing is required for all external sharing, forgetting that a simple Reader Account is the most direct method for non-Snowflake users.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A Reader Account created and managed by the Data Provider.
To share data with a non-Snowflake user, a Data Provider must create a Reader Account. This is a managed Snowflake account created and paid for by the provider. The provider then uses a 'Share' object to grant access to specific database objects. This allows the consumer to query the shared data using a web interface or supported drivers without needing their own Snowflake contract.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A Reader Account created and managed by the Data Provider.
Why this is correct
Reader Accounts are a specific architectural feature designed for consumers who do not have their own Snowflake account. The Data Provider creates the account within their own organization and provides the login credentials to the consumer. The provider is responsible for all costs incurred by the virtual warehouses within the reader account.
- ✗
A Private Data Exchange listing that is restricted to the consumer's IP.
Why it's wrong here
While a Data Exchange can be used to organize shares, it is not a requirement for sharing with a non-Snowflake user. The fundamental mechanism for this scenario is the Reader Account. A Data Exchange listing is more about the discovery and governance of shares within a larger ecosystem of Snowflake-using partners.
- ✓
A Share object containing grants on the database and schema.
Why this is correct
A Share is the architectural container used in Snowflake to define which objects (tables, views, etc.) are visible to another account. To share data, the provider creates a share, adds the necessary database objects to it, and then assigns the share to the consumer's account (in this case, the Reader Account).
- ✗
A Storage Integration that allows the consumer to access the provider's S3 bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Snowflake Data Sharing is built on the 'Sharing' of metadata and micro-partitions, not direct access to the underlying storage buckets. The consumer queries the data through the Snowflake compute layer, and Snowflake's architecture handles the data retrieval. Direct storage access via integrations would bypass Snowflake's security and governance model.
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A Secure View that masks the provider's metadata from the consumer.
Why it's wrong here
While Secure Views are a best practice in data sharing to hide sensitive SQL logic or metadata, they are not a strictly required architectural component for the sharing mechanism itself. A provider could theoretically share a standard table, although using secure views is highly recommended for security and privacy reasons in most production scenarios.
About these practice questions
This ARA-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 209-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Snowflake exam blueprint
This ARA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Snowflake certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ARA-C01 exam.