ARA-C01 Snowflake Architecture Practice Question
Exhibit
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"s3:GetObject",
"s3:GetObjectVersion"
],
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::production-data/*"
},
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"s3:ListBucket"
],
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::production-data",
"Condition": {
"StringLike": { "s3:prefix": [ "logs/*" ] }
}
}
]
}Refer to the exhibit. An architect is configuring a Snowflake Storage Integration to access an external S3 bucket. Based on the IAM policy shown, what will happen if a Snowflake user attempts to create an External Stage pointing to 's3://production-data/raw/'?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often focus only on the IAM policy's 'Action' section and overlook the 'Resource' conditions, failing to notice that the ListBucket permission is restricted to a specific sub-folder prefix.
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
✓
The operation will fail because the ListBucket permission is constrained to the 'logs/' prefix.
Snowflake requires both s3:ListBucket and s3:GetObject permissions to access data in an external stage. While the policy allows GetObject for the entire bucket, the ListBucket permission is restricted by a condition to only allow the 'logs/' prefix. Therefore, any attempt to list or access files in the 'raw/' prefix will result in an Access Denied error from AWS.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The stage will be created successfully and data can be loaded because GetObject is allowed.
Why it's wrong here
Even though GetObject is granted for the entire bucket, Snowflake needs to list the files in the directory to identify which objects to process. Since the ListBucket permission is restricted to the 'logs/' prefix, the integration will fail to see any files in the 'raw/' directory, preventing data loading.
- ✗
The stage creation will fail immediately because Snowflake cannot validate the bucket's existence.
Why it's wrong here
Snowflake might allow the creation of the stage object in its metadata, but the validation of the path usually happens during the first access or if 'VALIDATION = TRUE' is used. The core issue is not the existence of the bucket itself, but the lack of permissions to list the specific prefix.
- ✗
Data loading will work, but only if the user specifies the exact filenames in the COPY command.
Why it's wrong here
Snowflake's internal mechanisms for accessing external stages still rely on the ability to list objects within a prefix to manage the ingestion metadata. Even with exact filenames, the storage integration requires proper IAM permissions to interact with the S3 API for listing operations to ensure the path is valid.
- ✓
The operation will fail because the ListBucket permission is constrained to the 'logs/' prefix.
Why this is correct
The IAM policy explicitly restricts the 's3:ListBucket' action to the 'logs/*' prefix using a condition block. When Snowflake tries to access 's3://production-data/raw/', the AWS IAM service will deny the request because the requested prefix does not match the allowed condition in the policy statement.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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.