ARA-C01 Snowflake Architecture Practice Question
When creating a Zero-copy Clone of a production database to a development environment, which THREE statements accurately describe the behavior? (Choose THREE)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume that a clone shares the same Time Travel history as the source. In reality, the clone is a distinct object that begins its own unique history from the moment of creation.
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 clone does not incur additional storage costs until the data in the clone or source is modified.
Zero-copy cloning is a powerful architectural feature that duplicates the metadata of an object without copying the underlying data. This makes the operation nearly instantaneous and cost-effective. However, the clone is an independent object; changes in the source don't reflect in the clone, and the clone starts with its own Time Travel history.
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 clone does not incur additional storage costs until the data in the clone or source is modified.
Why this is correct
Because cloning only duplicates metadata pointers to the existing micro-partitions, no new data is written initially. Only when rows are updated or deleted in either the source or the clone do new micro-partitions get created, at which point the account begins to incur storage charges for the unique data.
- ✓
The operation is nearly instantaneous as it only involves metadata manipulation.
Why this is correct
Since Snowflake does not physically move or copy any data files during a clone, the time required to complete the operation is independent of the size of the database. It simply creates a new set of metadata records that point to the same physical micro-partitions as the original object.
- ✗
Changes made to the production database are automatically reflected in the development clone.
Why it's wrong here
A clone is a point-in-time snapshot of the source object. Once the clone is created, it becomes an independent entity. Any subsequent DML operations on the production database will not be visible in the development clone, and vice versa, ensuring isolation between the two environments for testing and development.
- ✗
Cloning a database also clones the associated Virtual Warehouses used by that database.
Why it's wrong here
Cloning applies only to data objects like databases, schemas, and tables. Virtual Warehouses are compute resources and are not part of the database's metadata or data structure. You must manually create or configure warehouses in the development environment to process queries against the newly cloned database objects.
- ✓
The clone has its own independent Time Travel retention period and history.
Why this is correct
Once a clone is created, it begins its own lifecycle. The Time Travel history of the source is not copied to the clone; instead, the clone starts its own history from the moment of creation. This allows developers to perform destructive tests and still use Time Travel to revert changes within the clone.
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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
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