DEA-C02 Storage and Data Protection Practice Question
A data engineer changes the DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS parameter for a schema from 1 to 30. How does this change affect the existing permanent tables within that schema?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume the schema change retroactively overrides explicit table-level settings. They forget that Snowflake object-level parameters are immutable once set at the table level unless explicitly altered on the table itself.
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
✓
Tables without an explicit retention setting will inherit the new 30-day period.
Parameters in Snowflake follow a hierarchy where object-level settings override schema-level settings, which override account-level settings. If a table does not have its own specific retention period set, it inherits the new value from the schema. However, if a table was explicitly created with its own retention period, that setting remains unchanged.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
All existing tables in the schema are immediately updated to 30 days of retention.
Why it's wrong here
This is only true for tables that were using the default schema-level setting. Any table that had an explicit DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS value set at the time of its creation or via an ALTER TABLE command will retain its specific configuration, ignoring the change made at the schema level.
- ✗
The change only applies to new tables created after the parameter was modified.
Why it's wrong here
Snowflake parameters are dynamic. For tables that inherit their retention setting from the schema, the change to 30 days will apply to those existing tables immediately. It is not limited to new objects; it affects all objects that rely on the schema's default value for that parameter.
- ✗
The schema-level change is ignored unless the account-level retention is also 30.
Why it's wrong here
The hierarchy works in the opposite direction. A schema-level setting is more specific than an account-level setting and will override it. There is no requirement for the account-level parameter to match the schema-level parameter for the schema's configuration to take effect on its child objects.
- ✓
Tables without an explicit retention setting will inherit the new 30-day period.
Why this is correct
Snowflake's hierarchical parameter model ensures that objects inherit settings from their parent containers unless explicitly overridden. By updating the schema, any table within it that has not been specifically configured with its own retention period will now follow the schema's new 30-day Time Travel policy.
About these practice questions
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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
This DEA-C02 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 DEA-C02 exam.