DEA-C02 Storage and Data Protection Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  Create zero-copy clones of critical tables on a schedule to maintain independent point-in-time copies.

  Why this is correct

  Scheduled zero-copy clones provide independent copies that reference shared micro-partitions initially, costing little until data diverges. If the source is modified or dropped, a clone can serve as a recovery point. This complements Time Travel by giving the team a self-service restoration option that does not depend on Snowflake Support, supporting the stated goals.

• ✗

  Disable Time Travel on critical tables to avoid storage charges and rely solely on external backups.

  Why it's wrong here

  Disabling Time Travel removes the ability to query historical data or use UNDROP, directly conflicting with the requirement to reverse accidental modifications and restore dropped tables. External backups are outside Snowflake's native recovery and cannot be restored with UNDROP. Turning off Time Travel reduces cost but eliminates the primary self-service recovery mechanism the scenario depends on.

• ✗

  Rely on Fail-safe to restore dropped tables without involving Snowflake Support.

  Why it's wrong here

  Fail-safe is a non-configurable 7-day period accessible only by Snowflake Support. Users cannot query Fail-safe data or run UNDROP against it. Depending on Fail-safe for self-service recovery contradicts its design. It is a last-resort disaster recovery mechanism, not a routine restoration path, so it cannot satisfy the requirement of restoring tables without a support ticket.

• ✗

  Use transient tables for all critical data to reduce storage costs while keeping recovery options.

  Why it's wrong here

  Transient tables are capped at 1 day of Time Travel and have Fail-safe disabled. That severely limits the ability to reverse modifications or restore dropped tables beyond a single day. Choosing transient tables for critical data undermines the recovery objectives. Cost savings do not compensate for the sharply reduced recovery window and the absence of Fail-safe protection.

• ✓

  Set DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS to a value greater than 1 on the critical tables.

  Why this is correct

  Setting a retention period greater than 1 day extends the Time Travel window, allowing the team to query historical data and use UNDROP within that window. On Enterprise Edition, retention can be set up to 90 days. This directly supports reversing accidental modifications and self-service restoration of dropped tables before they enter Fail-safe.