DEA-C02 Data Movement Practice Question
A data engineer manages a Snowpipe that ingests files from an external stage. The pipe uses a file format with SKIP_HEADER = 1, and the source files are regenerated daily with the same names in the same stage path. The engineer notices that only the first day's files are loaded and subsequent regenerated files are ignored. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is blaming the file format or pattern options, when the actual behavior is driven by Snowpipe's name-and-path-based load history deduplication.
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
✓
Snowpipe tracks loaded files by name and path, and since the regenerated files have identical names and paths, they are skipped as already processed.
Snowpipe uses load history to avoid reprocessing files. Because the regenerated files keep identical names and paths, Snowpipe considers them already loaded and skips them. To ingest the new content, the engineer must either rename the files, move them to a new path, or clear the pipe's load history before the next load.
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 external stage has a file format that includes a PATTERN option matching only the original file names.
Why it's wrong here
A PATTERN option restricts which files are considered based on a regex, but the scenario states the regenerated files have the same names, so a pattern would still match them. The reason they are ignored is Snowpipe's load history, not a pattern mismatch. Adjusting the pattern would not resolve the repeated-name deduplication.
- ✗
The pipe's AUTO_INGEST setting is disabled, so Snowpipe only polls for new files every 24 hours.
Why it's wrong here
AUTO_INGEST controls whether cloud event notifications trigger the pipe. Disabling it would mean the pipe relies on manual or scheduled refreshes, but it would not cause identical-name files to be permanently ignored. The described symptom of only the first day's files loading is characteristic of load history deduplication, not polling frequency.
- ✗
The pipe's file format has SKIP_HEADER set to 1, which causes Snowflake to skip all files after the first load.
Why it's wrong here
SKIP_HEADER only removes the header row from each file during parsing; it does not affect which files are considered for loading. Setting it to 1 is common and unrelated to file deduplication. The repeated-file issue is caused by Snowpipe's load history tracking, not by the header-skipping setting.
- ✓
Snowpipe tracks loaded files by name and path, and since the regenerated files have identical names and paths, they are skipped as already processed.
Why this is correct
Snowpipe maintains a load history keyed on the file name and path. When a file with an identical name and path is seen again, it is treated as already loaded and ignored, even if its contents changed. Regenerating files with the same names in the same stage location will therefore not trigger a reload without manual intervention.
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.