DEA-C02 Data Movement Practice Question
During a bulk load from an S3 stage, a data engineer notices that the data is not being loaded despite the COPY INTO command executing successfully. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume a successful query execution guarantees data was loaded, missing that zero rows match the criteria due to strict pattern matching or file format mismatches.
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 files in the stage do not match the 'PATTERN' specified in the COPY command.
Snowflake's COPY INTO command includes a 'VALIDATION_MODE' option, but if the command is executed normally and the files are empty or mis-filtered by the 'FILE_FORMAT' settings, no rows will be ingested. The 'LOAD_HISTORY' information can confirm if files were processed. Often, the issue stems from an incorrect 'PATTERN' argument or a misalignment between the file structure and the defined format, resulting in zero rows being accepted into the target table.
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 warehouse is too small to process the files.
Why it's wrong here
If the warehouse were too small, the COPY command would fail with an error or timeout, rather than completing successfully with zero rows. A successful command completion indicates that the system processed the metadata and files correctly, but found no matching data to insert based on the input parameters.
- ✓
The files in the stage do not match the 'PATTERN' specified in the COPY command.
Why this is correct
The 'PATTERN' parameter acts as a filter for files in the stage. If the pattern is overly restrictive or incorrect, Snowflake may successfully read the stage but find zero files that match, resulting in a successful command execution that loads no data. This is a common configuration oversight in pipeline development.
- ✗
The user lacks the 'INSERT' privilege on the target table.
Why it's wrong here
If a user lacks the necessary 'INSERT' privilege, the COPY INTO command would return a clear permission denied error. It would not proceed to execute successfully while failing to insert data. Permission issues stop the process before the actual data ingestion logic can even begin to operate on the stage.
- ✗
The source S3 bucket was deleted before the load started.
Why it's wrong here
If the source bucket were unavailable, the COPY command would fail with an error indicating that the stage or the files could not be reached. A successful command requires a valid connection to the stage, suggesting that the stage exists, but the file filtering logic is the likely culprit.
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
One of 229 original DEA-C02 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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 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.