DEA-C02 Storage and Data Protection Practice Question
Network Topology
Refer to the exhibit. Why can the user not change the retention time of the table 'SENSITIVE_DATA' to 30 days?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates overlook table properties like transient status and attempt to configure retention periods that exceed the strict limits imposed by Snowflake.
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 table is transient, which limits retention to one day.
The exhibit shows the table is a TRANSIENT table. Snowflake limits the retention period for transient tables to a maximum of one day. Because the table was created with the TRANSIENT keyword, it does not support long-term Time Travel, and the DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS parameter cannot be set to a value higher than 1. To support 30 days, the table must be recreated as a permanent 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 table is transient, which limits retention to one day.
Why this is correct
Transient tables in Snowflake are designed for temporary data and support a maximum retention period of only one day. This architectural constraint prevents users from extending the Time Travel window beyond 24 hours, regardless of the Snowflake edition or account settings, ensuring efficient storage for short-lived, transient datasets.
- ✗
The user lacks the OWNERSHIP privilege on the table.
Why it's wrong here
While ownership is required to alter a table, the exhibit specifically highlights that the table type is TRANSIENT. In Snowflake, the restriction on retention for transient tables is a structural limit of the object type, not a permission-based restriction. Changing the ownership would not override this object-level constraint.
- ✗
The table is currently locked by a running query.
Why it's wrong here
Snowflake allows metadata changes to tables, such as altering retention time, even while active DML operations are occurring. There is no concept of a 'lock' that prevents modifying object parameters like retention time. The restriction is inherent to the transient status of the table object, not active query locks.
- ✗
The table has change tracking enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Change tracking is an independent feature that captures DML changes for streams. It does not affect the maximum retention time allowed for a table. The exhibit shows change tracking is false anyway, but even if it were enabled, it would not be the cause of the one-day retention limit.
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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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