Sample questions
Wh Snowflake Compute WarehousesDifficulty 1
In Snowflake's architecture, what is a virtual warehouse?
- aA physical schema that stores raw table files
- bA cluster of compute, separate from storage✓
- cA logical namespace grouping user roles
- dA background service for data replication
Explanation:Snowflake separates storage and compute. A virtual warehouse is a cluster of compute resources (CPU, memory, temp disk) that executes queries and DML against data held in Snowflake's shared storage layer.
Wh Snowflake Compute WarehousesDifficulty 1
Snowflake warehouse sizes form a ladder (X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, ...). What happens to the credit rate when you move up one tier?
- aIt stays exactly the same
- bIt increases by a flat, fixed amount
- cIt roughly doubles versus the previous tier✓
- dIt decreases, since bigger is more efficient
Explanation:Each Snowflake warehouse size tier roughly doubles the compute resources — and therefore roughly doubles the credit consumption rate per hour of running time — compared to the tier below it.
Wh Snowflake Compute WarehousesDifficulty 2
A single complex query runs slowly on an otherwise idle warehouse (no competing queries). Which lever speeds up this one, complex query?
- aResizing the warehouse to a larger size✓
- bRaising MAX_CLUSTER_COUNT for a second cluster
- cLowering AUTO_SUSPEND
- dAssigning a higher-quota resource monitor
Explanation:Warehouse resizing (scaling up) adds more compute resources to each running cluster, which is the lever intended to speed up an individual complex query. Multi-cluster settings target concurrency, not single-query speed.
Wh Snowflake Compute WarehousesDifficulty 3
A dashboard runs many small, already-fast lookup queries. A team resizes the warehouse from Small to X-Large hoping for a big boost. What's the most likely outcome?
- aEach query gets proportionally faster
- bThe queries stop being billed
- cOnly the first query afterward speeds up
- dLittle to no noticeable speedup happens✓
Explanation:Larger warehouses mainly help queries that are compute- or memory-bound (complex joins, aggregations, large scans). Small, already-fast queries have little room to benefit, so upsizing mostly just raises the credit rate without a proportional speed gain.
Wh Snowflake Compute WarehousesDifficulty 1
What does the AUTO_SUSPEND warehouse property control?
- aHow many concurrent clusters can start
- bThe idle-seconds before auto-suspension✓
- cThe maximum parallel query count
- dWhether resizing is allowed mid-query
Explanation:AUTO_SUSPEND specifies the number of seconds of inactivity after which Snowflake automatically suspends the warehouse, stopping credit consumption for compute time.
Wh Snowflake Compute WarehousesDifficulty 1
What does the AUTO_RESUME warehouse property control?
- aWhether size auto-increases under load
- bWhether suspended warehouses get deleted
- cWhether a new statement auto-resumes it✓
- dWhether results auto-cache after resuming
Explanation:AUTO_RESUME determines whether Snowflake automatically resumes (starts) a suspended warehouse when a SQL statement that needs it is submitted, instead of requiring a manual resume.