ADA-C01 Question 518
Single answerDifferentiate between replication Groups and failover groupsA global company uses Snowflake in AWS_US_EAST_1 as its primary account and AWS_US_WEST_2 as its disaster recovery account. The platform team must meet two requirements: (1) keep several production databases and selected account-level objects synchronized to the DR account, and (2) during a regional outage, quickly promote the DR account so business-critical workloads can continue with the replicated account objects available there. Which Snowflake feature should the team implement to satisfy both requirements with the least operational complexity?
- A
Create a replication group for the databases and account objects, then manually recreate account-level objects in the DR account during an outage.
- B
Create a failover group that includes the required databases and supported account-level objects, then fail over the group to the secondary account during a disaster.
- C
Use database replication for each database and rely on organization replication to automatically promote users, roles, and warehouses during an outage.
- D
Create a replication group and use client redirect to convert it into a writable secondary during a disaster.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The key distinction is purpose and behavior during a disaster. Replication groups are used to replicate and synchronize supported objects between accounts, including certain account objects and databases, but they do not provide failover/failback capabilities. Failover groups build on replication for business continuity by allowing supported objects to be replicated and then promoted in a secondary account when the primary is unavailable. In this scenario, the organization needs both synchronized databases/account objects and the ability to quickly promote the DR environment, so a failover group is the appropriate choice. This aligns with Snowflake documentation on replication and failover, which distinguishes replication groups for replication-only use cases from failover groups for disaster recovery and account-level failover scenarios. Candidates should also remember that client redirect is complementary to failover operations for connection management, not a replacement for failover group functionality.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A replication group can replicate supported account objects and databases, but it is designed for replication and synchronization, not account failover. If the requirement includes promoting the DR account for continued operations with replicated account objects, manually rebuilding or reconfiguring those objects during an outage increases operational effort and does not meet the 'least operational complexity' requirement.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Failover groups are designed for business continuity and disaster recovery across accounts. They replicate supported databases and supported account objects and, unlike replication groups, they support failover/failback so the secondary can be promoted during an outage. This directly addresses both synchronization and rapid promotion requirements.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Database replication alone does not cover the broader requirement for selected account-level objects. Also, Snowflake does not use an 'organization replication' feature to automatically promote users, roles, and warehouses for this purpose. This option reflects a common misconception that database replication by itself provides full account-level disaster recovery.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Replication groups do not become writable secondaries through client redirect. Client redirect helps applications connect to the correct account endpoint during failover scenarios, but it does not change the core capability difference between replication groups and failover groups. A replication group does not provide the failover semantics needed here.