ADA-C01 Question 522
Single answerReplicate data to a lower Snowflake editionA company uses a Business Critical Snowflake account in AWS us-east-1 for production and wants to provide a near-real-time reporting copy of one database to a separate Standard Edition account in the same region to reduce costs for a downstream team. The administrator plans to use database replication and scheduled refreshes. Which action should the administrator take first to make this design feasible?
- A
Open a support case to downgrade the source account to Enterprise Edition, because replication from Business Critical to Standard is not supported
- B
Verify that the source database does not use features that require Business Critical-only protection before enabling replication to the Standard Edition target account
- C
Convert the target Standard Edition account to a reader account, because lower-edition accounts can only receive replicated databases as reader accounts
- D
Create a database share instead of replication, because replication cannot be used when the target account is on a lower Snowflake edition
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Snowflake supports replication from higher editions to lower editions only when the replicated database is compatible with the target account's edition. The practical administrative task is to review the source database for edition-specific features or protections that the lower edition cannot support before enabling replication. This is especially important when the source is Business Critical and the target is Standard Edition. The exam objective here is not merely remembering that lower-edition replication can occur, but applying the rule that the replicated content must be supported by the destination edition. Snowflake documentation on replication/failover and edition-based feature availability emphasizes validating feature compatibility across accounts before configuring replication groups or database replication.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Cross-account replication to a lower edition can be supported, including from a higher edition account, but the replicated data must not include objects or protections that require a higher edition than the target supports. Downgrading the entire source account is unnecessary and would not be the recommended first step.
- B. Correct.
Correct. When replicating from a higher edition account to a lower edition account, the administrator must ensure the replicated database is compatible with the target edition. In practice, that means validating that the database does not depend on edition-specific capabilities that the lower edition cannot support. This compatibility review is the key prerequisite before setting up replication and refresh schedules.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A target account receiving a replicated database does not need to be a reader account. Reader accounts are a different mechanism used by providers to share data with consumers who do not manage a full Snowflake account in the usual way. Replication occurs between Snowflake accounts and is not limited to reader accounts.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Data sharing and replication serve different purposes. Shares provide live access to objects without copying the database into the consumer account, whereas replication creates a replicated database that can be refreshed. Replication is not categorically blocked just because the target is on a lower edition; compatibility of the replicated content is the actual concern.