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Snowflake accounts and virtual warehouses: free practice questions

5 sample questions from our 35-question bank for this domain — answers and explanations included. These are the same scenario-based style as the real Snowflake exam.

1. Which role is typically required to query most views in the ACCOUNT_USAGE schema by default, unless additional grants have been made?

  • A. Any role with USAGE on the current database
  • B. ACCOUNTADMIN, or a role explicitly granted access to the SNOWFLAKE database's ACCOUNT_USAGE schema✓ Correct
  • C. PUBLIC, since ACCOUNT_USAGE is open to all users by default
  • D. SYSADMIN only, and no other role can ever be granted access
Explanation

By default, access to the SNOWFLAKE database's ACCOUNT_USAGE schema is restricted to ACCOUNTADMIN, though administrators can extend access by granting the built-in SNOWFLAKE database role (or specific view grants) to other custom roles. Option A is too broad — generic database USAGE doesn't imply access to this specific shared database's restricted schema. Option C is wrong; ACCOUNT_USAGE is not open to PUBLIC by default, it's sensitive account telemetry. Option D is wrong because access can be extended beyond just SYSADMIN through explicit grants.

2. Which of the following is true about parameter precedence when the same parameter is set at both the account level and the session level?

  • A. The account-level value always wins, regardless of session settings
  • B. The session-level value takes precedence for that session, overriding the account-level default✓ Correct
  • C. Snowflake raises an error when a parameter is set at more than one level
  • D. Only ACCOUNTADMIN can set session-level parameters, so this conflict cannot normally occur
Explanation

Snowflake's parameter hierarchy allows narrower scopes to override broader ones: a value explicitly set at the session level takes precedence over the account-level default for that session. Option A inverts the actual precedence order. Option C is incorrect — overriding at multiple levels is expected, supported behavior, not an error condition. Option D is false; ordinary users can typically set many session-level parameters (like TIMEZONE or QUERY_TAG) for their own sessions without needing ACCOUNTADMIN privileges.

3. Which auto-suspend setting is generally the safest default starting point for a warehouse used by ad hoc analysts who run queries sporadically throughout the day, balancing cost against the cost of frequent cold-start resumes?

  • A. Auto-suspend disabled (warehouse never suspends)
  • B. A short auto-suspend window, such as 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity✓ Correct
  • C. Auto-suspend set to exactly 24 hours
  • D. Auto-suspend cannot be configured; only auto-resume can be configured
Explanation

A short auto-suspend window (commonly 5–10 minutes) is the standard starting recommendation: it lets the warehouse stay warm through a burst of related queries (avoiding repeated cold starts) while still suspending — and stopping credit consumption — once the analyst is done for a while. Option A (never suspend) burns credits continuously even when idle. Option C (24 hours) leaves the warehouse running, and billing, for nearly a full day of inactivity, which is wasteful for sporadic use. Option D is factually wrong — auto-suspend is a configurable warehouse parameter (AUTO_SUSPEND).

4. What is the primary difference between a Snowflake account administrator's use of the ORGADMIN role and the ACCOUNTADMIN role?

  • A. ORGADMIN manages organization-level objects such as creating and viewing accounts across the organization, while ACCOUNTADMIN manages top-level operations within a single account✓ Correct
  • B. ORGADMIN and ACCOUNTADMIN are two names for the exact same role and can be used interchangeably
  • C. ACCOUNTADMIN can create new Snowflake accounts within an organization, while ORGADMIN cannot manage billing
  • D. ORGADMIN is a custom role that must be created manually; it does not exist by default
Explanation

ORGADMIN is a system role scoped to the organization level — it can view and create accounts, and see organization-wide usage. ACCOUNTADMIN is scoped to a single account and has top-level control over that account's warehouses, resource monitors, and billing visibility for that account. Option B is wrong, they are distinct roles with distinct scopes. Option C reverses the capability: creating new accounts in an organization is an ORGADMIN capability, not ACCOUNTADMIN. Option D is wrong because ORGADMIN is a built-in system role, not something you create.

5. An administrator wants to identify which queries consumed the most credits over the last month, using historical data that includes queries from warehouses that no longer exist. Which ACCOUNT_USAGE view is most directly suited to this?

  • A. QUERY_HISTORY view in ACCOUNT_USAGE, which retains long-term query-level history including warehouse and execution details✓ Correct
  • B. SHOW WAREHOUSES
  • C. DESCRIBE WAREHOUSE
  • D. The Snowsight login page
Explanation

The ACCOUNT_USAGE.QUERY_HISTORY view retains a long window of historical query-level detail — including execution time, warehouse used, and bytes/rows processed — independent of whether the originating warehouse still exists, making it the right source for a month-long, cross-warehouse credit/query analysis. SHOW WAREHOUSES (option B) and DESCRIBE WAREHOUSE (option C) only return current, live warehouse metadata, not historical per-query records. The Snowsight login page (option D) is not a data source at all.

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