A Data Engineer is investigating a data quality issue that led to a system failure. Because there is no data from the time of the incident, the Engineer needs replicate the issue, without causing…

Question

Options

• AUse Time Travel to restore the data back to the way it was just before the incident occurred.
• BCreate an empty table using a CREATE TABLE LIKE command and insert the historic data into
• CCreate a view using the historic Time Travel data and use this view to test the data.
• DCreate a clone of the data using the historic Time Travel data and use the clone to test the data.

• A
  10% (2)
• C
  5% (1)
• D
  86% (18)

Explanation

Option D is correct because Snowflake's Zero-Copy Cloning combined with Time Travel lets you instantly create an isolated, independent copy of data as it existed at the time of the incident - without duplicating the underlying storage, meaning no additional cost. The clone is fully independent from production, so you can safely reproduce and investigate the failure with no risk of disrupting live operations.

Why the distractors fail:

• A - Restoring via Time Travel would overwrite or roll back the actual production data, directly disrupting current operations - the opposite of what's needed.
• B - CREATE TABLE LIKE creates only the schema (empty table); you'd still have to manually reinsert historical data, adding engineering effort and incurring storage costs for the inserted rows.
• C - A view on Time Travel data is read-only and non-isolated; it's just a query lens on historical data, not a safe sandbox - you can't modify or test against it the way you can a real table clone.

Memory tip: Think of it as "Clone = Free Sandbox from the Past." Snowflake clones are zero-copy (share storage until data diverges) and Time Travel gives you access to the past - together they're the go-to combo for incident investigation without cost or production risk.

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