With a multi-cluster warehouse configured for standard scaling and a maximum of eight clusters, what is the maximum time to start all clusters if heavy query load triggers new cluster startups?

• A. They all start at the same time.
• B. 80 seconds.
• C. 160 seconds.
• D. 200 seconds.

Answer: (C)

In Snowflake, a multi-cluster warehouse scales out by starting additional clusters as workload increases, up to the configured maximum. The startup process happens for clusters one by one rather than all at once, so the time to have all eight clusters online is roughly the per-cluster startup time multiplied by eight. If each cluster takes about 20 seconds to initialize, bringing the full eight-cluster configuration online would take around 160 seconds. That’s the maximum time under heavy load when you hit the eight-cluster cap.

The other options don’t fit because clusters don’t all start simultaneously, so you wouldn’t have just 80 seconds or a shorter total time. And 200 seconds would imply more than eight clusters or longer startup per cluster, which isn’t permitted with the maximum of eight.