COF-C03 Question 206
Single answerACCOUNT_USAGE schemaA Snowflake administrator needs to build a monthly governance report showing which users have been consuming the most warehouse credits across the account. The report does not need real-time data, but it must cover activity across the entire account without requiring custom logging tables. Which Snowflake object should the administrator use as the primary source for this reporting requirement?
- A
The SNOWFLAKE.ACCOUNT_USAGE schema, because it provides account-level historical usage and metadata views with some latency
- B
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA in each database, because it provides centralized account-wide historical usage for all warehouses and users
- C
The organization usage views, because they are the default source for per-user warehouse consumption in every account
- D
The QUERY_HISTORY table function in a user database, because it stores permanent account-wide billing history without latency
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
For a single Snowflake account, the best source for historical governance and usage reporting is typically the SNOWFLAKE.ACCOUNT_USAGE schema. It includes views such as QUERY_HISTORY, WAREHOUSE_METERING_HISTORY, USERS, and other account-level metadata and usage objects that support reporting on user activity and credit consumption. A commonly tested distinction is that ACCOUNT_USAGE is historical and account-wide but can have latency, whereas INFORMATION_SCHEMA is more immediate for certain metadata and table-function queries but is not the main source for broad historical account reporting. Organization usage views are useful when reporting across multiple accounts in an organization, not as the default answer for a single-account governance report. This aligns with Snowflake documentation on ACCOUNT_USAGE, INFORMATION_SCHEMA, and Organization Usage.
- A. Correct.
Correct. SNOWFLAKE.ACCOUNT_USAGE contains account-level views for historical usage, billing-related data, query activity, users, warehouses, and other metadata. It is commonly used for governance, monitoring, and chargeback-style reporting. A key characteristic is that many ACCOUNT_USAGE views have latency, so it is appropriate when near-real-time reporting is not required.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. INFORMATION_SCHEMA is useful for current metadata and some table functions, but it is not the primary centralized source for long-term account-wide historical usage reporting across the entire account. Also, INFORMATION_SCHEMA is database-specific rather than the main historical reporting layer used for account consumption analysis.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Organization usage views are intended for organization-level visibility across multiple accounts, generally for ORGADMIN-level reporting. They are not the default or most direct answer for a single account administrator needing account-level reporting within one Snowflake account.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. QUERY_HISTORY is exposed through table functions in INFORMATION_SCHEMA and is useful for recent query analysis, but it is not described as a permanent billing history store. It also does not replace ACCOUNT_USAGE for broad historical governance reporting, especially when the goal is warehouse credit consumption analysis at the account level.