COF-C03 Question 329
Single answerReader accountsA data provider wants to share a subset of sales data with a small customer that does not have its own Snowflake account. The customer needs read-only access to shared data and should be able to query it immediately without managing Snowflake infrastructure. The provider also wants to control compute costs centrally. Which solution best meets these requirements?
- A
Create a Reader account for the customer, share the required database objects to that Reader account, and provide a warehouse in the Reader account for querying.
- B
Create a direct share to the customer and require the customer to create a consumer account later, because direct shares can be queried without a Snowflake account.
- C
Export the data to external stage files and give the customer cloud storage access, because Reader accounts cannot query shared objects.
- D
Create a separate standard Snowflake account owned by the customer, then transfer billing for the warehouse back to the provider using resource monitors.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Reader accounts are intended for situations where a data consumer does not have a Snowflake account but still needs access to shared data. The provider creates the Reader account, manages users and warehouses in that account, and shares database objects to it. This is a common pattern for providers who want to onboard smaller customers quickly while retaining control over administration and compute spend. In contrast, standard secure data sharing requires the consumer to have an existing Snowflake account. Best practice is to use a Reader account when the provider must manage the consumer environment and its compute resources centrally.
- A. Correct.
Correct. A Reader account is specifically designed for consumers who do not already have a Snowflake account. The provider creates and manages the Reader account, shares data to it, and provisions the compute warehouse used to query shared data. This allows the provider to centrally manage access and associated compute costs.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Direct data sharing requires the consumer to already have a Snowflake account to create a database from the share. A customer without a Snowflake account cannot query a direct share until they have an account, so this does not meet the requirement for immediate access without managing Snowflake infrastructure.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Exporting data to stage files is a data delivery pattern, not Snowflake data sharing through Reader accounts. It removes many benefits of secure sharing such as live access to current data without copying. Also, Reader accounts can query shared objects when the provider provisions the necessary compute.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. While a separate standard account could provide access, it does not satisfy the requirement that the customer not manage Snowflake infrastructure. In addition, billing cannot simply be 'transferred back' in the way described; Reader accounts are the built-in mechanism for provider-managed access and provider-controlled compute costs.