ADA-C01 Question 198
Single answerManage Horizon Catalog, Universal Search, and Data LineageA Snowflake administrator is asked to improve data discovery for analysts across several databases and schemas. Analysts report that some tables are easy to find in Snowsight using Universal Search, but business terms such as "customer churn" and "monthly recurring revenue" do not return useful results. Leadership also wants users to understand where critical dashboard tables come from by viewing upstream and downstream dependencies. Which action should the administrator take to best meet both requirements?
- A
Add and maintain business-friendly descriptions and tags on relevant data objects so they can be surfaced through Horizon Catalog and searched in Universal Search, and use Data Lineage in Snowsight to inspect object dependencies.
- B
Create clustering keys on the most important tables and materialized views so Universal Search can index the underlying micro-partitions and infer lineage automatically.
- C
Grant ACCOUNTADMIN to analysts so they can search all objects in the account and use QUERY_HISTORY to manually reconstruct lineage.
- D
Enable Search Optimization Service on the schemas that contain dashboard tables so business glossary terms become searchable and lineage graphs are generated for those schemas.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is to improve metadata quality for governed discovery and use the built-in lineage capability for dependency analysis. In practice, Snowflake Horizon Catalog and Universal Search are most effective when objects have meaningful names, comments/descriptions, and governance metadata such as tags. This helps analysts find data assets using business language instead of only technical object names. For understanding where dashboard tables originate and what downstream assets depend on them, Data Lineage in Snowsight is the appropriate capability because it visualizes upstream and downstream object relationships. Options involving clustering, Search Optimization Service, or broad administrative role grants reflect common misconceptions: they address performance or privilege escalation rather than governed discovery and lineage. This aligns with Snowflake best practices around metadata management, discoverability, and least-privilege access in Snowsight and Horizon features.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Horizon Catalog helps users discover and understand data assets through object metadata such as names, descriptions, tags, and usage context. Universal Search in Snowsight can surface objects based on metadata that administrators and data stewards maintain, so adding meaningful descriptions and governance tags improves discoverability for business-oriented terms. Data Lineage in Snowsight is the appropriate feature for visualizing upstream and downstream relationships between objects such as tables, views, and other supported assets.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Clustering keys and materialized views are performance and storage optimization features; they do not improve search relevance for business terminology in Horizon Catalog or Universal Search. They also do not create or infer lineage metadata for users.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Granting ACCOUNTADMIN violates least-privilege best practices and is not required for data discovery. Universal Search and Horizon Catalog are still governed by object visibility and privileges. QUERY_HISTORY may help with some investigation, but it is not the primary end-user feature for governed lineage exploration in Snowsight.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Search Optimization Service is designed to improve query performance for selective predicates, not metadata search for business glossary terms. It also does not generate lineage graphs. Lineage is a separate governance/discovery capability available through Snowsight.