ADA-C01 Question 199
Single answerManage Horizon Catalog, Universal Search, and Data LineageA Snowflake administrator has enabled Snowsight for the analytics team. The data governance lead wants analysts to be able to use Universal Search and Horizon Catalog to discover trusted tables and dashboards, and to use Data Lineage to understand upstream dependencies before modifying objects. However, analysts report that some highly sensitive objects should not appear in search results for broad audiences, while approved curated assets should be easier to find. Which action should the administrator take to best meet these requirements?
- A
Apply governance metadata such as tags and object descriptions to curated assets, and rely on Snowflake role-based access so search, catalog visibility, and lineage are limited to objects users are authorized to view.
- B
Grant IMPORTED PRIVILEGES on the SNOWFLAKE database to all analyst roles so Universal Search and Data Lineage can read metadata for every object, then hide sensitive objects using masking policies.
- C
Disable Data Lineage for sensitive databases and create separate virtual warehouses for curated assets so Universal Search ranks approved objects first.
- D
Replicate curated databases into a separate account and instruct analysts to use only Information Schema views, because Horizon Catalog and Universal Search do not support governance-based discovery controls.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best administrative action is to improve metadata quality for approved assets and rely on Snowflake's existing access control model for secure discovery. In practice, that means adding clear object descriptions and governance metadata such as tags so trusted data products are easier to find and understand in Horizon Catalog and Universal Search. Snowflake surfaces metadata and lineage information based on what the current role is allowed to access, so sensitive objects are not broadly visible to users without the necessary permissions. This aligns with Snowflake best practices for data governance: use RBAC to control access, enrich objects with business context, and use Snowsight capabilities such as cataloging, search, and lineage for governed discovery rather than creating parallel manual processes. Relevant Snowflake documentation includes Horizon Catalog, Universal Search in Snowsight, Data Lineage, tags, and access control/RBAC guidance.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Horizon Catalog and Universal Search are most effective when objects have rich metadata such as descriptions and tags, which improves discoverability and business context. At the same time, Snowflake enforces role-based access control for metadata visibility, so users only discover and inspect objects they are authorized to access. Data Lineage visibility is also governed by object access and privileges rather than being broadly exposed to all users. This approach meets both goals: promote trusted assets and avoid exposing sensitive ones to unauthorized users.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Granting broad IMPORTED PRIVILEGES on the SNOWFLAKE database is not the right mechanism for exposing all object metadata across the environment. It would not be a best-practice solution for controlling Horizon Catalog and Universal Search visibility, and masking policies protect data values, not whether users can discover or inspect object metadata in catalog/search contexts. This option confuses data protection at query time with metadata discovery controls.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Administrators do not manage sensitivity in Horizon Catalog by disabling Data Lineage per database to hide dependencies from certain users. Also, warehouse configuration does not control Universal Search ranking in the way described. Warehouses provide compute for workloads; they are not used to make curated assets more discoverable in the catalog or search experience.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Replicating databases into a separate account is an unnecessarily heavy architectural workaround and does not address the built-in discovery and governance capabilities of Horizon Catalog and Universal Search. Information Schema is useful for metadata queries but is not a substitute for the catalog, search, and lineage experience in Snowsight. The statement that Horizon Catalog and Universal Search do not support governance-based discovery controls is false.