ADA-C01 Question 202
Single answerDifferentiate between account names and account locatorsA global Snowflake administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue after their company renamed a production account from PROD_EAST to FINANCE_PROD for branding consistency. Some legacy automation still references the account using an identifier captured years ago, while newer user documentation tells employees to sign in with the updated account URL. The administrator needs to explain to the operations team why some references still work after the rename and others changed. Which statement best describes the difference between the Snowflake account name and the account locator in this scenario?
- A
The account name is the human-readable identifier that can be changed and is commonly reflected in user-facing sign-in URLs, while the account locator is a system-generated identifier for the account that remains stable even if the account name changes.
- B
The account locator is the friendly name chosen by administrators for login and billing purposes, while the account name is an internal Snowflake-generated value used only in replication.
- C
The account name and account locator are interchangeable identifiers; renaming the account updates both values automatically, so legacy references should not continue to work.
- D
The account locator is assigned per warehouse within an account, while the account name uniquely identifies the whole Snowflake organization across all regions and clouds.
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Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question tests the practical distinction between two Snowflake account identifiers that administrators encounter during renames, migrations, and troubleshooting. The account name is the human-readable identifier typically used in user-facing account URLs and administrative references. The account locator is a Snowflake-generated identifier for the account and is designed to remain stable. Because of that stability, locator-based references may continue to work even after an account name changes, while references tied to the account name may need to be updated. Snowflake documentation on account identifiers and account URLs distinguishes these values and explains their roles in connection endpoints and account identification. From an operational best-practice perspective, administrators should know which integrations, URLs, or automation scripts depend on the account name versus the account locator before performing account renames or updating end-user documentation.
- A. Correct.
Correct. In Snowflake, the account name is the more human-readable account identifier and is commonly seen in account URLs and user-facing references. By contrast, the account locator is a Snowflake-assigned identifier for the account. A key operational distinction is that the account locator is stable, so older integrations or references that use it can continue to work even if the account name is changed. This is why a rename can affect some connection patterns or URLs while locator-based references remain valid.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. This reverses the concepts. The account locator is not a friendly administrator-chosen label; it is a Snowflake-generated identifier. The account name is the administrator-defined, human-readable identifier associated with the account. Also, the locator is not limited to replication-related use.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Although both identify the same account in different contexts, they are not interchangeable in behavior. Renaming the account does not mean the account locator changes as well. This option reflects a common misconception that all account identifiers are mutable together. In practice, the distinction matters specifically because legacy references based on the locator may continue to function after an account rename.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. The account locator is assigned to the Snowflake account, not to individual warehouses. Warehouses are compute resources inside an account and have their own names, but they do not determine account identity. The account name also does not uniquely identify an organization across all regions and clouds in the way this option suggests.