ADA-C01 Question 499
Single answerMonitor data sharing usageA Snowflake provider account shares a database with several consumer accounts. The data platform team wants to identify which shared objects are actually being queried so they can retire unused objects and justify the ongoing cost of maintaining the share. They need an approach that shows usage of the provider's shared data by consumers over time without relying on the consumers to grant access back to their query history. Which Snowflake feature should the administrator use?
- A
Query the ACCOUNT_USAGE.ACCESS_HISTORY view in the provider account and filter for objects that belong to the shared database
- B
Query the ACCOUNT_USAGE.DATA_TRANSFER_HISTORY view in the provider account to see which shared tables were queried by each consumer account
- C
Use the ORGANIZATION_USAGE.QUERY_HISTORY view to inspect all consumer SQL statements against the shared objects
- D
Query the ACCOUNT_USAGE.SHARED_DATABASE_USAGE_HISTORY view in the provider account to monitor consumer usage of shared databases over time
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
For providers monitoring secure data sharing, Snowflake exposes usage information through ACCOUNT_USAGE views intended for share observability. The key provider-facing view for this scenario is SHARED_DATABASE_USAGE_HISTORY, which is used to monitor how shared databases are being consumed over time. This aligns with the requirement to measure adoption and identify potentially unused shared content without requiring direct access to consumer query history.
The other options reflect common misunderstandings. ACCESS_HISTORY and QUERY_HISTORY are useful for analyzing activity within an account, but they are not the primary provider mechanism for tracking external consumer use of a share. DATA_TRANSFER_HISTORY is also not appropriate because secure shares do not involve traditional copied data movement that would reveal consumer query activity at the object level.
Best practice is to use provider-side ACCOUNT_USAGE sharing telemetry for operational reporting, trend analysis, and lifecycle management of shared data products. Refer to Snowflake documentation for Account Usage views, especially SHARED_DATABASE_USAGE_HISTORY, and the secure data sharing monitoring guidance.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. ACCESS_HISTORY in the provider account shows object access for queries executed in that account, but it does not provide a direct, reliable way for a provider to monitor how external consumer accounts are using a data share. A common misconception is that because the provider owns the shared objects, provider-side object access telemetry will automatically include consumer-side queries. It does not serve as the primary provider-facing source for monitoring consumer usage of a share.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. DATA_TRANSFER_HISTORY is related to data movement and billing-oriented transfer activity, not to reporting which shared objects consumers queried. Someone might choose this because secure data sharing avoids copying data, and they may assume transfer tracking implies share usage tracking. However, it does not answer the requirement to monitor usage of shared databases and objects over time.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. ORGANIZATION_USAGE views are available only in specific organization-level contexts and are not the standard mechanism for a provider to inspect all consumer SQL text against a share. More importantly, the requirement explicitly avoids depending on consumer-side visibility. Providers generally do not get unrestricted access to consumer query text for shared data usage analysis through this route.
- D. Correct.
Correct. SHARED_DATABASE_USAGE_HISTORY in ACCOUNT_USAGE is the provider-side usage monitoring view designed for secure data sharing. It helps providers understand how consumer accounts are using shared databases over time, which is exactly what is needed for decisions such as retiring unused shared objects and tracking adoption. This is the appropriate built-in monitoring mechanism when the provider needs visibility without requiring access to consumer account history.