ARA-C01 Question 155
Single answerOutline the purpose, benefits, and capabilities of the multiple data sharing methodsA data platform team at a retailer uses a Snowflake account in AWS us-east-1 to curate sales and inventory data. They need to distribute this data to three different consumers with minimal operational overhead and without creating duplicate data copies:
- an internal analytics team that uses a separate Snowflake account in the same region,
- a strategic supplier that has its own Snowflake account in Azure, and
- a third-party logistics partner that does not use Snowflake yet but needs ongoing access to a subset of the curated data.
Which combination of data sharing methods should the architect recommend to meet these requirements?
- A
Create a direct share for the internal analytics team, use a listing/secure data sharing approach that supports cross-cloud auto-fulfillment for the supplier, and provide a reader account for the logistics partner.
- B
Replicate the database into each consumer's environment, export the data to object storage for the supplier, and require the logistics partner to create a trial Snowflake account before access is granted.
- C
Create a reader account for all three consumers because reader accounts are the standard method for both same-region and cross-cloud sharing.
- D
Use direct shares for both the internal analytics team and the supplier, and publish the data to an external stage for the logistics partner because stages provide governed live sharing.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Snowflake provides multiple data sharing methods, and architects should map each method to the consumer's situation. Direct secure sharing is best when both parties already use Snowflake and can consume shared data directly, typically with no data copy and near real-time visibility into provider-managed objects. Reader accounts are designed for consumers that do not have a Snowflake account; the provider pays for compute consumed by the reader account, making it practical for selective external access. For broader external distribution, including cross-region or cross-cloud scenarios, Snowflake listings and related sharing capabilities can use cross-cloud/region auto-fulfillment so consumers can access data from supported locations without the provider manually building file-based pipelines.
These recommendations align with Snowflake best practices around secure data sharing, reader accounts, and listings/Marketplace-style data distribution. Key principles include minimizing unnecessary data movement, preserving centralized governance, and choosing the sharing method based on whether the consumer already has a Snowflake account and whether they are in the same region/cloud.
- A. Correct.
Correct. This combination aligns each consumer with the most appropriate Snowflake sharing method. A direct share is ideal for the internal team because both producer and consumer already have Snowflake accounts, and in-region account-to-account sharing provides live, read-only access to shared objects without copying data. For the supplier on Azure, a listing/secure sharing pattern with cross-cloud auto-fulfillment is appropriate because direct shares are not the normal mechanism across clouds; Snowflake can fulfill the share to supported regions/clouds while preserving a marketplace/listing-style consumption experience. For the partner with no Snowflake account, a reader account is specifically designed to let non-Snowflake customers consume shared data without managing their own Snowflake account. This approach minimizes duplication and operational overhead while matching Snowflake's supported sharing capabilities.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Database replication and file exports create additional copies and increase operational overhead, which contradicts the requirement for minimal overhead and avoiding duplicate data copies where possible. Exporting to object storage also loses many governance and live-sharing benefits of Snowflake data sharing, such as immediate access to current data and centralized provider control. Requiring the logistics partner to first create a trial account is unnecessary because reader accounts exist for exactly this use case.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Reader accounts are useful only for consumers that do not already have a Snowflake account. They are not the standard recommendation for existing Snowflake customers, especially where direct sharing or listings are more appropriate. In addition, reader accounts are not the general solution for cross-cloud sharing between organizations that already operate their own Snowflake accounts.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Direct sharing works well for same-region Snowflake-to-Snowflake scenarios, but using a direct share for a consumer in another cloud is not the best fit for this scenario; cross-cloud distribution is typically handled through listings and auto-fulfillment rather than simple direct sharing. Publishing data to an external stage is also not equivalent to governed live sharing. Stages are for file storage and data loading/unloading, not for secure, live Snowflake sharing semantics.