ARA-C01 Question 156
Select 3Outline the purpose, benefits, and capabilities of the multiple data sharing methodsA global retailer has a Snowflake account in AWS us-east-1 and needs to distribute curated sales data to three different consumers. Consumer A has its own Snowflake account in the same region and only needs read-only access to selected secure views with near real-time updates. Consumer B is a subsidiary that does not yet have a Snowflake account but needs to explore the same shared data immediately without copying it. Consumer C runs analytics in a different cloud and region and must receive the data with minimal operational overhead while preserving Snowflake-managed governance as much as possible. Which Snowflake data sharing methods should the architect recommend? (Select THREE.)
- A
Use direct sharing to Consumer A by creating a share and granting access to the required secure objects.
- B
Use a reader account for Consumer B so the subsidiary can query shared data without having its own Snowflake account.
- C
Use database replication for Consumer C because replication is Snowflake’s primary cross-cloud data sharing mechanism for external consumers.
- D
Use listings through a private marketplace or direct listing for Consumer C to support cross-region and cross-cloud sharing scenarios.
- E
Export the data to external stages as files for all three consumers because file export provides the same governance and zero-copy benefits as Snowflake sharing.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B, D
Explanation
Snowflake supports multiple data sharing methods, each optimized for different consumer situations. Direct sharing is ideal when the consumer already has a Snowflake account and needs governed, zero-copy, near real-time access to shared data objects. Reader accounts extend sharing to organizations without a Snowflake account by letting the provider host and manage access on the consumer’s behalf. Listings, including private listings and marketplace-style distribution, are used to publish and distribute data products more broadly and support cross-region and cross-cloud sharing scenarios more effectively than basic direct sharing.
A key architectural distinction is that Snowflake sharing methods are designed to provide controlled access to live data without copying it, whereas replication is a separate capability focused on synchronizing databases for availability and locality use cases. Similarly, unloading data to files is an integration/export approach, not governed Snowflake-native sharing. Best-practice guidance from Snowflake documentation distinguishes among direct sharing, reader accounts, and listings as the primary methods for data sharing, with replication documented under business continuity and data movement patterns documented separately.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Direct sharing is the standard Snowflake mechanism when the consumer already has a Snowflake account. The provider creates a share, grants usage on databases/schemas and select on supported securable objects such as secure views, and the consumer creates a database from that share. This approach is zero-copy and provides near real-time access to the provider’s live data without moving or duplicating the underlying storage.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Reader accounts are designed for consumers who do not have their own Snowflake account. The provider creates and manages the reader account, then shares data into it. This allows immediate access to shared data without requiring the consumer to procure and administer a separate Snowflake account, which fits the subsidiary’s requirement.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Database replication is primarily for business continuity, disaster recovery, and internal distribution of databases between accounts or regions, not the primary method for external consumer data sharing. Replication copies database objects and data to another account or region, which is different from Snowflake sharing methods intended to expose governed live datasets to consumers. It also does not align with the requirement to preserve Snowflake-managed sharing governance for an external consumer with minimal overhead.
- D. Correct.
Correct. Listings, including private listings/marketplaces, are intended to distribute data products to consumers and support broader sharing scenarios, including cross-region and cross-cloud access through Snowflake’s provider/consumer sharing framework. This is the best fit when the consumer is in a different region or cloud and the organization wants Snowflake-native distribution and governance rather than building custom pipelines.
- E. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Exporting data to files in stages is a data movement pattern, not a Snowflake data sharing method. While it may be used for interoperability, it introduces copies, additional operational overhead, and weaker centralized governance compared with Snowflake sharing. It does not provide the core zero-copy, live-access benefits of direct sharing, reader accounts, or listings.