DAA-C01 Question 241
Select 2Understand what is required to connect BI tools to SnowflakeA retail analytics team wants to connect Tableau to Snowflake so business users can build dashboards against curated data. The Snowflake account already contains the required databases, schemas, and tables. Security policy requires least-privilege access and the BI tool must use a supported standard connection method. Which TWO actions are required to enable the Tableau connection successfully?
- A
Create or assign a Snowflake user/role for Tableau with the necessary privileges, including USAGE on the warehouse, database, and schema, plus SELECT on the required tables or views.
- B
Provide Tableau with the Snowflake account identifier and connection details, and authenticate using supported Snowflake credentials through the native Snowflake connector/driver.
- C
Create a storage integration so Tableau can read the Snowflake tables through cloud object storage.
- D
Grant the Tableau role OWNERSHIP on the target schema so workbook metadata can be written back to Snowflake.
- E
Enable Snowpipe on the source tables before Tableau can query them in real time.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B
Explanation
To connect a BI tool such as Tableau to Snowflake, the core requirements are: a supported connector/driver, valid Snowflake connection details, authentication, and appropriate RBAC privileges on the virtual warehouse and data objects. Snowflake documentation for connecting clients and using BI partners emphasizes using the native connector and ensuring the connecting role has sufficient privileges such as USAGE and SELECT. Best practice is to grant only the permissions needed for reporting, typically through a dedicated role for the BI tool or service account. Features such as storage integrations and Snowpipe serve different purposes, external storage access and continuous ingestion, respectively, and are not required simply to establish a BI connection to Snowflake.
- A. Correct.
Correct. BI tools connecting to Snowflake need an authenticated Snowflake identity and sufficient object privileges. At minimum, the role used by Tableau must be able to use a virtual warehouse and access the database objects being queried. In practice, this commonly includes USAGE on the warehouse, database, and schema, along with SELECT on the tables or views. This reflects Snowflake's role-based access control model and least-privilege best practices.
- B. Correct.
Correct. A BI tool such as Tableau connects to Snowflake using a supported connector/driver and valid connection properties, including the Snowflake account identifier and authentication details. Tableau uses the native Snowflake connector, which relies on Snowflake-supported connectivity rather than custom storage access or ingestion services.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A storage integration is used to allow Snowflake to access external cloud storage securely, for example with external stages. Tableau does not need a storage integration to query Snowflake tables. This option reflects a common confusion between querying data in Snowflake and loading/unloading data between Snowflake and cloud storage.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. OWNERSHIP is excessive and not required for a BI reporting connection. Tableau users generally need read access to data and USAGE privileges, not full control of the schema. Granting OWNERSHIP would violate least-privilege principles and is unrelated to standard dashboard querying requirements.
- E. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Snowpipe is used for continuous data ingestion into Snowflake, not for enabling BI connectivity. Tableau can query existing Snowflake tables directly without Snowpipe. This distractor targets the misconception that near-real-time dashboards require a special Snowflake feature for querying rather than just access to already-loaded data.