SnowPro Associate: Platform Question 50
Single answerQuery historyA Snowflake administrator is investigating a complaint that a dashboard query was much slower this morning than it was yesterday. They need to quickly identify the exact SQL statement, execution time, warehouse used, and whether the query was retried due to errors. Which Snowflake feature should they use first to gather this information for recent activity?
- A
Query History in Snowsight or the QUERY_HISTORY table function/Account Usage view
- B
The Login History page, because it shows session events and performance for each SQL statement
- C
The Resource Monitors page, because it provides query-level execution details and retry reasons
- D
The Data Loading History page, because all SQL statements are recorded there with warehouse metrics
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
For investigating recent query performance issues, Snowflake best practice is to start with Query History. In Snowsight, Query History provides a filterable interface for recent queries. Programmatically, Snowflake also provides QUERY_HISTORY table functions and the ACCOUNT_USAGE.QUERY_HISTORY view for historical analysis. These sources are designed for troubleshooting and auditing query activity, including query text, timing, execution status, warehouse used, and related metadata. By contrast, Login History is for authentication events, Resource Monitors are for consumption controls, and Data Loading History is for load-specific operations rather than general SQL execution.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Query History is the primary place to investigate recent query activity in Snowflake. It shows the SQL text, execution status, start/end times, elapsed time, warehouse name, user, and other execution details. Administrators can access this in Snowsight or by querying QUERY_HISTORY-related table functions or the ACCOUNT_USAGE.QUERY_HISTORY view. This is the appropriate first step for troubleshooting a slow or retried query.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Login History tracks authentication and login events, not detailed SQL execution performance. While session context can sometimes help an investigation, it does not provide the query text, elapsed time, warehouse, or retry-related details needed to analyze a slow dashboard query.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Resource Monitors are used to track and control credit consumption for warehouses and accounts. They can trigger notifications or suspend usage based on thresholds, but they do not provide detailed per-query history such as SQL text, execution duration, or retry information.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Data Loading History is focused on load operations such as COPY INTO and related ingestion activity. It is not the general-purpose source for investigating all SQL statements or dashboard query performance.