SnowPro Specialty: Gen AI Question 207
Single answerCreate image repositoryA data science team is preparing to deploy a custom inference service in Snowpark Container Services for a GenAI application. They want Snowflake to host the container images so deployments do not depend on an external registry. A platform engineer needs to create a repository that the team can push Docker images to and later reference from service specifications. Which action should the engineer take?
- A
Create a Snowflake stage and upload the Docker image layers there, then reference the stage URL in the service specification
- B
Create an image repository in the target schema using CREATE IMAGE REPOSITORY, then authenticate Docker to the Snowflake registry and push the image there
- C
Create an internal named stage with DIRECTORY = TRUE and use GET_PRESIGNED_URL so Snowpark Container Services can pull the image
- D
Create a Git repository clone in Snowflake and store the built container image as artifacts in the repository
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
For Snowpark Container Services, Snowflake supports image repositories as the native mechanism for hosting container images inside Snowflake. The practical workflow is to create the repository object in a database/schema using CREATE IMAGE REPOSITORY, grant the needed privileges, authenticate a Docker client to the Snowflake registry, and push the image. Services and jobs then reference that image. Stages and Git repositories serve different purposes: stages are for file storage and data exchange, while Git repositories are for source code/versioned files. Best practice is to place the image repository in a controlled schema, apply least-privilege access, and use it as the managed registry for internal deployments.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A Snowflake stage stores files, but Snowpark Container Services expects container images to reside in a Snowflake image repository or another supported container registry workflow, not as raw image layers manually uploaded to a stage. This option reflects a common misconception that stages can substitute for a container registry.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Snowflake provides image repositories specifically for storing and managing container images used by Snowpark Container Services. The engineer should create the repository with CREATE IMAGE REPOSITORY in the appropriate schema, then use the Snowflake registry endpoint with Docker authentication to push the built image. That image can then be referenced by services and jobs running in Snowpark Container Services.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Even with DIRECTORY = TRUE and presigned URLs, an internal stage is still object storage for files, not a container registry implementing the image distribution workflow expected by Docker and Snowpark Container Services. Presigned file access does not replace repository-based image storage.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A Git repository in Snowflake is for source code integration and version-controlled files, not for hosting OCI/Docker container images. Storing image artifacts in a Git clone would not make them usable as deployable container images for Snowpark Container Services.