SnowPro Specialty: Gen AI Question 80
Single answerCORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION parameterA Snowflake administrator is enabling Cortex AI features for a business unit that stores data in a region where some Cortex LLM functions are not hosted locally. The security team wants to allow only the minimum cross-region inference needed for supported Cortex requests, while preventing broad access to models in all other regions. Which configuration best meets this requirement?
- A
Set the CORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION account parameter to a limited value that allows inference only to specific approved regions instead of enabling access to all regions.
- B
Grant the business unit's role OWNERSHIP on the SNOWFLAKE database so Cortex can automatically route requests only to compliant regions.
- C
Create an external access integration and whitelist the model provider endpoints that should receive cross-region Cortex traffic.
- D
Set CORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION to a value that disables region restrictions, because Cortex functions require unrestricted cross-region access whenever a local model is unavailable.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question tests practical governance of Snowflake Cortex deployments across regions. The key concept is that CORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION is an account parameter used to control whether Cortex requests may be served from regions other than the account's local region when necessary. In a real enterprise scenario, administrators often need to balance model availability against residency and compliance requirements. Best practice is to use the most restrictive supported configuration that still enables the required Cortex capabilities, rather than broadly allowing all cross-region inference. Database privileges and external access integrations do not replace this control because they serve different purposes. Candidates should recognize that this is an account-level configuration decision tied to Cortex service routing and compliance posture.
- A. Correct.
Correct. The CORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION account parameter is used to control whether Snowflake Cortex requests can be processed in other regions when needed. To satisfy a least-privilege requirement, the administrator should configure the parameter with a restricted setting that permits only approved cross-region destinations rather than opening access broadly. This directly addresses governance and data residency concerns while still enabling supported Cortex functionality where local hosting is not available.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Role privileges such as OWNERSHIP on the SNOWFLAKE database do not control cross-region inference behavior for Cortex. This option confuses object access and administrative privileges with account-level Cortex routing controls. Cross-region enablement is governed by the CORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION parameter, not by database ownership.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. External access integrations are used for customer-managed outbound network calls from Snowflake, such as calling external services. Snowflake Cortex managed inference does not require customers to configure external access integrations for Snowflake to route requests between Snowflake-controlled regions. This is a common misconception from users familiar with external functions or outbound integrations.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Cortex does not require unrestricted access to all regions as the only supported configuration. The purpose of CORTEX_ENABLED_CROSS_REGION is to let administrators control whether and where cross-region processing is allowed. Choosing an unrestricted setting would violate the stated requirement to allow only the minimum necessary access.