Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the primary design objective that guided the development of Snowflake's cloud architecture?
What is the primary design objective that guided the development of Snowflake's cloud architecture?
- Ensuring seamless integration with all major Big Data platforms like Hadoop and Spark.
- Minimizing initial setup costs for new users by offering a pay-as-you-go pricing model.
- Maximizing compatibility with existing on-premises data warehouses to facilitate easier migration.
- Supporting fault isolation, performance isolation, and elasticity to leverage the cloud environment effectively. (correct)
Which of the following is a key characteristic of Snowflake's Data Cloud platform regarding infrastructure management?
Which of the following is a key characteristic of Snowflake's Data Cloud platform regarding infrastructure management?
- Users must fine-tune the underlying infrastructure to optimize performance.
- Snowflake provides a packaged software that requires user installation and regular updates.
- Customers are required to select, install, and manage their own hardware and software.
- Snowflake manages all aspects of hardware, software, and configurations without user intervention. (correct)
What is the main purpose of Snowflake being offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?
What is the main purpose of Snowflake being offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?
- To limit the amount of data that can be stored and processed.
- To allow users to customize the underlying operating system and hardware configurations.
- To provide a one-stop solution for various data warehousing use cases, such as data engineering and data science. (correct)
- To force users to adopt a specific programming language for data processing.
Initially, on which cloud platform was Snowflake first offered before expanding to others?
Initially, on which cloud platform was Snowflake first offered before expanding to others?
How does Snowflake's architecture address the challenges associated with traditional data-sharing methods?
How does Snowflake's architecture address the challenges associated with traditional data-sharing methods?
What key capability does Snowflake's multi-dimensional elasticity provide to its users?
What key capability does Snowflake's multi-dimensional elasticity provide to its users?
Which of the following data types is natively supported by Snowflake, allowing users to load semi-structured data without additional transformations?
Which of the following data types is natively supported by Snowflake, allowing users to load semi-structured data without additional transformations?
In the context of cloud offerings, what is the key characteristic that defines Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?
In the context of cloud offerings, what is the key characteristic that defines Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?
Which cloud service model allows customers to develop, run, and manage business applications without managing the underlying infrastructure?
Which cloud service model allows customers to develop, run, and manage business applications without managing the underlying infrastructure?
Which of the following layers in Snowflake's architecture is responsible for managing overall account access, security, and user authentication?
Which of the following layers in Snowflake's architecture is responsible for managing overall account access, security, and user authentication?
What functionality does the Compute layer provide within Snowflake's architecture?
What functionality does the Compute layer provide within Snowflake's architecture?
How do Snowflake customers typically interact with the data objects stored within the Database storage layer?
How do Snowflake customers typically interact with the data objects stored within the Database storage layer?
What is the primary role of the Cloud Agnostic layer in Snowflake's architecture?
What is the primary role of the Cloud Agnostic layer in Snowflake's architecture?
If an organization primarily uses AWS for its other services, what does Snowflake recommend regarding hosting the Snowflake account?
If an organization primarily uses AWS for its other services, what does Snowflake recommend regarding hosting the Snowflake account?
Which Snowflake edition is designed for organizations that require the highest level of security and isolation, particularly those handling highly sensitive data like banking or financial information?
Which Snowflake edition is designed for organizations that require the highest level of security and isolation, particularly those handling highly sensitive data like banking or financial information?
What is the key focus of the Business Critical edition of Snowflake, also known as Enterprise for Sensitive Data (ESD)?
What is the key focus of the Business Critical edition of Snowflake, also known as Enterprise for Sensitive Data (ESD)?
What is the typical frequency of Snowflake's regular releases, which include new features, enhancements, and bug fixes?
What is the typical frequency of Snowflake's regular releases, which include new features, enhancements, and bug fixes?
Under the Snowflake pricing model, what are the primary factors that determine the cost?
Under the Snowflake pricing model, what are the primary factors that determine the cost?
How does Snowflake calculate storage costs?
How does Snowflake calculate storage costs?
What is a key advantage of Snowflake's architecture compared to traditional data warehouses?
What is a key advantage of Snowflake's architecture compared to traditional data warehouses?
Flashcards
Snowflake Data Cloud
Snowflake Data Cloud
A cloud-based analytics and data storage solution, offering a self-managed service.
Snowflake as SaaS
Snowflake as SaaS
Aims to be a one-stop solution for modern data warehousing use cases by offering compute and storage.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
Offers computing infrastructure, including servers, networks, operating systems and storage.
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
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SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS (Software as a Service)
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Cloud Service Layer
Cloud Service Layer
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Compute Layer
Compute Layer
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Database Storage Layer
Database Storage Layer
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Cloud Agnostic Layer
Cloud Agnostic Layer
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Standard Edition
Standard Edition
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Enterprise Edition
Enterprise Edition
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Business Critical Edition
Business Critical Edition
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Virtual Private Snowflake (VPS)
Virtual Private Snowflake (VPS)
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Regular Releases (Weekly)
Regular Releases (Weekly)
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Behavior Change Releases (Monthly)
Behavior Change Releases (Monthly)
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On-Demand Storage
On-Demand Storage
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Capacity Storage
Capacity Storage
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Snowflake Architecture
Snowflake Architecture
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Snowflake Cost Model
Snowflake Cost Model
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Study Notes
Snowflake Cloud Data Platform
- Snowflake allows for storage and analysis of data in the cloud
- Key components include the Service, Compute, and Storage layers
- Supports various cloud providers and offers different editions
- Differs from legacy data warehousing solutions
Platform Overview
- Founded in July 2012 by Benoit Dageville and Thierry Cruanes
- Publicly launched in October 2014
- Built with requirements for fault isolation, performance isolation, and cloud elasticity
- Resources are adopted based on demand
- Customers only pay for what they use
- Data Cloud offers a cloud-based analytics and data storage solution (Data Warehouse as a Service)
- Platform is self-managed
- No hardware or software to select, install, manage, or configure
- Snowflake manages hardware, software, upgrades, and configurations without user intervention
- Snowflake initially offered on AWS, then extended to Azure and GCP
- Customers can choose one or more cloud providers for their Snowflake Account
Key Capabilities
- Snowflake is a modern data warehousing solution built on the cloud
- Offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
- Supports data engineering, data lake, data science, ML, data applications, and data exchange
- Offers unique elasticity for data, processing, and workloads
- Data Warehouse as a Service allows focus on data collection, unification, and usage
- Data Warehouse eliminates the need to manage hardware or software
- Includes built-in enterprise-level availability, end-to-end encryption, and data protection
- Data sharing overcomes complexity and cost challenges
- Snowflake enables multi-dimensional elasticity, supporting any scale of storage, computing, and users
- Scale compute up or down automatically without disruption
- Customers can access the perfect amount of resources when needed
- Supports structured and semi-structured data in a single system
- Users can directly load semi-structured data (JSON, AVRO, Parquet, or ORC) without transformation and query it
Cloud Offerings
- Cloud migration upgrades platforms to meet business demands
- On-prem (non-cloud): Managed on company hardware/software.
- On-prem examples include; databases and applications.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized infrastructure (servers, networks, operating systems, storage).
- AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP, and Rackspace examples of IaaS
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers hardware and software resources through the vendor/provider.
- SAP Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and AWS Lambda are common examples
- Software as a Service (SaaS): Most utilized cloud option, managed by providers as a packaged solution.
- Common SaaS examples include Snowflake, DropBox, and Salesforce
Architecture Components
- Built from scratch, not on existing database or Hadoop technologies
- Uses a new SQL query engine natively designed for the cloud
- Separates storage and computing
- Combination of shared disk and shared nothing database architecture, allowing scaling of compute and infinite data storage
- Key layers include Cloud service, Compute/Query processing, Database storage, and Cloud agnostic
Three Layers of Snowflake
- Key layers are Service, Compute, and Data Storage
- Cloud Service (Service Layer): Brain of Snowflake which manages account activities, security, user authentication, and governance
- Compute Layer: (Query Processing Layer) Manages query execution via the Virtual Warehouse (can scale up/down)
- Database Storage Layer: (Storage Layer) Stores and organizes data in an optimized, compressed, columnar format. Data objects can be accessed with SQL.
- Cloud Agnostic Layer: Cloud provider hosting the Snowflake account, which could be AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Cloud Providers
- Snowflake provides cloud provider choice based on business needs
- Accounts hosted on AWS(2014), Azure(2018), or GCP(2019)
- Best practise is to align to your organisation's cloud platform for hosting your accounts
- Option to choose a different cloud provider
Snowflake Editions
- Snowflake offers a range of editions
- Standard Edition: Entry-level, that grants unlimited access to basic features best suited to small and medium organisations
- Enterprise Edition: Second-level edition offering capabilities and services of the Standard edition with the addition, providing exclusive features tailored for expansive enterprise businesses.
- Business Critical Edition: One level above the Enterprise edition, it's also called Enterprise for Sensitive Data (ESD), better data protection that surpasses the Standard/Enterprise models to sustain sensitive data such as PII and PHI conforming to regulations like HIPPA and HITRUST.
- Edition includes capabilities and services of the Enterprise package adding security plus database failover or failback.
- Virtual Private Snowflake (VPS): The premier model promising the paramount layer of security to any enterprise charged with handling highly sensitive data like banking records or financial statements.
- VPS version consists of its Business-Critical features set up to function in a solitary atmosphere decoupled from other Snowflake client bases
Snowflake Releases
- Aims to provide the latest features and bug fixes
- New features and updates are released weekly
- Regular releases (weekly) introduce new features, enhancements, and bug fixes
- Behavior change releases (monthly) include changes that might affect Snowflake code (minor but important)
- Recent releases can be seen in Snowflake's documentation
Snowflake Pricing
- Based on data volume and compute time
- Offers on-demand or pre-purchased capacity options, with usage-based per-second pricing
- Pricing is influenced by cloud region hosting and storage plan
- On-demand Storage: Billed monthly with pay-as-you-go model.
- More expensive than Capacity Storage
- Capacity Storage: Requires long-term commitment and upfront payment.
- Less expensive than On-demand Storage
- Compute cost is per-second, with a 60-second minimum for warehouse start/resume
- Compute Cost is based on warehouse size, number of warehouses, and runtime.
- Cloud Service Compute: Managed by Snowflake
- Virtual Warehouse Compute: Managed by the user
- Serverless Compute: Managed by Snowflake Serverless compute cost is calculated based on the Snowflake managed to compute measured in compute hours.
- Storage Cost: Flat rate per Terabyte (TB), calculated monthly based on average daily bytes stored which varies per Snowflake account + cloud/region account is hosted on.
- Snowflake compresses total data stored in Snowflake.
Snowflake vs Traditional Architecture
- Traditional data warehouses often use shared-disk or shared-nothing architectures
- Snowflake uses a unique hybrid architecture
- Data is stored in a central cloud repository, separate from virtual warehouses
- Warehouses can be easily scaled up or down
- Simplified management: Centralized data storage eliminates need to manage multiple servers
- Elastic scalability: Virtual warehouses scale independently
- Pay-as-you-go model: Users only pay for resources utilized
- Query performance: Parallelized queries across virtual warehouses improve performance
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