Snowflake Certification Practice Test

What is a key advantage of Zero-Copy Cloning?

1. It duplicates all data across multiple databases

2. It does not require additional storage for unmodified data

3. It enhances data security

4. It speeds up data processing times

The correct answer is: It does not require additional storage for unmodified data

A key advantage of Zero-Copy Cloning is that it does not require additional storage for unmodified data. This feature allows users to create a clone of a database or table without actually duplicating the underlying data. Instead of storing copies of the data itself, Snowflake utilizes a technique called "pointer referencing." This means that the cloned database or table points to the same underlying storage as the original, resulting in efficient use of storage resources. As a result, when only a portion of the data changes or when new data is added after the cloning process, only the modified or new data is stored separately, while the unchanged data continues to reference the original storage. This leads to significant cost savings and reduces the storage footprint, as only the unique changes consume additional storage. This functioning makes Zero-Copy Cloning particularly beneficial for development, testing, or disaster recovery scenarios, as it enables quick and efficient data management without unnecessary duplications.