SNOWFLAKE DBA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Architecture & Storage Explain Snowflake’s unique architecture. * Answer: It is a hybrid of shared-disk and shared-nothing architectures. It consists of three layers: Database Storage (columnar format, micro-partitions), Query Processing (Virtual Warehouses), and Cloud Services (metadata, security, optimization). What are Micro-partitions and how do they benefit the DBA? Answer: All data in Snowflake is automatically divided into micro-partitions (50MB to 500MB of uncompressed data). This eliminates the need for manual partitioning and enables "Pruning," where the engine only scans relevant partitions. What is the difference between Time Travel and Fail-safe? Answer: Time Travel allows you to access historical data (up to 90 days for Enterprise) for recovery or querying. Fail-safe is a non-configurable 7-day period after Time Travel expires where Snowflake Support can recover data in case of extreme failure. 2. Virtual Warehouses & Performance Tuning How...