Define Data Modelling.

What is Snowflake ?

• Snowflake is a fully managed cloud data platform designed for data warehousing and analytics. Unlike traditional on-premise data warehouses, Snowflake operates entirely in the cloud, leveraging services from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

• Snowflake is built for multi-tenancy, meaning multiple organizations can securely use the same physical infrastructure without interference.

• Snowflake uses virtual compute instances for its compute needs and a storage service for persistent storage of data. Snowflake cannot be run on private cloud infrastructures (on-premises or hosted).

Snowflake Architecture

Snowflake's architecture is unique due to its multi-cluster shared data design, which divides compute and storage, allowing for elasticity and better cost management. Snowflake consists of three main components:

• Storage Layer:

  • Snowflake separates compute from storage, which allows users to scale storage independently of processing power.

  • All data loaded into Snowflake is stored in a proprietary, compressed format on cloud storage (e.g., S3 for AWS), ensuring high efficiency.

  • Features like Time Travel (for historical data snapshots) and Fail-safe (for disaster recovery) make data management convenient and reliable.

• Compute Layer (Virtual Warehouses):

  • Snowflake uses virtual warehouses, which are clusters of compute resources (like CPU and memory) that process queries and handle all the heavy lifting of data computation.

  • Virtual warehouses are fully isolated from one another, enabling multiple teams or processes to run queries without affecting each other.

  • Users can scale up and down or even suspend virtual warehouses based on workload needs, optimizing costs.

• Services Layer:

  • This layer manages the various services that support query processing, access control, metadata management, and more.

  • It’s responsible for features like authentication, query optimization, metadata caching, and transaction management, which provide a seamless experience for end-users.

  • This layer also handles security controls, ensuring data is encrypted and access is properly managed.