A reader account is a type of Snowflake account that allows external users to access data shared by a provider account without being a Snowflake customer. A reader account can be created and managed by the provider account, and can use the Snowflake web interface or JDBC/ODBC drivers to query the shared data. A reader account is billed to the provider account based on the credits consumed by the queries1. A secure view is a type of view that applies row-level security filters to the underlying tables, and masks the data that is not accessible to the user. A secure view can be shared with a reader account to provide granular and governed access to the data2. In this scenario, creating a reader account for the partner and sharing the data sets as secure views would be the most cost-effective and secure design, while using the required Snowflake features, because:

• It would avoid the data transfer and storage costs of using an S3 bucket as a destination, and the potential security risks of exposing the data to unauthorized access or modification.
• It would avoid the complexity and overhead of publishing the data sets on the Snowflake Marketplace, and the potential loss of control over the data ownership and pricing.
• It would avoid the need to create a database user for the partner and grant them access to the required data sets, which would require the partner to have a Snowflake account and consume the provider’s resources.

References:

• Reader Accounts
• Secure Views

The most efficient way to load data from the vendor into Snowflake is to create an external stage on Google Cloud Storage and use the external table to load the data into Snowflake (Option B). This way, you can avoid copying or moving the data across different cloud platforms, which can incur additional costs and latency. You can also leverage the external table feature to query the data directly from Google Cloud Storage without loading it into Snowflake tables, which can save storage space and improve performance. Option A is not efficient because it requires the vendor to create a Snowflake account and a data share, which can be complicated and costly. Option C is not efficient because it involves copying the data from Google Cloud Storage to Azure Blob storage using external tools, which can be slow and expensive. Option D is not efficient because it requires creating a Snowflake account in the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), ingesting data into this account, and using data replication to move the data from GCP to Azure, which can be complex and time-consuming. References: The answer can be verified from Snowflake’s official documentation on external stages and external tables available on their website. Here are some relevant links:

• Using External Stages | Snowflake Documentation
• Using External Tables | Snowflake Documentation
• Loading Data from a Stage | Snowflake Documentation

• The correct answer is B and E because they use the correct syntax and values for the identifier function and the session variables.
• The identifier function allows you to use a variable or expression as an identifier (such as a table name or column name) in a SQL statement. It takes a single argument and returns it as an identifier. For example, identifier($tbl_ref) returns EMP_TBL as an identifier.
• The session variables are set using the SET command and can be referenced using the $ sign. For example, $var1 returns Name1 as a value.
• Option A is incorrect because it uses Stbl_ref and Scol_ref, which are not valid session variables or identifiers. They should be $tbl_ref and $col_ref instead.
• Option C is incorrect because it uses identifier, which is not a valid syntax for the identifier function. It should be identifier($tbl_ref) instead.
• Option D is incorrect because it uses Cvarl, var2, and var3, which are not valid session variables or values. They should be $var1, $var2, and $var3 instead. References:
• Snowflake Documentation: Identifier Function
• Snowflake Documentation: Session Variables
• Snowflake Learning: SnowPro Advanced: Architect Exam Study Guide