COF-C03 - Performance Optimization, Querying, and Transformation - Section 4.2

Explain the Snowflake caches including the result cache, the metadata cache, and the virtual warehouse local disk cache, and when each applies.

Explain the three caches that speed up queries: the result cache that returns an identical query's result for up to 24 hours without compute, the metadata cache used by the cloud services layer to answer some queries without a warehouse, and the local disk (warehouse) cache that holds recently read micro-partitions while a warehouse runs. Recognise what invalidates each cache.

result cachemetadata cachewarehouse local disk cache24-hour result reusecache invalidation

Practice question for this objective

Free samplePerformance Optimization, Querying, and Transformationmedium

An architect is mapping which Snowflake cache lives in which layer and what each one actually stores. Which pairings correctly match a cache to its location and contents? Select THREE.

  • AQuery result cache: held in the cloud services layer and stores the materialised result set of a previously executed query for reuse within its retention window. Correct
  • BFail-safe cache: held in the storage layer and keeps a fast-access copy of recently dropped tables so identical queries against them return without compute.
  • CMetadata cache: held in the cloud services layer and stores object and micro-partition statistics such as row counts and per-column min and max values. Correct
  • DWarehouse local disk cache: held on a virtual warehouse's compute nodes and stores micro-partition data read during scans, and is lost when the warehouse suspends. Correct
Result cache and metadata cache live in the cloud services layer; the local disk cache lives on running warehouse compute nodes. Snowflake exposes three caches across two layers: the result cache and the metadata cache reside in the cloud services layer, while the local disk cache resides on a running virtual warehouse's compute nodes and is cleared on suspend. Fail-safe is a recovery period, not a cache.

Why A is correct: The result cache sits in the cloud services layer and keeps finished result sets, so an identical query on unchanged data returns those rows without compute.

Why B is wrong: This is a fabricated cache; Fail-safe is a seven-day recovery period for permanent data, not a query cache, so it serves no repeated SELECT and the pairing is invalid.

Why C is correct: The metadata cache is maintained in the services layer and holds statistics used for pruning and for resolving some aggregate lookups, not raw data or full results.

Why D is correct: The local disk cache lives on warehouse compute SSD, caches scanned micro-partition data, and is cleared on suspend, matching its location and contents exactly.

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