Snowflake Certification Practice Test

What is the recommended order for clustering keys in Snowflake?

1. From highest to lowest cardinality

2. From lowest to highest cardinality

3. Random order

4. From binary to decimal

The correct answer is: From lowest to highest cardinality

The recommended order for clustering keys in Snowflake is from lowest to highest cardinality. This order optimizes how data is stored and accessed within Snowflake’s architecture. When clustering keys are defined, they determine how the data is physically organized in micro-partitions. Using keys with lower cardinality first means that the data is grouped into fewer distinct values. This allows for more efficient data retrieval since fewer partitions need to be scanned, potentially improving query performance. It reduces the amount of redundant data and makes it easier to manage and access the clustered data. If the clustering keys were arranged from highest to lowest cardinality, it would lead to many distinct values per partition, which can degrade performance over time. This configuration would result in higher storage costs and longer query execution times due to the need to scan more individual partitions that each contain less relevant data. Thus, arranging clustering keys from lowest to highest cardinality enhances performance and efficiency in Snowflake's querying capabilities.