Maximizing Performance in Snowflake: Best Practices and Tips

November 21, 2023 Clariba SEIDOR

As a Snowflake partner, Clariba SEIDOR offers a range of services and solutions to help you fully leverage the power of Snowflake and maximize your performance. From data management and query optimization to storage optimization and utilizing Snowflake's built-in performance features. Our team of Clariba SEIDOR experts can provide the guidance and support you need to take your data warehousing to the next level.

Snowflake is a powerful data cloud platform that offers a wide range of features to optimize performance and scalability. In this article, we will discuss some best practices and tips for maximizing performance in Snowflake, including managing data and queries, optimizing storage, and utilizing Snowflake's built-in performance features.

1. Manage Data and Queries

To maximize performance in Snowflake, proper management of data and queries is crucial. This involves:

Clustering data: Partitioning data based on dates or other relevant criteria can significantly enhance query performance in most data platforms. Snowflake's clustering keys effectively handle this task. While Snowflake usually generates well-clustered tables, it's advisable to employ a "trust and verify" approach when outsourcing this responsibility, particularly for large tables. Regularly evaluating if the table's auto-clustering aligns with your business requirements is a good practice.
Optimizing queries: Performance starts with well-built, optimized queries. Despite the availability of a highly scalable, efficient, and cost-effective data platform, the importance of query optimization remains undiminished.

2. Optimize Storage

Another important aspect of maximizing performance in Snowflake is optimizing storage. This includes:

Managing data retention: Utilizing features such as fail-safe and time travel can accumulate quickly and spiral out of control. Ensure you retain only the necessary data. Avoid applying such features at the database level.
Govern the utilization of stages: While stages enhance the flexibility and utility of the platform, lacking proper governance can lead to data swamps and excessive storage consumption. Apply the same governance standards to stages as you do to tables.

3. Utilize Snowflake's Built-in Performance Features

Snowflake provides several built-in features to optimize performance, including:

Query acceleration service: Snowflake's query acceleration service mitigates the impact of outlier queries, such as long-running or ad hoc queries, on overall warehouse performance. Consider giving this enterprise edition-only feature a try.
Snowpark-optmized warehouse: Not only Snowpark workloads can benefit from this this high-memory, large-scale compute offering. Even workloads heavily reliant on user-defined functions (UDFs) can reap rewards. Think of ETL loads and some analytical workloads as suitable candidates.
Performance monitoring: Snowflake provides detailed performance monitoring and metrics, allowing you to track and optimize performance over time. Query history, Task history, and Account usage are examples of utilities provided within the platform for this purpose. Familiarize yourself and your team with their features and, most importantly, with their limitations. Also, explore the diverse range of external tools available within the Snowflake ecosystem.

Snowflake is a powerful data cloud platform that offers a wide range of features to optimize performance and scalability. By managing data and queries, optimizing storage, and utilizing Snowflake's built-in performance features, you can fully leverage the power of Snowflake and achieve high-performance data infrastructure. The platform is rapidly evolving and improving, so it's essential to stay updated by engaging with Snowflake and its ecosystem, investing in training, and keeping up with developments to avoid underutilization and excessive costs.

If you're looking for expert guidance and support in maximizing your performance in Snowflake, our Clariba SEIDOR team of experts can provide the assistance you need to take your data warehousing to the next level.