Lab 01 · Domain 1 heart (~31%) · You are Priya

Three layers + editions

Read every Teach first section before you copy SQL. This lab is the exam’s architecture foundation: where data lives, what burns credits, and which edition unlocks which feature. Domain 1 tips after you finish.

Business problem Morgan asks: “If we resize the warehouse, do we get more storage?” Kai thinks Snowflake is one blob. Wrong answers here wipe ~⅓ of Core.

Solution you will build Name the three layers out loud, map editions (Standard → VPS) to Time Travel / MCW / Tri-Secret / PrivateLink, and run tiny SQL that proves compute ≠ storage (plus permanent vs transient).

Before

One blurry “Snowflake”

“Warehouse stores our tables”
No idea which edition we need
Cloud Services = mystery fee

After

Three layers + edition map

Storage · Compute · Cloud Services
90-day TT → Enterprise+
WH = engine; tables stay in storage

Episode 01 · Start here

Kai mixes up the engine and the shelves.

KaiAnalyst — still learning

Morgan said scale the warehouse for the board deck. So… bigger warehouse = more room for history tables, right?

DevCoach — explains why

No. Warehouse = kitchen staff (compute). Tables live in the storage pantry. Cloud Services is the front desk (login, catalog, planner). Three layers — say them every time.

Exam trap #1 lives here: never say “the warehouse stores data.”

See it — three layers with Alpine names

Layer 1

Database Storage

Compressed micro-partitions on cloud object storage. Your tables live here.

ALPINE_RETAIL.LAB.CUSTOMERS
bytes → storage bill

Layer 2

Query Processing

Virtual warehouses run SQL. Credits while running / resumed.

WH_CORE_XS
X-Small · auto-suspend 60s

Layer 3

Cloud Services

Auth, metadata, optimizer, transaction management, result-cache coordination.

Why separate?

Scale independently

Grow storage without resizing compute. Pause compute without deleting data.

Store years of orders
+ tiny WH for ad-hoc

Editions — feature matrix (memorize the deltas)

Alpine’s trial may look like Enterprise features mixed in — for the exam, know the official ladder. Ask: “Which edition first unlocks this?”

1 · Standard Baseline TT default 1 day

2 · Enterprise + power TT up to 90d · MCW

3 · Bus. Critical + hardened Tri-Secret · PrivateLink

4 · VPS Isolated dedicated virtual private

Time Travel

90 days needs Enterprise+

Standard tops out at 1 day retention. Exam loves this distractor.

“We need 90-day UNDROP” →
Enterprise (or higher)

Security extras

Tri-Secret & PrivateLink

Customer-managed keys + private connectivity → Business Critical (and VPS).

Sam: “keys we control” →
Business Critical+

Before Step 1

Morgan: “Where are we running?”

MorganManager — deadline

If compliance asks which cloud region Alpine’s account sits in, can you answer in ten seconds?

DevCoach

CURRENT_ACCOUNT() and CURRENT_REGION(). Cloud Services knows who you are; storage holds the bytes in that region’s cloud.

1 Prove who / where you are

What this does: Reads session identity and account location — Cloud Services metadata, not a warehouse scan of table bytes.

Why: Exam questions mix “account locator,” region, and warehouse. Separate them.

SQL · account context

USE ROLE ROLE_CORE_LAB_ADMIN;
USE WAREHOUSE WH_CORE_XS;
USE DATABASE ALPINE_RETAIL;
USE SCHEMA LAB;

SELECT CURRENT_ACCOUNT() AS account_locator,
       CURRENT_REGION()  AS region,
       CURRENT_ROLE()    AS role,
       CURRENT_WAREHOUSE() AS warehouse;

✓ You should see a locator, a region string, ROLE_CORE_LAB_ADMIN, WH_CORE_XS

Before Step 2

Kai: “What are PARAMETERS?”

KaiAnalyst

Is DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS a warehouse setting? Feels like compute…

DevCoach

Retention is about storage history (Time Travel window). Edition caps how high you can set it. Warehouse size won’t give you 90 days.

2 Peek at retention parameters

What this does: Shows account-level knobs tied to Time Travel retention.

What you should see: A value (often 1 on trials). Remember: Enterprise unlocks up to 90 days — your trial number ≠ the exam rule.

SQL · SHOW PARAMETERS

SHOW PARAMETERS LIKE 'DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS'
  IN ACCOUNT;

SHOW PARAMETERS LIKE 'MIN_DATA_RETENTION_TIME_IN_DAYS'
  IN ACCOUNT;

✓ Parameter rows appear — note the numeric value, don’t overfit trial quirks

Before Step 3

Sam: “Fail-safe is not free.”

SamCompliance

Do we need Fail-safe on every scratch table Priya builds for demos?

DevCoach

No. Transient skips Fail-safe (cheaper). Permanent keeps Fail-safe after Time Travel. Lab 04 digs deeper — today just feel the difference.

3 Permanent vs transient tiny demo

What this does: Creates one permanent and one transient table so you can say “Fail-safe: yes vs no.”

SQL · permanent vs transient

CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE LAB.DEMO_PERM_TINY (
  ID NUMBER, NOTE STRING
);
CREATE OR REPLACE TRANSIENT TABLE LAB.DEMO_TRANS_TINY (
  ID NUMBER, NOTE STRING
);
INSERT INTO LAB.DEMO_PERM_TINY VALUES (1, 'has Fail-safe after TT');
INSERT INTO LAB.DEMO_TRANS_TINY VALUES (1, 'no Fail-safe');
SHOW TABLES LIKE 'DEMO_%' IN SCHEMA LAB;

✓ Two tables listed — note TRANSIENT kind on one of them

4 Say it: warehouse is not storage

What this does: Reminds you the session warehouse is only the compute handle.

SQL · compute context

SELECT CURRENT_WAREHOUSE() AS compute_engine_only;
-- Layers (exam — not SQL objects):
-- Storage | Query Processing (WH) | Cloud Services

✓ Returns WH_CORE_XS — say aloud: “engine, not pantry”

Exam presses further — say these out loud

Cover each answer before you open it. Domain 1 traps.

Q1. Does a virtual warehouse store table data?

Say: No. Warehouses are Query Processing (compute). Table data lives in Database Storage as compressed micro-partitions. Bigger warehouse ≠ more storage.

Q2. Which edition do you need for up to 90-day Time Travel?

Say: Enterprise or higher. Standard is capped at 1 day. Don’t confuse “my trial shows X” with the edition matrix.

Q3. How is Cloud Services billed?

Say: Cloud Services usage is metered; Snowflake applies a daily credit against warehouse compute. Heavy metadata / services beyond that can show as Cloud Services charges — it is not “free forever,” and it is not the same as warehouse credits.

Q4. What’s the benefit of separating storage and compute?

Say: Scale and pay for each independently: keep large history in storage while using a small warehouse for light queries, or spin up larger compute for spikes without moving data.

Q5. Tri-Secret Secure and AWS PrivateLink — which edition tier?

Say: Business Critical (and VPS). Enterprise adds Multi-cluster warehouses and longer Time Travel, but those hardened networking / key features are Business Critical+.

Q6. Name the three architecture layers in exam order.

Say: Database Storage, Query Processing (virtual warehouses), and Cloud Services (auth, metadata, optimizer).

Priya’s wrap-up (say this out loud)
“Alpine’s Snowflake is three layers: storage holds our micro-partitions, warehouses like WH_CORE_XS are compute only, and Cloud Services handles login, metadata, and planning. Editions matter — 90-day Time Travel needs Enterprise+; Tri-Secret and PrivateLink need Business Critical+. Transient tables skip Fail-safe. I will never say the warehouse stores data.”

Next Lab 02 walks the object catalog — tables, views, stages, sequences, and what’s account-level.