💾 Storage

This section covers how data is stored, protected and managed in Snowflake, including table types, data retention and other advanced features.

📋 Overview

• 🛡️ Table Types → Permanent vs. Transient tables and best practices for dbt
• 🗄️ Data Protection & Retention → Time Travel and Fail-safe and how they impact cost
• 🧩 Snowflake-specific advanced features → Secure Data Sharing and Zero-Copy Clone for data collaboration and environment cloning

✅ Practical Summary

• dbt defaults to using transient table to minimize cost
• Time Travel and Fail-safe offer data protection, but can increase storage costs
• Use SNOWFLAKE.ACCOUNT_USAGE.TABLE_STORAGE_METRICS to monitor storage consumption
• Full-refresh models recreate tables after each run and typically do not require extended retention features
• Permanent tables are recommended only for critical incremental models
• Snowflake provides advanced features like Secure Data Sharing and Zero-Copy Clone for collaboration and testing workflows