Snowflake SnowPro Certification Practice Test

Can a cached query be executed without a Virtual Warehouse in Snowflake?

1. Yes, no compute is used

2. No, a Virtual Warehouse is always required

3. Only for certain queries

4. Yes, but only for read-only queries

The correct answer is: Yes, no compute is used

A cached query in Snowflake can indeed be executed without the need for an active Virtual Warehouse, as the architecture allows for this functionality. When a query is cached in Snowflake, it means that the results of the query have been stored in the result cache, and subsequent executions of the same query can be served from this cache. Since result caching retrieves the pre-computed results, it does not require any compute resources at that moment, allowing the query to run without spinning up a Virtual Warehouse. This capability highlights one of Snowflake's performance advantages, as it reduces resource consumption and speeds up response times for frequently run queries. The system intelligently manages cache and execution to optimize efficiency and cost. The other options suggest that some conditions or restrictions apply, which are not consistent with how caching operates in Snowflake. Only specific scenarios or query types would not accurately convey the broader capability related to cached queries. Hence, the importance lies in understanding that result caching operates independently of the compute resources typically required by the Virtual Warehouses.