Snowflake SnowPro Certification Practice Test

Which is a potential indicator that Clustering Keys may be beneficial for a table?

1. Queries running faster than expected

2. Low clustering ratio and high clustering depth

3. Constant partition size

4. All queries complete within seconds

The correct answer is: Low clustering ratio and high clustering depth

The correct choice identifies a scenario where the clustering keys could be beneficial for a table: a low clustering ratio and high clustering depth. A low clustering ratio indicates that the data is not well-organized in relation to the clustering keys, meaning that multiple micro-partitions may be scanned during query execution due to data distribution not aligning with the queried fields. High clustering depth signifies that a significant portion of the data in the table is distributed across many micro-partitions, leading to inefficiencies during data retrieval. These factors suggest that implementing clustering keys could optimize query performance by reorganizing data to align better with common query patterns, thus reducing the need to scan irrelevant partitions and improving query execution times. In contrast, queries that complete quickly or run faster than expected do not indicate any underlying data organization issues. Similarly, a constant partition size suggests a well-managed partitioning scheme rather than an indication of whether clustering may help. Therefore, the scenario of low clustering ratio and high clustering depth is a strong indicator that clustering keys may provide performance benefits.