Zero Copy Cloning in Snowflake is a
smart and cost-saving feature. It lets users create copies of data without
using extra storage. In this July 2025 update, we explore new features, simple examples,
and common questions. Whether you're new or advanced, this guide is for you Snowflake
Online Course Hyderabad.
Table of Contents
1. What Is Zero
Copy Cloning in Snowflake?
2. How Does Zero
Copy Cloning Work?
3. July 2025
Features and Enhancements
4. Cloning
Examples and Use Cases
5. Copy Grants
and Clone Permissions
6. FAQs –
Latest Questions and Answers
What Is Zero Copy Cloning in Snowflake?
Zero Copy Cloning in Snowflake is
a smart feature. It creates a copy of a database or table without using extra
space. This means no actual data is copied. Only the metadata changes.
When you clone, Snowflake links
the new object to the old one. It reads data from the original until the clone
is changed. Then it starts saving the new changes. This is fast and saves cost.
You can create clones in seconds.
Developers love this for testing and backup Snowflake Training.
How Does Zero Copy Cloning Work?
Zero Copy Cloning works using
Snowflake's unique architecture. The clone points to the original data blocks.
This is known as metadata-level cloning.
If you update the clone,
Snowflake saves only the changes. This keeps storage small. You don’t pay for
the full data twice.
This is why it is called “Zero Copy.” Because no
full copy is made.
Snowflake allows cloning of many
objects. These include databases, schemas, tables, and even streams. For
example, if you want to clone a table, just run this simple command:
CREATE TABLE
sales_clone CLONE sales;
This creates a full working copy
in no time. Visualpath teaches
this step-by-step in their Snowflake training.
July 2025 Features and Enhancements
In July 2025, Snowflake made Zero
Copy Cloning even better. The latest update adds support for:
- Cloning across regions with less delay
- Faster clone refresh sync
- Clear tracking of clone changes
One big feature is the ability to
clone across clouds. For example, clone a table from AWS to Azure. This helps
big teams work on the same data from different places.
Another update is smart
versioning. Now you can roll back to older clone states. This is helpful for
debugging. It saves time and effort.
These new features were added on July
1, 2025, during the Snowflake Summit release. Visualpath has already
included this in their 2025 course material Snowflake
Online Course Hyderabad.
Cloning Examples and Use Cases
Zero Copy Cloning is used in many
ways. Here is a simple example:
Let’s say you have a table named customer_data. You want
to test some changes. Instead of copying data, run:
CREATE TABLE customer_test CLONE customer_data;
Now you have a test table. It
acts like the real one but uses no space. Any change in the test table does not
affect the real data.
Developers use this in dev, test,
and prod environments. You can also clone a full database like this:
CREATE DATABASE db_clone CLONE db_original;
This saves hours of work. Cloning
also works great when sharing data between teams.
Some users ask about Zero-copy
clone in Databricks. That is different. Snowflake cloning is
metadata-based. Databricks uses delta lake snapshots. They are not the same.
Copy Grants and Clone Permissions
One big question is about copying
grants. When you clone a table or database, by default, the grants are not
copied. You need to add COPY GRANTS to your clone statement.
Here’s how:
CREATE TABLE sales_clone CLONE sales COPY GRANTS;
This keeps the same roles and
access on the new object. This feature is useful in big teams. It saves time Snowflake Training.
If you want to copy grants from
one table to another, you can also use scripts. Visualpath teaches this in the
advanced Snowflake class. This helps you manage security better.
Only certain services provide
full Zero Copy Cloning. This includes Snowflake Enterprise Edition and
above. It is not available in some lower plans.
FAQs – Latest Questions and Answers
What is zero copy cloning in
Snowflake July 2025 update YouTube?
It is a method to clone data objects without copying the full data. July 2025
adds cloud-to-cloud cloning and better version tracking. You can find simple
demos on YouTube or through Visualpath training.
Zero-copy clone Snowflake
documentation?
Snowflake has official docs. But Visualpath also gives easy-to-follow
lessons in video format. These are perfect for learners.
Zero Copy Cloning Snowflake
example?
Yes. For example:
CREATE SCHEMA
test_schema CLONE prod_schema;
This clone has all tables but
uses no extra space.
Zero-copy clone Databricks?
Databricks has Delta Cloning,
which is different. Snowflake cloning is more efficient for large datasets.
Which objects can be cloned in
Snowflake?
You can clone databases, schemas,
tables, streams, and materialized views. Not all objects support cloning with
history.
Which of the following services
provision Zero Copy Cloning in Snowflake?
Enterprise Edition and higher. Standard
Edition does not support full zero copy features.
Copy GRANTS Snowflake example?
CREATE TABLE emp_clone CLONE emp COPY
GRANTS;
This keeps the same access rules
as the original.
Copy grants from one table to
another Snowflake?
Use scripting to pull grants and
reapply them. Visualpath covers this deeply in the live sessions.
Final Words
Zero Copy Cloning is one of
Snowflake’s best features. It saves time, cost, and storage. In 2025, it’s even
more powerful. Learning this with Visualpath can help anyone master Snowflake.
It is fast, simple, and perfect for real-world projects.
Trending Courses: Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Sailpoint Identityiq, Microsoft Dynamics Ax technical
Visualpath is the Leading and Best Institute for learning in
Hyderabad. We provide
Snowflake Online Training. You will get the best
course at an affordable cost.
For more Details Contact +91 7032290546
Comments
Post a Comment