Snowflake (S3 Staging)

Data Warehouse Target

Synopsis

The Snowflake S3 target stages telemetry files to Amazon S3, then executes COPY INTO commands on Snowflake to load data into tables.

Schema

- name: <string>
  description: <string>
  type: amazonsnowflake
  properties:
    account: <string>
    username: <string>
    password: <string>
    database: <string>
    schema: <string>
    warehouse: <string>
    role: <string>
    staging_bucket: <string>
    staging_prefix: <string>
    region: <string>
    key: <string>
    secret: <string>
    session: <string>
    table: <string>
    name: <string>
    format: <string>
    compression: <string>
    extension: <string>
    tables:
      - table: <string>
        schema: <string>
        name: <string>
        format: <string>
        compression: <string>
        extension: <string>
    batch_size: <integer>
    max_size: <integer>
    timeout: <integer>
    part_size: <integer>
    drop_unknown_stream_events: <boolean>
    field_format: <string>
    debug:
      status: <boolean>
      dont_send_logs: <boolean>

Configuration

Base Target Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Y	Unique identifier for this target
description	string	N	Human-readable description
type	string	Y	Must be amazonsnowflake
pipelines	array	N	Pipeline names to apply before sending
status	boolean	N	Enable (true) or disable (false) this target

Snowflake Connection

Field	Type	Required	Description
account	string	Y	Snowflake account identifier (e.g., abc123.us-east-1)
username	string	Y	Snowflake username
password	string	Y	Snowflake password
database	string	Y	Snowflake database name
schema	string	N	Snowflake schema name. Default: PUBLIC
warehouse	string	N	Snowflake virtual warehouse name
role	string	N	Snowflake role name

S3 Staging Configuration

Field	Type	Required	Description
staging_bucket	string	Y	S3 bucket name for staging files
staging_prefix	string	N	S3 prefix path. Default: snowflake-staging/
region	string	Y	AWS region for S3 bucket
key	string	N	AWS access key ID (uses default credentials chain if omitted)
secret	string	N	AWS secret access key
session	string	N	AWS session token for temporary credentials

Table Configuration

Field	Type	Required	Description
table	string	Y*	Catch-all table name for all events
schema	string	Y*	Avro/Parquet schema definition
name	string	Y*	File naming template. Default: vmetric.{{.Timestamp}}.{{.Extension}}
format	string	N	File format (csv, json, avro, orc, parquet, xml). Default: parquet
compression	string	N	Compression algorithm
extension	string	N	File extension override
tables	array	N	Multiple table configurations (see below)
tables.table	string	Y	Target table name
tables.schema	string	Y*	Avro/Parquet schema definition for this table
tables.name	string	Y	File naming template for this table
tables.format	string	N	File format for this table
tables.compression	string	N	Compression algorithm for this table
tables.extension	string	N	File extension override for this table

* At least one of table (catch-all) or tables (multiple) must be configured. For Avro/Parquet formats, schema is required.

Batch Configuration

Field	Type	Required	Description
batch_size	integer	N	Maximum events per file before flush
max_size	integer	N	Maximum file size in bytes before flush
timeout	integer	N	COPY INTO command timeout in seconds. Default: 300
part_size	integer	N	S3 multipart upload part size in MB
drop_unknown_stream_events	boolean	N	Drop events that do not match any configured table. Default: true

Normalization

Field	Type	Required	Description
field_format	string	N	Apply format normalization (ECS, ASIM, UDM)

Debug Options

Field	Type	Required	Description
debug.status	boolean	N	Enable debug logging for this target
debug.dont_send_logs	boolean	N	Log events without sending to Snowflake

Details

Architecture Overview

The Snowflake S3 target implements a two-stage loading pattern:

1. Stage Files to S3: Events are written to files in S3 using the configured format
2. Execute COPY INTO: SQL commands load data from S3 into Snowflake tables

Snowflake Connection

Account Identifier:

• Format: <account_locator>.<region> (e.g., abc123.us-east-1)
• Account locator is visible in your Snowflake URL
• Region is the cloud region where your Snowflake account is deployed

Authentication:

• Uses username/password authentication
• Credentials are used to connect to Snowflake SQL API v2
• Supports optional warehouse and role specification

Database and Schema:

• Database name is required and must be a valid SQL identifier
• Schema defaults to PUBLIC if not specified
• Both database and schema names are validated for SQL compliance

Snowflake Permissions

The Snowflake user requires permissions to:

• Execute SQL statements using the specified warehouse
• Write data to the target database and schema
• Access the S3 staging location (configured separately in Snowflake)

S3 Staging Operations

File Upload:

• Files are staged to s3://bucket/prefix/table/filename structure
• Uses AWS SDK multipart upload for large files
• Supports AWS credentials chain (access key, IAM role, instance profile)

Cleanup:

• Staged files are automatically deleted after successful COPY INTO execution
• Failed uploads remain in S3 for troubleshooting

File Format Support

Valid Formats:

• CSV: Comma-separated values with optional headers
• JSON: Newline-delimited JSON objects
• AVRO: Schema-based binary format (requires schema)
• ORC: Optimized row columnar format
• PARQUET: Columnar storage format (requires schema)
• XML: XML document format

Schema Requirements:

• Avro and Parquet formats require schema field with valid schema definition
• Schema must match the expected table structure in Snowflake
• Other formats use schema inference from data

Multi-Table Routing

Catch-All Table:

• Use table field to send all events to a single table
• Simplest configuration for single-destination scenarios

Multiple Tables:

• Use tables array to route different event types to different tables
• Each table entry specifies table, schema, name, format fields
• Events routed based on SystemS3 field in pipeline

Example Configuration:

tables:
  - table: security_events
    schema: security_schema.avsc
    name: security.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet
    format: parquet
  - table: access_logs
    schema: access_schema.avsc
    name: access.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet
    format: parquet

Performance Considerations

Batch Processing:

• Events are buffered until batch_size or max_size limits are reached
• Larger batches reduce S3 API calls and COPY INTO operations
• Balance batch size against latency requirements

Upload Optimization:

• Multipart uploads automatically handle large files
• Configure part_size for optimal network performance
• Default part size is AWS SDK default (5 MB)

COPY INTO Performance:

• COPY INTO commands are executed with configurable timeout
• Failed COPY operations return errors for retry logic
• Warehouse must be running (resumed) for COPY INTO to succeed

Warehouse State

Ensure the virtual warehouse is running before sending data. COPY INTO commands will fail if the warehouse is suspended. Configure warehouse auto-resume or manual resume procedures.

Error Handling

Upload Failures:

• Failed S3 uploads are retried based on sender configuration
• Permanent failures prevent COPY INTO execution
• Check S3 bucket permissions and network connectivity

COPY INTO Failures:

• Schema mismatches between files and tables cause failures
• Invalid SQL identifiers (database, schema, table names) are rejected at validation
• Check Snowflake query history for detailed error messages

Examples

Basic Configuration

Sending telemetry to Snowflake using S3 staging with Parquet format...

targets: - name: snowflake-warehouse type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: abc123.us-east-1 username: datastream_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: PRODUCTION_DATA warehouse: COMPUTE_WH staging_bucket: datastream-staging region: us-east-1 table: EVENTS schema: event_schema.avsc name: events.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet

With AWS Credentials

Using explicit AWS credentials for S3 staging access...

targets: - name: snowflake-secure type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: xyz789.us-west-2 username: security_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: SECURITY_ANALYTICS warehouse: SECURITY_WH role: SECURITY_ADMIN staging_bucket: security-logs-staging staging_prefix: snowflake/ region: us-west-2 key: "${AWS_ACCESS_KEY}" secret: "${AWS_SECRET_KEY}" table: SECURITY_EVENTS schema: security_schema.avsc name: security.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet

Multi-Table Configuration

Routing different event types to separate Snowflake tables...

targets: - name: snowflake-multi-table type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: abc123.us-east-1 username: analytics_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: ANALYTICS warehouse: ANALYTICS_WH staging_bucket: analytics-staging region: us-east-1 tables: - table: AUTHENTICATION_EVENTS schema: auth_schema.avsc name: auth.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet - table: NETWORK_EVENTS schema: network_schema.avsc name: network.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet - table: APPLICATION_LOGS schema: app_schema.avsc name: app.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet

High-Volume Configuration

Optimizing for high-volume ingestion with batch limits and compression...

targets: - name: snowflake-high-volume type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: abc123.us-east-1 username: streaming_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: HIGH_VOLUME_DATA warehouse: LARGE_WH staging_bucket: streaming-staging region: us-east-1 batch_size: 100000 max_size: 134217728 part_size: 16 timeout: 600 table: STREAMING_EVENTS schema: streaming_schema.avsc name: stream.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet compression: snappy

JSON Format

Using JSON format for flexible schema evolution and debugging...

targets: - name: snowflake-json type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: abc123.us-east-1 username: dev_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: DEVELOPMENT warehouse: DEV_WH staging_bucket: dev-staging region: us-east-1 table: TEST_EVENTS name: test.{{.Timestamp}}.json format: json

With Normalization

Applying ECS normalization before loading to Snowflake...

targets: - name: snowflake-normalized type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: abc123.us-east-1 username: security_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: SECURITY_DATA warehouse: SECURITY_WH staging_bucket: security-staging region: us-east-1 field_format: ECS table: ECS_EVENTS schema: ecs_schema.avsc name: ecs.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet

Production Configuration

Production-ready configuration with performance tuning, AWS credentials, and multi-table routing...

targets: - name: snowflake-production type: amazonsnowflake properties: account: production.us-east-1 username: production_user password: "${SNOWFLAKE_PASSWORD}" database: PRODUCTION_ANALYTICS warehouse: PRODUCTION_WH role: DATA_ENGINEER staging_bucket: production-staging-bucket staging_prefix: datastream/snowflake/ region: us-east-1 key: "${AWS_ACCESS_KEY}" secret: "${AWS_SECRET_KEY}" batch_size: 50000 max_size: 67108864 part_size: 10 timeout: 300 field_format: ASIM tables: - table: SECURITY_EVENTS schema: security_schema.avsc name: security.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet compression: snappy - table: AUDIT_LOGS schema: audit_schema.avsc name: audit.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet compression: snappy - table: NETWORK_FLOWS schema: network_schema.avsc name: network.{{.Timestamp}}.parquet format: parquet compression: snappy