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Explain Native vs. External Tables.

SQLhard0.4 min readPremium
Frequency
Low
Asked at 1 company
Category
487
questions in SQL
Difficulty Split
130E|271M|86H
in this category
Total Bank
1,863
across 7 categories
Asked at these companies
Ford
Key Concepts Tested
optimizationpartitionsnowflake
Expert AnswerPremium
88 wordsInterview-ready
**Architectural Logic**: Native = Snowflake-managed storage; External = metadata in Snowflake, data elsewhere. **Native**: Full features (clustering, time travel); data in Snowflake storage. **External**: Data in S3/Azure/GCS; query via Snowflake compute; partition inference. **Use Native**: Curated, frequently queried data. **Use External**: Raw data; cost optimization; data stays in lake. **Scalability**: External avoids data movement; native has better query performance....
The complete answer continues with detailed implementation patterns, architectural trade-offs, and production-grade considerations. It covers performance optimization strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples from companies like Ford. The answer also includes follow-up discussion points that interviewers commonly explore.

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