Snowplowâs RDB Loader or Snowflakeâs Snowpipe.
Blog post from Snowplow
Snowplow's RDB Loader is presented as a superior alternative to Snowflake's Snowpipe for loading and managing Snowplow events, offering a more streamlined process for capturing data into a structured table format conducive to analytic queries. Unlike Snowpipe, which tends to combine all custom data into a few generic columns, RDB Loader separates each entity into dedicated columns, simplifying the querying process. This distinction is crucial when data teams evolve their tracking methods over time, as RDB Loader handles automatic schema migrations and accommodates new event types seamlessly, reducing the need for manual table modifications and minimizing delays in data availability. Additionally, Snowplow’s RDB Loader integrates well with Snowplow’s DBT data models, supports schema evolution without requiring intervention from Snowflake admins, and provides enhanced monitoring and retry logic features for improved reliability. The text emphasizes that the RDB Loader's approach significantly enhances the efficiency and accuracy of downstream analytics compared to Snowpipe, especially in scenarios involving complex custom event and context schemas.