How can I enable Snowflake connector activity logging?

Summary

This article explains how activity logging works for the Reltio Snowflake Connector in the two supported integration patterns:

• Legacy External Storage (a.k.a. “External Storage mode”): Reltio exports data to cloud storage; the connector ingests from there into Snowflake. Logging is handled outside Snowflake by Reltio’s integration layer and/or your cloud analytics sink.
• Direct Connect: Reltio communicates with Snowflake via Snowflake APIs. Logging is primarily handled inside Snowflake using native telemetry (query history, access history, monitoring views). Reltio may also expose connector-level logs, but the configuration differs from the legacy mode.

You can use this guide to decide where to find logs, how to enable them, and how to access/monitor them in each mode.

Prerequisites

• You know which connector mode your tenant uses (Legacy External Storage vs Direct Connect).
• Access to your cloud storage/analytics sink (e.g., S3, Azure Blob, GCS, or BigQuery) for legacy mode, and appropriate Snowflake roles to view account usage in direct mode.

Modes at a Glance

Legacy External Storage Mode

In Legacy External Storage mode, the connector’s activity logs are produced by Reltio’s integration layer and land in your cloud sink (S3 / Blob / GCS or an analytics warehouse like BigQuery). Snowflake is only the destination for the exported data, not the activity log stream—so there’s no required “activity” table in Snowflake for setup.

Common gotchas

• Expecting to see legacy activity in ACCOUNT_USAGE—you won’t; that’s Direct Connect territory.

• The activityLogEnabled toggle applies to legacy logging in your cloud sink, not to anything inside Snowflake.

How it works

1. Reltio does not connect directly to Snowflake.
2. Reltio exports data to an external storage location (e.g., S3, Azure Blob, GCS).
3. The Snowflake connector loads from external storage into Snowflake.

Activity logging behavior

• When activityLogEnabled=true in the Reltio configuration, the integration layer generates activity logs (e.g., export/import events).
• Logs are external to Snowflake. They are either:
  • Written alongside exported data in your cloud storage, and/or
  • Streamed to an analytics platform per your configuration.

Where to find logs

• Cloud storage: Look under the designated bucket/container and prefixes your team configured for connector runs.
• Analytics sink (e.g., BigQuery): Use your standard dataset/tables created for connector activity logs.

Operational notes

• Ownership: Logging is managed by Reltio’s integration layer, not by Snowflake.
• Retention & cost: Govern via your cloud storage lifecycle rules or analytics warehouse policies.
• Alerting: Use your cloud-native tools (e.g., CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, GCP Monitoring) to alert on missing files, error flags, or anomalous counts.

Direct Connect Mode

How it works

1. Reltio connects directly to Snowflake using Snowflake APIs.
2. Data is read/written without external storage in the middle.

Activity logging behavior

• Logging is primarily internal to Snowflake. Use Snowflake’s native telemetry to audit and monitor connector activity:
  • QUERY history for executed statements
  • ACCESS history for data object access
  • Additional account usage and monitoring views
• Reltio may still expose connector-level logs; however, the configuration and availability differ from legacy mode and might not rely on activityLogEnabled.

Where to find logs in Snowflake

• Snowsight / Web UI: Activity → Query History / Access History
• SQL (examples; adjust filters to your environment):

Reference documentation

• https://docs.reltio.com/en/applications/data-integrations/data-pipelines-at-a-glance/reltio-data-pipeline-for-snowflake-at-a-glance/snowflake-pipeline-datasets/datasets-for-the-snowflake-data-schema/activity-log-datasets-for-snowflake

• Snowsight UI

  • Activity → Query History: filter by User = RELTIO_SVC, or Warehouse = WH_RELTIO, or Query Tag = reltio-direct-connect. Drill into failures. Snowflake Documentation

  • Activity → Access History: see which tables/stages were read/written by those queries. Snowflake Documentation

   

Minimal Configuration Reference

Legacy External Storage

• Toggle: activityLogEnabled=true
• Destination: Cloud storage and/or analytics platform (e.g., BigQuery) configured by your team

{
"activityLogEnabled": true
// Additional environment-specific settings define where logs are written
}

Direct Connect

• Primary telemetry: Snowflake history and monitoring views
• Reltio logs: May be available; refer to your connector configuration for options

Summary Table