Are cloud-based functions such as AWS Lambda and Microsoft Azure Functions considered remote services in Snowflake external functions?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Sometimes True
• D. Not Sure

Answer: (A)

External functions let Snowflake run code that lives outside Snowflake by calling out to a remote service. Cloud-based functions like AWS Lambda and Microsoft Azure Functions run in their own managed, serverless environments, separate from Snowflake. When you define an external function, Snowflake makes an HTTP(S) call to the remote endpoint hosted by that service, sending input data and receiving output to return to your query. The actual computation happens outside Snowflake, in the Lambda or Azure Functions environment, which is exactly what a remote service is in this context. So these cloud-based functions are considered remote services, making the statement true.