Create Warehouse Snapshots in Fabric – Point-in-Time Data Copy | Microsoft Fabric Tutorial

Create Warehouse Snapshots in Fabric – Point-in-Time Data Copy | Microsoft Fabric Tutorial

Create Warehouse Snapshots in Fabric – Point-in-Time Data Copy

In this Microsoft Fabric tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Warehouse Snapshots — a powerful feature that allows you to capture point-in-time read-only copies of your data warehouse for reporting, auditing, and analytics.

๐Ÿง  What is a Warehouse Snapshot?

  • A read-only, point-in-time view of a Microsoft Fabric Warehouse
  • Not automatically created — must be initiated by users
  • Remains consistent even as base tables are updated
  • Valid for querying historical data up to 30 days in the past
  • Can be refreshed manually to reflect the latest data

๐Ÿ“Œ Use Cases

  • ๐Ÿ“Š Historical analytics and period comparisons
  • ๐Ÿ“ฆ Stable inputs for machine learning and BI pipelines
  • ๐Ÿ” Regulatory compliance and audits
  • ✅ Backup for critical datasets before running ETL transformations

๐Ÿงช Sample Query on a Snapshot

SELECT TOP 5 * 
FROM [TechDWH_Snapshot].[dbo].[Sales];

๐Ÿ” Updating a Snapshot

  • Only available to Admin, Member, or Contributor roles
  • Automatically refreshes all snapshot tables to current state
  • Ongoing queries complete on the previous snapshot version

๐Ÿ” Security & Governance

  • Follows all permission rules from the parent warehouse
  • Strictly read-only – users cannot modify data
  • Security policies like GRANT/REVOKE instantly apply
  • ⚠️ Snapshot schema is not versioned — dropped tables disappear

⚠️ Preview Limitations

  • Works only on warehouses created after March 2025
  • No support via SSMS or Direct Lake integration
  • Does not support creating new views or DML operations
  • Unavailable for Lakehouse SQL Analytics Endpoints

๐ŸŽฌ Watch the Full Tutorial

Blog post written with the help of ChatGPT.