Authentication Scenarios for Snowflake Connectivity

This document is a guide that outlines various authentication scenarios supported by Snowflake, focusing on security. It details patterns for human interactive scenarios and programmatic service-account use cases. The guide explains five authentication methods, including built-in username/password authentication, multi-factor authentication, SSO powered by SAMLv2, key pair authentication, and OAuth 2.0 code grant flow. It emphasizes the importance of selecting appropriate authentication methods based on organizational needs, such as using an Identity Provider (IdP) for managing authentication or implementing more secure methods than simple username and password combinations. The document also provides examples of how applications like Tableau and Microsoft Power BI can utilize OAuth for secure access to Snowflake data. Additionally, it discusses design principles and benefits associated with federated authentication, highlighting the simplification of user access management and the unification of user credentials across various corporate applications. The intended audience includes Enterprise and Solution Architects.