What is the primary advantage of using a snowflake schema?

The primary advantage of using a snowflake schema is reduced data redundancy. In a snowflake schema, the design normalizes the data into multiple related tables, which minimizes the duplication of data. This normalization helps in maintaining data integrity and consistency across the database.

By organizing data in a more structured way, the snowflake schema avoids the repetition of data elements associated with various dimensions. For example, if multiple facts relate to a dimension, instead of repeating the dimension's attributes across different facts, those attributes can be placed in separate normalized tables linked by relationships. This reduction of redundancy not only saves disk space but also simplifies data maintenance.

Though improved query performance and faster data retrieval can be benefits of snowflake schemas in certain contexts, these advantages often depend on the specific queries being run and the indexing strategy used. The increased complexity of a snowflake schema, due to its normalization and the use of multiple additional tables, can sometimes lead to slower performance in scenarios requiring complex joins. However, the core strength of the snowflake schema lies in its ability to minimize redundant data storage.