Snowflake makes Iceberg storage backups generally available on AWS
Snowflake announced general availability on November 4 for backups of Apache Iceberg tables and dynamic Apache Iceberg tables that use Snowflake Storage on Amazon Web Services. The release expands the table types supported by its backup features. Its stated scope is Snowflake Storage on AWS, not every Iceberg deployment.
For an eligible Iceberg table, the announcement lists CREATE BACKUP SET ... FOR ICEBERG TABLE as the command for creating a backup set. Dynamic Iceberg tables that use Snowflake Storage have a corresponding CREATE BACKUP SET ... FOR DYNAMIC ICEBERG TABLE command. These are distinct table-type forms rather than a claim that one command covers every external catalog.
Restoring an eligible Iceberg table uses CREATE ICEBERG TABLE ... FROM BACKUP SET. For dynamic Iceberg tables, Snowflake lists CREATE DYNAMIC ICEBERG TABLE ... FROM BACKUP SET. The release establishes these supported operations but does not report a measured recovery time for a particular workload.
Eligible Snowflake Storage for Apache Iceberg tables can also be included in schema and database backups. The same inclusion is available for dynamic Iceberg tables that use Snowflake Storage. Teams assessing broader backup coverage still need to check whether their individual tables meet the stated eligibility requirements.
The announcement names AWS as the supported cloud for this release. It does not announce this general-availability expansion for Azure or Google Cloud, nor does it say that externally managed object storage is covered by the Snowflake Storage feature. Buyers should not treat the Iceberg name alone as proof that their storage configuration qualifies.
For data-platform teams, the practical change is the availability of backup-set creation, restore operations and inclusion in broader backups for the specified table types. The short release note does not promise a compliance certification, eliminate all data-loss risks or specify a guaranteed recovery-point target. Those operational requirements need their own assessment.