Cluster Management

Cluster management automatically scales the number of active clusters in your Snowflake warehouses based on real-time query load. During low-activity periods, Revefi shuts down unused clusters to reduce compute costs. When a warehouse is completely idle, Revefi can also shut down the entire warehouse — all without manual intervention and without affecting running queries.

This is different from auto-manage, which optimizes warehouse size (X-Small through 6X-Large) based on historical usage patterns. Cluster management controls how many clusters are running at any given time, in real time.

How Cluster Management Works

Once enabled, Revefi continuously monitors each managed warehouse:

Assess demand — Revefi checks warehouse query load and activity in real time.
Scale down — If there are active clusters with no query load, Revefi shuts them down to reduce compute costs.
Shutdown idle warehouses — Revefi also identifies when the warehouse is completely idle and initiates shutdown.

Cluster management only scales down — Snowflake's built-in auto-scaling already handles scale-up efficiently when demand increases, so there is no performance impact to your workloads.

Starting Cluster Management

Navigate to Warehouses in the left sidebar.
Find the warehouse you want to manage and open its actions menu (⋮).
Select Start Cluster Management.

Revefi begins monitoring and adjusting cluster counts immediately. You can enable cluster management on multiple warehouses independently.

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Cluster management works alongside auto-manage and respects any sizing constraints or schedule overrides you have configured.

Single-Cluster Warehouses

For warehouses with only one cluster, cluster management helps save costs by automatically shutting down the warehouse when it is completely idle.

Monitoring Results

After enabling cluster management, the warehouse's performance report shows cluster management metrics under the Realtime Activity tab:

Scale-Down Actions — Number of times Revefi reduced the cluster count to save costs
Total Clusters Suspended — Cumulative clusters suspended when idle to save costs
Average Clusters Reduced — Average cluster reduction per scale-down action
Most Common Action — The most frequent cluster transition pattern

Efficiency Comparison

Revefi compares warehouse utilization for the 7 days before and 7 days after cluster management was enabled. This comparison shows how cluster management has impacted warehouse efficiency and cost.

Stopping Cluster Management

Navigate to Warehouses and find the managed warehouse.
Open the actions menu (⋮) and select Stop Cluster Management.

When you stop cluster management, cluster counts remain at their current state — Revefi does not reset them. You can resume cluster management at any time by starting it again.

Cluster Management vs. Auto-Manage

Auto-manage and cluster management are complementary features that work together:

Feature	What It Does	How It Works
Auto-manage	Optimizes warehouse size (T-shirt sizing) and sets the maximum number of clusters a warehouse may scale to	Generates and applies a schedule with optimal warehouse sizes alongside max cluster limits
Cluster management	Manages active clusters so that idle clusters are shut down, while keeping the max cluster setting unchanged to allow scaling when needed	Continuously monitors and shuts down idle clusters in real time

Both features can be enabled on the same warehouse. Cluster management respects any sizing constraints or schedule overrides configured through auto-manage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does cluster management work on single-cluster warehouses?
Yes. For single-cluster warehouses, cluster management monitors for idle periods and automatically shuts down the warehouse to save costs.

Will cluster management affect running queries?
No. Revefi only scales down clusters that are not actively processing queries. Running queries continue uninterrupted, and scale-up continues to happen as normal as per demand.

Can I use cluster management and auto-manage together?
Yes. Auto-manage optimizes the warehouse size, while cluster management handles the number of active clusters. They operate independently and complement each other.

How can I audit what Revefi changed?
An audit view for cluster management actions is an upcoming feature. In the meantime, you can monitor the impact of cluster management through the Realtime Activity tab in the warehouse's performance report.