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Architecture models
Zero-copy
Data access without replication
Zero-copy allows a platform to query or use data that remains in the warehouse without maintaining a complete replica in its own store.
- When it applies
- It applies when the warehouse is already authoritative and duplicating profiles or attributes increases cost, divergence, or governance overhead.
- What it is confused with
- It does not mean that nothing ever moves. Results, caches, or operational state may still be persisted to meet execution and latency requirements.
- Architecture consequence
- Evaluation should test performance, freshness, permissions, query cost, and behaviour when the warehouse is unavailable.
Related concepts
Explore this decision
- What needs to leave the warehouse?
Ingestion, Federated Audience Composition and Data Mirror solve different problems. See what moves and what to check before choosing.