Hey @chsoni12 ,

Using UC:

Databricks tracks metadata dependencies between the source and the clone. This means:

• VACUUM on the source table will not delete any data files if they are still referenced by the shallow clone.

• Even after the retention period, VACUUM only removes files not needed by any Delta table, including the clone.

• So: your clone remains safe, even if the source table is modified (insert/delete/truncate) or vacuumed.

Not using UC:

• Shallow clones are not protected the same way.

• If a file is no longer needed by the source table and you run VACUUM, it can be deleted, even if the clone still references it.

• That would break your clone (queries could fail due to missing files).

Some limitations​

• Shallow clones on external tables must be external tables. Shallow clones on managed tables must be managed tables.
• You cannot use REPLACE or CREATE OR REPLACE to overwrite an existing shallow clone. Instead, DROP the shallow clone and run a new CREATE statement.
• You cannot nest shallow clones, meaning you cannot make a shallow clone from a shallow clone.

References: Databricks Docs 

Hope this helps, 🙂

Isi