How do we exactly differentiate between incremental and CDC ?

[nsnandrey1]

Although i have understood it, but i suppose, there are gaps. Can somebody help me out, with complete and thorough differentiation between the two. Please state all parameters involved, with respect to data and different systems involved. 
Thanks. 

[nielsvdc · Accepted solution]

Hi @nsnandrey1,

CDC is useful when you need to capture all data changes, especially if the source lacks reliable timestamps or when near real-time updates are required. However, enabling CDC on an operational database can affect performance, increase storage usage, and cause transaction log growth. In some cases, you may not have control over this setting if the database is managed by a software vendor or an internal database admin.

Incremental extraction is simpler and works well when you only need the latest state of the data. It relies on reliable last_modified columns and does not require any database configuration changes, making it easier to implement and maintain.

Use CDC when you need near real-time data or when tables don’t have reliable incremental columns, but monitor its impact on the operational database. If you have reliable last_modified columns and only need daily data extraction, incremental refresh is the better choice because it requires less effort and maintenance.

Hope this helps. If so, please give a Kudos 👍 or mark as Accepted Solution ✔️.

[nsnandrey1]

Thanks nielsvdc 🙏 .  Truly appreciate the super fast response. 👍