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abuhassan
105 Posts |
 Posted - 2006-12-14 : 10:51:21
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| HiI wanted to ask a question in terms of design (Performance, scalability, maintenance, flexibility etc.) is it better to refernce a document on the actual file system (on a file server) i.e. from a database link to the actual file at a disk location e.g. in the database have something like \\fileserver2006\test\newtext.txt or C:\test\newtext.txtor is it better to store all the files in a database as blobs?The Question i would like to ask is more in the context of desigining a document management system? |
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madhivanan
Premature Yak Congratulator
22864 Posts |
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harsh_athalye
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
5581 Posts |
Posted - 2006-12-14 : 11:06:18
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| In my opinion it is better to store files on the file system and reference them using UNC pathnames. Storing files inside the database will unnecessarily load the server.Harsh AthalyeIndia."The IMPOSSIBLE is often UNTRIED" |
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MichaelP
Jedi Yak
2489 Posts |
Posted - 2006-12-14 : 11:31:28
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| Personally, I like to use the file system. Here's a couple of reasons:1. The file system is easier to work with than BLOBs (in my opinion)2. If I need to restore one file, restoring a SQL backup and grabbing one BLOB outta there is a pain.3. If I store the "root path" to the files one place, and then store the rest of the file path in the database table that contains the files, I can very easily move all of the files to a different root path. This is good for maintenence / scaling as you run out of disk space. You can just add more more drives, copy all the files over to the new drive, and then write one UPDATE statement to change the "root path" and bam, everything works.I'm sure I can come up with more, but that should get you started. I've always been told "use the file system for files, and the RDBMS for data."Michael<Yoda>Use the Search page you must. Find the answer you will. Cursors, path to the Dark Side they are. Avoid them, you must. Use Order By NewID() to get a random record you will.</Yoda>Opinions expressed in this post are not necessarily those of TeleVox Software, inc. All information is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2006-12-14 : 12:08:08
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| See also: http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=55210&SearchTerms=Image,Images |
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afrika
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2706 Posts |
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Files as BLOBS or on disk?