Are you struggling with BLOB? We recently received an inquiry from a reader asking what remote BLOB storage was. BLOB stands for Binary Large Objects. According to Microsoft Technet, data elements having either of the following characteristics:
- Unstructured data that has no schema (such as a piece of encrypted data).
- A large amount of binary data (many megabytes or gigabytes) that has a very simple schema, such as image files, streaming video or sound clips.
Large data elements = sluggish system
SQL Server stores BLOB data in its databases by default. As the BLOB data increases in size (remember it consists of large data elements) file space and server resources tend to become consumed resulting in a sluggish system. The data would then be removed and placed into a separate file using a third-party provider or the users would have to invest in external storage solutions.
Remote BLOB Storage to the rescue
SharePoint 2010 has a Remote Blob Storage (RBS) functionality that allows documents to be placed into the databases file system instead of the database itself. SharePoint 2010 supports the FILESTREAM provider which is available through the SQL Server Remote BLOB Store installation package from the Feature Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008. The information is then stored locally on the server.
The benefits for remote storage are:
- Saving money
- Improved performance
- Improved manageability
- Compliance with regulatory bodies
More BLOB info
For a detailed look at the benefits to Remote Blob Storage and what considerations you need to make before implementing RBS, have a look at the excellent post by JerseyBob, SharePoint Remote BLOB Storage for Non-Experts. Even BLOB experts are bound to pick up a few tips in this meaty post at the StoragePoint Team Blog.
Don’t hesitate to contact Clayko if you have any questions about BLOB or SharePoint, in general. We have a team of experienced SharePoint consultants.