The Art of SQL Server FILESTREAM - Red Gate Software

Chapter 10: Integrating FILESTREAM with other SQL Server FeaturesSummaryThis chapter focused on examining how FILESTREAM works with other popular SQLServer features. Some of these features work well with FILESTREAM.• FILESTREAM works very well with replication; FILESTREAM columns can bereplicated with or without the FILESTREAM attribute, and they can be replicatedas VARBINARY(MAX) columns to SQL Server 2005 subscribers.• SQL Server supports log shipping of FILESTREAM-enabled databases. There is nochange in the configuration process except that you need to make sure that the targetSQL Server instances have FILESTREAM enabled.• Full-text indexing works with FILESTREAM columns in a similar way to that ofVARBINARY(MAX) columns, but with the 2 GB limitation of data size removed.However, some of them are only partially supported and a few of the veryinteresting features introduced in SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 donot support FILESTREAM at all.• Database snapshots of FILESTREAM databases can be created. However, youcannot include FILESTREAM filegroups in the database snapshot. When queryingthe database snapshot, if you attempt to read from the FILESTREAM columns,SQL Server will generate an error.• Change Data Capture does not "officially" support FILESTREAM columns.If you configure CDC on a FILESTREAM column, the data will be capturedas VARBINARY(MAX) columns. Enabling CDC on FILESTREAM columns isnot recommended.385