The Art of SQL Server FILESTREAM - Red Gate Software

Chapter 2: Getting Started with FILESTREAMThe script is the same one we would use to create a regular database, except for thefollowing part that creates an additional filegroup to store the FILESTREAM data.FILEGROUP NorthPole_fs CONTAINS FILESTREAM(NAME = NorthPole_fs,FILENAME = 'C:\ArtOfFS\Demos\Chapter2\NorthPole_fs' )Listing 2-3:Code snippet to show the definition of a FILESTREAM filegroup.The first line in the above listing creates a FILEGROUP named NorthPole_fs. Thesyntax is the same as creating or adding a regular data or log filegroup to a database. Theclause CONTAINS FILESTREAM is new in SQL Server 2008; it specifies that the filegroupis to be added as a FILESTREAM filegroup. The next line, NAME = NorthPole_fs,specifies the logical name of the filegroup.The FILENAME parameter in the third line specifies the file system location to beconfigured as the FILESTREAM data container. When creating a new FILESTREAMenableddatabase using T-SQL, you must provide the complete path to the FILESTREAMdata container (C:\ArtOfFS\Demos\Chapter2\NorthPole_fs in the above example).The parent folder (C:\ArtOfFS\Demos\Chapter2) must exist at the time of executingthe T-SQL script; however, the last subfolder in the path (NorthPole_fs) must not exist– if the folder already exists, the T-SQL script will fail, as described previously. Remember,you must not tamper with the FILESTREAM data container folder. Any change you makedirectly to this folder could corrupt your database.Note also the following, with regard to a FILESTREAM filegroup:• it cannot be named PRIMARY• SIZE, MAXSIZE, and FILEGROWTH attributes are inapplicable• it cannot point to a UNC path; it must refer to a path on the local server,a storage area network or an iSCSI target• it can be placed on a compressed disk volume.58