seniorT-SQL

What is SQL Server FILESTREAM and when should it be used?

Updated May 17, 2026

Short answer

FILESTREAM stores large binary data in the file system while maintaining transactional consistency.

Deep explanation

FILESTREAM integrates SQL Server with NTFS to store BLOB data outside the database while preserving transactional integrity. It is useful for large files like images or documents, improving performance compared to storing them in VARBINARY(MAX).

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