>>I'd argue that it certainly *does* belong there - just that the option isn't well supported :-}
>>
>>Well, I've seen several companies that have stated specific reasons why they wanted to keep them external (reasons ranging from flexibility to system issues I described earlier) - I have yet to see or hear any stated requirement/reason to keep them in the database.
>
>Unless you've got tight control over the external storage than I would think security/integrity would be a big issue.
>No guarantees that the file you are expecting actually exists and, if it does, whether it has been swapped inadvertently or deliberately.
>No guarantee that someone hasn't changed the neccessary permissions when you need to add/change/delete a file.
>No guarantee that the d***d folder even exists without checking every time......
>
>You mentioned that there may be backup issues with filestream - but I would think they pale in comparison to any robust strategy for synchronously backing up external files. And varbinary presents no problem there anyway.
>
>Unless I see a noticeable performance hit from varbinary (which in this instance I don't) I think I'll stick with it. But when I get time I'll try testing a FILESTREAM option.
>
>Best,
>Viv

I agree.

FILESTREAM is necessary with data > 2GB