This document discusses Remote Blob Storage (RBS) in SharePoint, which enables storing large binary files (BLOBs) outside the content database to improve performance and reduce database size. RBS stores BLOB metadata in SQL Server and the BLOBs themselves in a separate RBS store location. SharePoint 2013 supports using FILESTREAM as the RBS provider to transparently store BLOBs on disk. Third party tools provide additional RBS functionality beyond the standard FILESTREAM provider.

1. RBS in SharePoint

2. Introduction to BLOBs
• BLOB = Binary Large Object
• Large block of data stored in a database that is known by its size and location instead of by its
structure
• For example a Office document or a video file
• By default, BLOBs are stored directly in the SharePoint content database
• 90% of a typical content database is made up of BLOBs
• BLOBs can be very large
• From < 1 MB to 2 GB
• New copy is stored for each version
• BLOBs can be problematic on a SharePoint database
• Specially for files > 1 MB
• Data can consume lots of space and uses server resources that are optimized for database access patterns
• Also does not help in DB fragmentation
• It might be better to store BLOBs outside the content database

3. RBS in SharePoint
• RBS is a SQL Server library API set that is incorporated as an add-on
feature pack for SQL Server
• Enables applications, such as SharePoint 2013, to store BLOBs in a
location outside the content databases
• The metadata for each BLOB is stored in the SQL Server database and
the BLOB is stored in the RBS store
• TechNet resources
• https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee748649.aspx

4. FILESTREAM
• The FILESTREAM is a RBS provider included in
SQL Server
• SharePoint 2013 supports FILESTREAM
• FILESTREAM is transparent for end users and
for administration
• Deep copy feature
• Site collection backup/restore and site import/export will
download the file contents and upload them back to the
server regardless of which RBS provider is being used

5. RBS limits in SharePoint
• The total volume of remote BLOB storage and metadata in the
content database must not exceed the 200GB limit
• Remote BLOB Storage (RBS) storage subsystem on Network Attached
Storage (NAS)
• Time to first byte of any response from the NAS should remain within 40
milliseconds 95% of the time.
• When SharePoint Server 2013 is configured to use RBS, and the BLOBs reside
on NAS storage, consider the following supported limit.
• From the time that SharePoint Server 2013 requests a BLOB, until it receives
the first byte from the NAS, 95% of the time no more than 40 milliseconds can
pass.
• https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787.aspx

6. RBS vs EBS
• EBS (External BLOB Storage)
• Introduced with SharePoint 2007 SP1
• Gives an opportunity to offload the BLOB
and passes an ID to SharePoint to keep
track of it
• Layer in SharePoint to talk to SQL Server
• RBS (Remote BLOB Storage)
• Introduced with SharePoint 2010
• Offloads all the BLOB content being
pushed to SQL Server
• No direct relation to SharePoint

7. Third party products
• Provide more functionality than FILESTREAM provider
• AvePoint DocAve Storage Manager
• Externalization rules bases on file size, content type, date…
• Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) Capabilities
• Support for Advanced Storage Systems
• BLOB Compression and Encryption
• Capabilities to upload files natively blocked by SharePoint and files that exceed SharePoint
limitations
• Dashboards and tools to manage and monitor BLOB storage and to resolve problems and
orphaned items
• http://www.avepoint.com/products/sharepoint-infrastructure-management/sharepoint-
storage-management/
• Metalogix StoragePoint
• http://www.metalogix.com/Products/StoragePoint/StoragePoint-BLOB-Offloading.aspx