Activating FILESTREAM on SQL Server

SQL Server has a great feature called FILESTREAM. It allows applications to store unstructured data (like images or PDF files) on the file system while keeping the transactional capabilities of the database. It’s a straight forward task to activate this feature while you install SQL Server. But it gets tricky when you have a pre-installed server.

If you google for a solution you most likely find outdated articles. There was once a stand-alone tool called SQL Server Configuration Manager. Since a few versions this is no longer the case and the configuration options where moved to the Microsoft Management Console mmc. Locate the application on the windows start screen by typing mmc into the search box:

find mmc

Open mmc and add the snap-in SQL Server Configuration Manager for your local machine. It should open quickly and you can expand it to see all the configuration options it provides. When done so you can click on SQL Server Services:

snap-in sql_server

The properties of the SQL Server entry will give you this settings dialog:

filestream select checkboxes

On the FILESTREAM tab are the two important checkboxes placed. Select them, restart SQL Server and FILESTREAM works with your database.

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