How much data can a blob field hold?

JamesMoore2 — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 20:38:20 GMT

Hello, I'm trying to determine the maximum data size for a BLOB field within a file geodatabase. The help just says BLOBs store large binary data. How large can it be?

Re: How much data can a blob field hold?

ChrisDonohue__GISP — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 20:57:24 GMT

In theory, it can be rather large. From ESRI documentation it appears that it could be as much as 256 Terabytes using the appropiate configuration keyword.

But as for the reality, hard to say.

The Top 9 Reasons to Use a File Geodatabase - ESRI (PDF)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0ahUKEwipxvalwO3SAhVLwGMKHeQnDI0QFgg4MAU&url=https%3…

Chris Donohue, GISP

Re: How much data can a blob field hold?

JamesMoore2 — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:16:44 GMT

Thanks for the info Chris. Since I posed the question I've done a bit more searching and came up with this from "Building Geodatabases Course Q&A by Rudy Prosser:

Q: What’s the size of the BLOB in a file geodatabase (used to store attachments)?

A: Field size information is documented in ArcGIS Help at several locations. If you’re using an RDBMS to store your geodatabase, see DBMS data types supported by ArcGIS. If you’re using a file geodatabase, see File geodatabase size and name limits. For information on supported field types, see ArcGIS field data types. As best as I can determine, the maximum BLOB size is 2 GB.

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/index.html#//003n0000001m000000

Also, ESRI 10.2 help had this about file Geodatabases:

File geodatabase size and name limits

Geodata » Administering geodatabases

File geodatabase size and name limits are as follows:

File geodatabase size: No limit

Table or feature class size: 1 TB (default), 4 GB or 256 TB with keyword

Number of feature classes and tables: 2,147,483,647

Number of fields in a feature class or table: 65,534

Number of rows in a feature class or table: 2,147,483,647

Geodatabase name length: Number of characters the operating system allows in a folder name

Feature class or table name length: 160 characters

Field name length: 64 characters

Text field width: 2,147,483,647

From http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/index.html#/File_geodatabase_size_and_name_limits/018s00000002000000/

Seems like the 2Gb is a recurring theme so I feel comfortable in agreeing with Rudy's assessment.

Hopefully this will help others as well.

Thanks!

topic How much data can a blob field hold? in Data Management Questions

How much data can a blob field hold?

Re: How much data can a blob field hold?

Re: How much data can a blob field hold?