Steve Wiser wrote:

> We store both TIFF images and PDF images. I am not sure of the sizes of
> the image files... The total size of the databases is about 190 GB.
> The are split across 9 servers though as the images belong to different
> clients.
> We don't do gbak backups of the databases. We sweep them nightly and
> back them up to tape (shut down access to the servers when we do this to
> prevent corruption).

Slightly inconvenient, but restore should be fast! Do you ever test
the tape backup?

> We did store the images in a file system once, but it started choking on
> 10,000 or so files. I was faced with having the apps start creating
> folders automatically and coming up with a plan to do this and still be
> able to find the images or store them in the db. We tried the db and so
> far it has worked out great.

We now have (an estimated) 3 mill image files. Directories contain from
100 to approx. 8000 files.
The first version of this system was purchased from a 3rd party. It stored
TIFF images in files and handled the directory business, and kept the
"inventory" in a Sybase database.
We're now splitting the scanned images into directories at about 4000 or so
in each, and our own app is taking care of the "inventory" (in a Firebird
database). I'll estimate it at about 300GB total, now stored in a SAN box
off of a NetWare server. I've played with the thought of moving it all
into a database, but ...

OT: what do you use for showing (and printing) TIFF images?


--
Aage J.