DBADave (2/5/2016)
Either way I’m not proposing folder limitations, rather tighter drive permissions.
It would have to be permissions at a folder level. Because NTFS permissions are folder/file based with inheritance (and Windows doesn't let people play in the root of the drives any longer), but more because with mount points F:\DBs, F:\Temp and F:\Backups might be three different logical or even physical drives.
There's lots of complications with what you suggest.
If you limit a DB to only files in G:\SpecialDB2, can a sysadmin add a file to that DB and put it on the T drive? If so, can the db_owner of that database grow or shrink that file?
What happens if a DB has files on F and H drive, and the sysadmin adds a folder restriction to that DB to only allow files on F drive? Does the db go offline? Does it carry on running, but the files on H drive can not grow?
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability