Home Forums SQL Server 2012 SQL Server 2012 - T-SQL varchar(N), N can be 1 through 8000 or MAX(2GB). Why not 1 - 2GB? RE: varchar(N), N can be 1 through 8000 or MAX(2GB). Why not 1 - 2GB?

  • May 2, 2013 at 6:40 am

    #1611867

    Lowell (5/2/2013)

    it would adversely affect performance if a lot of 2 gig items were stored in the memory pages of RAM, so a pointer might be in the page,and if you request the data, SQL will go thru the extra step behind the scenes of reading the data from disk.

    It's not really abut memory, the LOB pages are processed through the data cache just like any other pages with all the aging algorithms applying to them

    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

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