Re: What DB to use for lots of IMAGE files?

Mirwais Qader <mq_at_wohl.slh.wisc.edu> wrote:

:I am in the process of evaluating how to set up a database of about
:1,000,000 (million) images of products, medical files etc... The
:database would consist of the following attributes:
:Search_KeyWord1, Search_KeyWord2, Search_KeyWord3,
:Description (text 100 chars), FileName, FileExtension, PathOfFile,
:ImageData (Raw 100K to .5 MB).
 

:
:This could be stored in 1 table, but I would probably split
:the non-image attributes from the image attributes since not all
:users would want to view the image data.
:
:The criteria is FAST ACCESS to the data, and fast loading of the
:image if the user wants to see it. Some users may want to go
:through a list of 10-100 images before finding the one they want.

You may want to store both a low and high resolution version of your image to be able to load it faster.

:How can I set this DB up? What DBMS would be good for this?

Informix OnLine Workgroup Server should be able to handle this nicely. You will also get the benefit of an easy upgrade to Informix Universal Server if that becomes interesting at some later time. It has a lot of functionality you might want to use. Both free text search, more internal handling of images and so on. No other database vendor will be able to do similar things for a long time.

:I was thinking a table for the text data, a table for the image
:data, a set of indeces for each table.

The image and text data can be in the same table, but the image in a separate dataspace. This is standard procedure with Informix OnLine.

:Can I do this using SQL Server?

Probably. Have no idea of the performance with image data. The upgrade to the Informix Universal Server will also be harder.

: My user is probably not going
:to be able to afford something like the Oracle Workgroup Server
:and would need to run it off of Windows NT or 95.

Off Windows 95? The server? Forget it if you want performance. Use Windows NT or some PC based Unix. For the workstations Windows 95 will be fine.

I would be as conserned about the development tool as the database engine. Delphi would probably be a good alternative for you, and it works well with the Informix databases. There are of course other alternatives as well.

: What DBMS's
:are affordable enough for a small user community of 5 or so
:people?

Informix OnLine Workgroup Server is not very expensive. You get a 60 day evaluation version for free either off their web site (www.informix.com - a large download) or a CD directly from Informix.

:What format should the image data be stored in (.jpg, .gif, .tif,
:....)?

The format your application can most easily handle. These databases store data in BLOBs and doesn't care about the format.

:As an aside:
:How does one determine what vendor's product (DB, etc...) is best
:for a particular process?

By reading books - many books - first to understand the basics. Then by reading magazines, following appropriate news groups, checking information on the web and so on, then by getting actual experience.

Your only alternative is to ask someone who have the knowhow and experience. That may be cheaper, and neccessary if you have to make a choice fast.

: For example, what's the best warehousing
:product out there?

Informix OnLine or XPS or Red Brick depending on how you intend to use it. Any NT database is not good if you expect to grow above 50 to 100 GB. That may however change over time.

:Thanks for any advice!
:-Mir.
:
:PS: Please respond by email!

Nils.Myklebust_at_idg.no
NM Data AS, P.O.Box 9090 Gronland, N-0133 Oslo, Norway My opinions are those of my company
The Informix FAQ is at http://www.iiug.org Received on Mon May 05 1997 - 00:00:00 CDT