Raster storage types in an ArcSDE geodatabase

The data type used for raster columns differs for each database management system (DBMS) ArcSDE supports.

The following is a list of the data types available for each DBMS:

DBMS	Raster column data type
DB2	BLOB
Informix	Byte
Oracle	ST_Raster SDO_Georaster BLOB LONG RAW
PostgreSQL	ST_Raster Bytea
SQL Server	ST_Raster Varbinary(Max) Image Note: Rasters created in ArcGIS 10 or later releases do not use the Image data type.

You control which raster storage type is used for new raster catalogs and datasets by specifying a configuration keyword that contains the RASTER_STORAGE parameter set to the storage type you want.

For example, in SQL Server, the default RASTER_STORAGE type under the DEFAULTS keyword in ArcSDE geodatabases is set to Varbinary(Max). If you want to create or import a raster catalog that will use Varbinary(Max) storage, you could specify the DEFAULTS keyword when you create or import the raster catalog. If you want to create a raster dataset that uses ST_Raster storage, you can either alter the RASTER_STORAGE parameter value under the DEFAULTS keyword or create a custom ST_RASTER configuration keyword and specify that when importing raster data.

Note:

You must install the ST_Raster type in the geodatabase to use it.