MongoDB in Action, Second Edition

Appendix C. Binary data and GridFS

For storing images, thumbnails, audio, and other binary files, many applications rely on the filesystem only. Although filesystems provide fast access to files, filesystem storage can also lead to organizational chaos. Consider that most filesystems limit the number of files per directory. If you have millions of files to keep track of, you need to devise a strategy for organizing files into multiple directories. Another difficulty involves metadata. Because the file metadata is still stored in a database, performing an accurate backup of the files and their metadata can be incredibly complicated.

For certain use cases, it may make sense to store files in the database itself because doing so simplifies file ...