Mobile Video - DEMS - EL4 - SQL File and Directory Antivirus Exclusions for EL4


Question

Mobile Video - DEMS - EL4 - SQL File and Directory Antivirus Exclusions for EL4

Answer

When configuring antivirus software settings, ensure that the following files or directories are excluded from virus scanning on the SQL Server machine. This will improve the performance of the machine and helps ensure that the files are not locked when the SQL Server service must access them. However, if these files become infected, your antivirus software will not be able to detect the infection. The files that should be excluded from the antivirus are: 
 
  • SQL Server data files (.mdf, .ndf, .ldf files)
  • SQL Server backup files (.bak, .trn files)
  • Full-Text catalog files
  • Trace files (.trc files )
  • SQL audit files for SQL Server 2008 or later versions (.sqlaudit files)
  • SQL query files (.sql files)
  • The directory that holds Analysis Services data
  • The directory that holds Analysis Services temporary files that are used during Analysis Services processing
  • Analysis Services backup files
  • The directory that holds Analysis Services log files
  • Directories for any Analysis Services 2005 and later-version partitions that are not stored in the default data directory
  • Filestream data files (SQL 2008 and later versions)
  • Remote Blob Storage files (SQL 2008 and later versions)
  • The directory that holds Reporting Services temporary files and Logs (RSTempFiles and LogFiles)
  • Processes to exclude from virus scanning

Some specific files and directories to exclude for some different versions of SQL Server are:
 
SQL Server 2016
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL13.<Instance Name>\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSRS13.<Instance Name>\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSAS13.<Instance Name>\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe
 
SQL Server 2014
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.<Instance Name>\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSRS12.<Instance Name>\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSAS12.<Instance Name>\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe
 
SQL Server 2012
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.<Instance Name>\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSRS11.<Instance Name>\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSAS11.<Instance Name>\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe
 
SQL Server 2008 R2
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.<Instance Name>\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.<Instance Name>\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.<Instance Name>\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe
 
SQL Server 2008
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.<Instance Name>\MSSQL\Binn\SQLServr.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.<Instance Name>\Reporting Services\ReportServer\Bin\ReportingServicesService.exe
  • %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.<Instance Name>\OLAP\Bin\MSMDSrv.exe


When creating a backup of the database or backing up the transaction log to a disk, the backup files can be excluded from virus scanning.
 

Antivirus software can also be run on an SQL server cluster. However, the antivirus software must be a cluster-aware version. If running antivirus software on a cluster, ensure the following locations are also excluded from virus scanning:
  • Q:\ (Quorum drive)
  • C:\Windows\Cluster



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Tier 1 Support
Original Author: Shawna Griffin