title: sql text field vs flat file vs nosql document store
body: <p>I plan on having a SQL fact table involving a text field which I don't expect to index on (I will only read out the data and very rarely update it).  I think this table could get quite large, primarily due to this text field.  The rest of the data in my database does make sense to be relational, however I believe I could scale much more easily and cheaply if I instead store pointers to flat files (where each pointer is to a different text file stored in something like S3) instead of using the text field.</p>
  
  <p>An alternative that seems to be gaining popularity is a fully NoSQL document-based solution (e.g. CouchDB, MongoDB, etc.)  I am wondering what are the tradeoffs (scalability/reliability/security/performance/ease of implementation/ease of maintenance/cost) between simply using a SQL text field, having a pointer to flat files, or completely rethinking the entire system in the context of a NoSQL document store?</p>