Recently I was asked how to configure the Antivirus to not affect the SQL Server services. Well, most people think that the Antivirus keeps their servers safe, but if you haven't configured it appropriately it can do so much more, like crashing your SQL Server because it is scanning inside files it shouldn't be scanning :). So it is important to make sure it doesn't scan EVERYTHING.
Let's start from the Windows Server perspective. You should exclude the antivirus from scanning these Windows folders/files:
1. The folder %systemroot%\System32\Spool and any subfolders if they exist (The spooler directory).2. The folder %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore and any subfolders if they exist (The Windows Update or Automatic Update database file).3. Any Network Drives that have been mapped to this windows server.4. The Paging File of Windows.5. Also exclude the following files: a. Edb*.log b. Res1.log c. Res2.log d. Edb.chk e. Tmp.edb
If the cluster service is also installed, you need to exclude these folders from all nodes:
1. The Quorum drive (Q:\).2. C:\Windows\Cluster
From a SQL Server perspective, you should exclude from scanning these SQL Server folders/files:
1. The SQL Server data files. These files usually have one of the following file name extensions: a. .mdf b. .ldf c. .ndf
2. The SQL Server backup files. These files frequently have one of the following file name extensions: a. .bak b. .trn
3. The Full-Text catalog files. You need to exclude the directory that holds the Analysis Services data.
For more details you can also reference these KB articles:
Virus scanning recommendations for computers that are running Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822158
Guidelines for choosing antivirus software to run on the computers that are running SQL Serverhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/309422