Microsoft® SQL Server™ allows filegroups to be marked as read-only. Any existing filegroup, including the primary filegroup, can be marked as read-only. A filegroup marked read-only cannot be modified in any way. If the primary filegroup is marked read-only, no new objects can be created in the database. For example, the creation of any new object, such as a table, view, login, stored procedure, or automatic stored procedure recompilation, updates the system tables. This would not be possible if the primary filegroup were marked read-only.
Place tables that must not be modified, such as historical data, on filegroups and then mark the filegroup as read-only. This prevents accidental updates. The read-only filegroup can then be backed up and restored on another server running SQL Server without concern for recovery of transaction logs.