Thanks for your response, I will query SAP for the possibility of supporting this option in the future.
Here is SAP's response, we won't do it, the risk of losing support is greater than the benefit. We'll use this a bullet toward upgrading to ECC sooner rather than later.
To: SAP SQL Server Support Team
OSS note 1076022 says we can't run SQL 2008 in a 32-bit environment.
But I don't see anything about running SQL 2008 in 2005 compatibility
mode in a 4.6C environment, this is something we want to do.
Why? Because when we run SQL 2008 in this mode, we can activate data
encryption to protect our data in the event someone steals a copy of
the database files. We've tested this and it works. This satisfies a
big audit rating agency issue for us.
We've performed this on our test SAP system, with extensive testing,
and SAP runs fine and we haven't found any problems. So here are some
questions:
1. With so many 4.6C customers that can now hold off on upgrading until
Dec-2010, will SAP announce plans to support this type of upgrade to
SQL 2008 if they are running version 9.0 (CompatMode)? If so, when?
Response from SAP MSSQL Development Team:
SAP has no plans to support R/3 4.6C on SQL Server 2008, neither
with compatibility mode 10.0, nor with compatibility mode 9.0.
2. What kinds of problems could we expect to encounter while running
SQL 2008 in 2005 Compatibility mode?
Response from SAP MSSQL Development Team:
If we had an answer to this question, we would most probably be
in a position to support the scenario. The problem is, we don´t
know. In our experience, the compatibility mode setting cannot
provide a 100% downward compatibility to older releases. This is
not surprising, as the SQL Server codebase is new. Critical
components include Support Package installer, all kinds of Data
Dictionary activities and SAP Upgrade.
3. If we decide to move forward with this change, will all SAPNet
support services be invalid for our 4.6C environment? Including
EarlyWatch, etc.
Response from SAP MSSQL Development Team:
As long as your system does not hit any incompatibilities, all
services will work fine. You would probably see some red lights
in the Early Watch report and in transaction RZ20. You might
even get a SICK message when starting your system. But if a
functional problem arises as a direct or indirect result of an
incompatibility, our Service & Support organization will not be
able to assist in any way. Our recommendation will be: perform
a homogeneous system copy to downgrade your SQL Server release
(full database export via R3load, uninstall SQL2008, install
SQL2005, import the data via R3load). This is a major project,
which - even under the best of circumstances - will result in
a downtime of maybe one week and requires an experienced SAP
consultant or administrator, who will be very busy during this
time.
4. Does SAP Support possibly have a group of customers, like us, that
are running SQL 2008 in this mode, and are providing SAP support with
feedback on performance and problems? We would gladly sign-up to be
part of that group and provide SAP with our findings in exchange for
continued support.
Response from SAP MSSQL Development Team:
So far, you are the first customer who brings up this idea. For
the reasons stated above we would not support the scenario, even
if a group of customers was interested. We feel that we would
violate our role as trusted advisor if we encouraged a customer
to pursue this avenue in spite of the anticipated risks.
Summary Response from SAP MSSQL Development Team:
We understand your motivation. Transparent data encryption is a
nice option to secure database and log backups, and copies of
your database files against unauthorized access.
Do you see a possibility of encrypting your backup files before
they leave the secure environment of your computer center?
Edited by: Charles Feerick on Apr 17, 2009 12:06 AM
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