Solutions to the "Data compression and vardecimal storage format are only supported on SQL Server Enterprise Edition" error in an RDS for SQL Server database-ApsaraDB RDS(RDS)-阿里云帮助中心

Your database fails to start because one or more objects have data compression or vardecimal storage format enabled, but the SQL Server edition on your RDS instance does not support that feature. The full error looks like this, where [$Name] is the name of the affected table:

Recovery is writing a checkpoint in database 'xxx' (9). This is an informational message only. No user action is required. Database 'xxx' cannot be started in this edition of SQL Server because part or all of object '[$Name]' is enabled with data compression or vardecimal storage format. Data compression and vardecimal storage format are only supported on SQL Server Enterprise Edition. Database 'xxx' cannot be started because some of the database functionality is not available in the current edition of SQL Server

Why this error occurs

Data compression is not available on all SQL Server editions. The following editions on ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server support data compression: SQL Server EE, SQL Server 2016 SE, and later SQL Server SE versions.

If your instance runs a version or edition not listed above, SQL Server refuses to start any database that has data compression or vardecimal storage format enabled on its objects.

For the full feature comparison across versions and editions, see Features of ApsaraDB RDS instances that run different SQL Server versions and RDS editions.

Find the affected objects

Before choosing a resolution, identify which tables and indexes have data compression enabled. Connect to the database and run:

SELECT name,
       type_desc,
       data_compression_desc
FROM sys.partitions p
JOIN sys.objects o ON p.object_id = o.object_id
WHERE p.data_compression_desc <> 'NONE'
  AND o.type = 'U';

The query returns every user table with a non-NONE compression setting. Use this list to scope the impact before proceeding.

For instructions on connecting to your instance, see Connect to an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.

Resolve the error

Choose one of the following options:

Option 1: Upgrade to an edition that supports data compression

Upgrade the major engine version of your RDS instance to a version and edition that supports data compression. See Upgrade the major engine version.

Option 2: Disable data compression

Disable the data compression feature on each affected object, then restart the database. For more information, see Disable compression on a table or index.