06 March 2026

Database platform

EBS runs on Microsoft SQL Server database platforms. Standard or Enterprise edition licences can be used, depending on the level of resilience required.

RAID 10 (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is recommended for all database servers.

Supported database platforms are described in Technology Roadmap Current and Planned Versions and Technology Roadmap Version History.

Database policies

A backup and restoration policy is recommended for all infrastructure, including database servers.

The following backup policies are recommended:

  • Microsoft SQL Server Backup agents are available as add-ons for most popular backup software. Alternatively, maintenance plans should be used to export the SQL databases to disk on a regular basis
  • Organisations that require high availability and a basic level of disaster recovery, a standby or mirror database should be considered. For enterprise edition customers, this secondary database can be used as a reporting database to relieve the load on the production database

You should also refer to the following pages for further information:

Known issues

EBS has a dependency on ODBC in a few key areas due to the use of SSMA extension tools. This feature is included as part of a SQL Server installation and is not something Tribal have ever had to advise on version compatibility before. However, it has come to our attention that ODBC 18 causes some issues with the EBS product – notably adding staff to curriculum items, and in generating exams. For more information, go to Tribal Communities.

Customers using SQL Server 2019 CU9 (Cumulative Update 9), CU10, CU11 or CU12 should be aware of a scalar UDF inlining defect that may impact EBS as detailed in the CU10 (KB5001090) bulletin.

To work around, it is recommended to explicitly disable scalar UDF inlining (in preference to lowering DB compatibility level). The issue was documented as fixed in CU11 but internal testing reveals that it is not.

In addition to the known issue with SQL Server 2019 CU9 (Cumulative Update 9), CU10, CU11 or CU12, we have identified significant database performance degradation when using scalar UDF inlining with CU13, CU14, CU15 and CU16, so it is recommended that this feature is disabled until further notice.