Unsupported and supported SharePoint Server database changes

Original KB number:   841057

Microsoft SharePoint Server stores data in Microsoft SQL Server databases, and it uses various stored procedures for the regular processing. Therefore, SQL Server databases are important to the successful operation of SharePoint Server. SharePoint Server is tested by using a database structure that's designed by the Microsoft SharePoint Server development team. Then, it's approved for release based on that structure. If you change the database, Microsoft can't reliably predict the effect upon the operation of SharePoint Server. This article describes some unsupported and supported database changes, and what actions you have to take.

Unsupported database changes include, but are not limited to, the following examples:

• Adding database triggers.

• Adding new indexes or changing existing indexes within tables.

• Adding, changing, or deleting any primary or foreign key relationships.

• Changing or deleting existing stored procedures.

• Calling existing stored procedures directly, except the stored procedures that are described in the following articles:

  • [MS-WSSFOB]: Windows SharePoint Services (WSS): File Operations Database Communications Base Protocol
  • [MS-WSSFO3]: Windows SharePoint Services (WSS): File Operations Database Communications Version 3 Protocol

• Adding new stored procedures, except the stored procedures that are described in GDPR for SharePoint Server.

• Adding, changing, or deleting any data in any table of SharePoint Server databases.

• Adding, changing, or deleting any columns in any table of SharePoint Server databases.

• Changing the database schema.

• Adding tables to SharePoint Server databases.

• Changing the database collation.

• Running the DBCC_CHECKDB WITH REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS command.

  Note Running the DBCC_CHECKDB WITH REPAIR_FAST and REPAIR_REBUILD commands is supported because these commands update only the indexes of the associated database.

• Running ad hoc queries against SharePoint Server databases.

• Enabling SQL Server change data capture (CDC)

• Enabling SQL Server transactional replication.

• Enabling SQL Server merge replication.

If an unsupported database change is discovered during a support call, you must use at least one of the following procedures:

• Do a database restoration from the last known good backup that doesn't include the unsupported database change.
• Roll back all the database changes.

If you can't do either procedure, you must recover the data manually. The database must be restored to an unmodified state before Microsoft SharePoint Server Support can provide any data migration assistance.

If a database change is necessary, you should contact Microsoft Support to determine whether a product issue exists and should be resolved.

For some specific usage scenarios, the prohibition against the database changes has the following exceptions:

• Operations that are initiated from the SharePoint Server administrative user interface.
• SharePoint Server-specific tools (such as SharePoint PowerShell cmdlet) that are provided directly by Microsoft.
• Changes that are made programmatically through the SharePoint Server object model and that are in compliance with the SharePoint Server SDK documentation.
• Activities that are in compliance with the SharePoint Server protocols documentation.

Microsoft SharePoint Server Support agents may provide scripts that change SharePoint Server databases during a support incident. In this case, all changes are reviewed by the SharePoint Server development team. This makes sure that the operations that are done won't cause an unstable or unsupported database state. During a support incident, database changes that are made under the guidance of a Microsoft SharePoint Server support agent won't cause an unsupported database state. You shouldn't reapply the scripts or changes that are provided by Microsoft SharePoint Server Support outside a support incident.

Programmatically or manually reading from SharePoint Server databases might cause unexpected locking in SQL Server. This can affect the performance. Any read operations against SharePoint Server databases are considered unsupported if the following conditions are true:

• The read operations use queries, scripts, .dll files, and so on, that are not provided by the Microsoft SharePoint Server development team or by Microsoft SharePoint Server Support.
• The read operations are identified by Microsoft Support as a barrier to the resolution.

In this scenario, the database is considered to be in an unsupported state. To return the database to a supported state, all unsupported read operations must be stopped.