Question: What is the difference between the supported and certified database versions in erwin DM?
Answer: In erwin DM, the supported versions of the databases are represented in their own row in the drop down whereas the certified versions are mentioned in the same row. Here is an example of this:
In case where there is more than one version specified in the same row, the first version in that is supported and the rest are certified. In the scenario above SQL Server versions 2012, 2014 and 2016 are supported whereas versions 2017 and 2019 are certified. This means that the new features and functionalities introduced in SQL Server 2017 and 2019 respectively are not yet exploited (supported). What has been tested is the connectivity with the certified versions as seen in the string (e.g. v. 2017 and 2019 in the case above). It means that you should be able to connect to the certified versions using their ODBC or the Client Connectivity Software of the later versions. All features, e.g. Reverse Engineering, Forward Engineering, Complete Compare will work with versions 2017 and 2019 for everything as long as it is same as in version 2016 (as per the example above).
In general most databases do not change the system catalog tables so all existing properties in 2017 and 2019 should be same as in 2016. Since the new properties cannot be added in the application (there is no place for storing them in any editor), and those are not even queried during Reverse Engineering, the interaction with the certified versions will be mostly functional except for the new properties. So, for all practical purposes this should mostly work with the certified versions.
