Siebel Database Upgrade Guide for DB2 UDB for z/OS > Planning A Siebel Database Upgrade >

Considering Code Page Support

Siebel 8.0 supports ASCII-, EBCDIC-, and Unicode-based coded character set IDs (CCSIDs) on DB2 for z/OS. Development databases, however, can not use EBCDIC code pages, because databases with EBCDIC code pages do not support two critical procedures in a development environment upgrade:

• Merging prior configuration changes into a new custom configuration repository
• Compiling a new Siebel repository file (.srf file) from the new repository

Additional limitations on databases with EBCDIC code pages include the following:

• Siebel Web Client migration is not supported
• Siebel Dun & Bradstreet server components are not supported

Before you conduct an upgrade, carefully read Siebel Release Notes on My Oracle Support for information about known restrictions. For guidelines about choosing the code page for your subsystem, see Implementing Siebel Business Applications on DB2 for z/OS. In addition, make sure you follow the rules specified by IBM for character conversion as described in the IBM DB2 Version 8 installation documentation.

About Code Page Conversion

Siebel supports the ASCII 5348 and EBCDIC 1140 code pages on DB2 for z/OS (see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network for further information). If your current Siebel release runs on a different code page, you must migrate to one of the supported code pages before upgrading to Siebel 8.0.

Since Release 7.5, Siebel Business Applications has supported the Unicode character set. On the z/OS platform, however, Siebel Business Applications only supports the Unicode character set on DB2 for z/OS v8 running in New Function Mode. When necessary, therefore, the z/OS Unicode Conversion Services are used for character conversion. The conversion mechanisms used since Siebel 7.5.x (enforced subset conversions) are stricter than those that were used in earlier releases, therefore, characters unsupported on the target schema (for example, the euro symbol) may no longer display correctly. For this reason, it is important to check the Siebel schema code page before starting the Siebel upgrade, especially if you are upgrading from releases earlier than Siebel 7.5.x.

Schedule sufficient time to perform and test the code page conversion before beginning the upgrade. For advice and assistance on converting DB2 code pages, contact IBM.