This section details the steps to be taken for downgrading a 12.5.4 server to earlier versions with regard to encrypted columns.
Back up all your databases and the $SYBASE release area prior to the 12.5.4 downgrade.
If you are returning to Adaptive Server version 12.5.3a, you do not need to take any steps to prepare your database for downgrade, whether or not you enabled encrypted columns in your 12.5.4 Adaptive Server.
If you are returning to Adaptive Server version 12.5.3 , returning to 12.5.3 ESD #7 is preferable, because 12.5.3 ESD #7 contains fixes for a number of error conditions.
Depending on whether enable encrypted columns has been configured in your server, you must take a different set of actions before using an older version of Adaptive Server with 12.5.4 databases.
One way to verify that you have never configured encrypted columns is to check whether the system table sysencryptkeys exists in any database. If the catalog does not exist, you have never configured encrypted columns in your server.
