System requirements for OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
SQL database in Microsoft Fabric
To use data access features of SQL Server such as MARS, you must have the following software installed:
- OLE DB Driver for SQL Server on your client.
- An instance of SQL Server on your server.
Note
Make sure you log on with administrator privileges before installing this software.
Operating system requirements
For a list of operating systems that support OLE DB Driver for SQL Server, see Support policies for OLE DB Driver for SQL Server.
Microsoft Entra authentication requirements
When using Microsoft Entra authentication methods with versions of the OLE DB driver for SQL Server prior to 18.3, ensure that the Active Directory Authentication Library for SQL Server has been installed. (Version 18.3 includes the dependency as part of its installer package.) This requirement isn't needed for the other authentication methods or OLE DB operations. For more information, see: Using Microsoft Entra ID.
SQL Server requirements
To use OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to access data in SQL Server databases, you must have an instance of SQL Server installed.
SQL Server 2014 (12.x) supports connections from all versions of MDAC, Windows Data Access Components, and all versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server. When an older client version connects to SQL Server, server data types not known to the client are mapped to types that are compatible with the client version. For more information, see Data type compatibility for client versions.
Cross-language requirements
The English-language version of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server is supported on all localized versions of supported operating systems. Localized versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server are supported on localized operating systems that are the same language as the localized OLE DB Driver for SQL Server version. Localized versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server are also supported on English-language versions of supported operating systems as long as the matching language settings are installed.
For upgrades:
- English-language versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server can be upgraded to any localized version of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server.
- Localized versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server can be upgraded to localized versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server of the same language.
- Localized version of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server can be upgraded to the English-language version of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server.
- Localized versions of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server can't be upgraded to localized OLE DB Driver for SQL Server versions of a different localized language.
Data type compatibility for client versions
SQL Server and OLE DB Driver for SQL Server map new data types to older datatypes that are compatible with down-level clients, as shown in the table below.
OLE DB and ADO applications can use the DataTypeCompatibility connection string keyword with OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to operate with older data types. When DataTypeCompatibility=80, OLE DB clients connect using the SQL Server 2005 (9.x) tabular data stream (TDS) version, rather than the TDS version. This behavior means that for data types in SQL Server 2008 (10.0.x) and later versions, down-level conversion is performed by the server, rather than by OLE DB Driver for SQL Server. It also means that the features available on the connection are limited to the SQL Server 2005 (9.x) feature set. Attempts to use new datatypes or features are detected as early as possible on API calls and errors are returned to the calling application, rather than attempting to pass invalid requests to the server.
IDBInfo::GetKeywords always returns a keyword list that corresponds to the server version on the connection and isn't affected by DataTypeCompatibility.
| Data type | SQL Server Native Client SQL Server 2005 |
SQL Server Native Client 11.0 SQL Server 2014 (12.x) |
OLE DB Driver for SQL Server | Windows Data Access Components, MDAC, and OLE DB Driver for SQL Server OLE DB applications with DataTypeCompatibility=80 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLR UDT (<= 8 Kb) | udt | udt | udt | Varbinary |
| varbinary(max) | varbinary | varbinary | varbinary | Image |
| varchar(max) | varchar | varchar | varchar | Text |
| nvarchar(max) | nvarchar | nvarchar | nvarchar | Ntext |
| xml | xml | xml | xml | Ntext |
| CLR UDT (> 8 Kb) | varbinary | udt | udt | Image |
| date | varchar | date | date | Varchar |
| datetime2 | varchar | datetime2 | datetime2 | Varchar |
| datetimeoffset | varchar | datetimeoffset | datetimeoffset | Varchar |
| time | varchar | time | time | Varchar |
See also
OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
Installing OLE DB Driver for SQL Server