Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server Microsoft Corporation

The Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server is a stand-alone ODBC driver designed to provide seamless connectivity and efficient data access to Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Synapse Analytics. This driver implements the standard ODBC interfaces, enabling developers to build robust applications using C, C++, COBOL, Perl, PHP, Python, and other languages that support ODBC.

Key Features:

• Cross-Platform Connectivity: Supports connections to on-premises SQL Server instances as well as cloud-based platforms like Azure SQL Database and Azure Synapse Analytics.
• ODBC Tools Integration: Includes utilities such as sqlcmd for executing Transact-SQL statements and scripts, and bcp for bulk copying data between SQL Server and external files.
• Connection Resiliency: Ensures reliable connections with features to handle network disruptions and re-establish lost connections automatically.
• Always Encrypted: Enables secure handling of sensitive data by encrypting it before transmission over the network.
• Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) Support: Provides authentication options for organizations using Microsoft's identity platform.
• Transparent Network IP Resolution: Automatically detects and connects to available SQL Server instances in cloud environments.
• XA Transactions: Supports distributed transactions, ensuring data consistency across multiple resources.
• High Availability and Disaster Recovery: Works seamlessly with SQL Server’s high availability features like Always On Availability Groups.

Audience & Benefit:

Ideal for application developers and organizations that rely on SQL Server or Azure-based platforms. This driver enables the creation of new applications while supporting upgrades from older ODBC drivers, ensuring compatibility and modernization. It provides a robust foundation for data integration scenarios, enabling efficient data access and manipulation with enhanced security and reliability.

The Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server can be installed via winget, making it easy to integrate into development environments.