OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Features
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
For a list of popular features that are supported and not supported in different OLE DB versions, see the Driver feature matrix.
In addition to exposing features of the Windows (formerly Microsoft) Data Access Components (WDAC), OLE DB Driver for SQL Server also implements many other features to expose SQL Server functionality.
In This Section
Using Database Mirroring
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the use of mirrored databases, which is the ability to keep a copy, or mirror, of a SQL Server database on a standby server.
Performing Asynchronous Operations
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports asynchronous operations, which is the ability to return immediately without blocking on the calling thread.
Using Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory)
Discusses new authentication methods introduced in OLE DB driver 18.2.1 that have more secure default settings and allow connecting to an instance of Azure SQL Database using a federated identity.
Using Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS)
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports multiple active result sets (MARS). MARS enables you to execute and receive multiple result sets using a single database connection
Using XML Data Types
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the XML data type, which is a XML-based data type that can be used as a column type, variable type, parameter type, or function return type.
Using User-Defined Types
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports User-Defined Types (UDT), which extends the SQL type system by allowing you to store objects and custom data structures in a SQL Server database.
Using Large Value Types
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports large value data types, which are large object data types (LOB).
Changing Passwords Programmatically
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the handling of expired passwords so that passwords can now be changed on the client without administrator involvement.
Working with Snapshot Isolation
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the enhancement to row versioning that improves database performance by avoiding reader-writer blocking scenarios.
Working with Query Notifications
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports consumer notification on rowset modification.
Performing Bulk Copy Operations
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports bulk copy operations that allow the transfer of large amounts of data into or out of a SQL Server table or view.
Encryption and certificate validation
Discusses how to use OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to encrypt data sent to the server with or without validating the certificate.
Table-Valued Parameters (OLE DB Driver for SQL Server)
Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for the table-valued parameters.
Large CLR User-Defined Types
Discusses support for large common language runtime (CLR) user-defined types (UDTs).
FILESTREAM Support
Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for the enhanced FILESTREAM feature.
Service Principal Name (SPN) Support in Client Connections
Discusses how support for service principal names (SPNs) has been extended to enable mutual authentication across all protocols.
Sparse Columns Support in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for sparse columns.
Date and Time Improvements
Discusses support added to OLE DB Driver for SQL Server for the date and time data types.
Metadata Discovery
Discusses metadata discovery improvements that were made in SQL Server 2012 (11.x).
UTF-16 Support in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
Discusses a behavior change introduced in SQL Server 2012 (11.x). If you supply a fixed-length buffer when binding a column result or output parameter and if the wchar character written into the buffer before the terminating character is a high surrogate code point of a surrogate pair, and if the next wchar character is a low surrogate code point, OLE DB Driver for SQL Server will not add the high surrogate code point to the buffer.
UTF-8 Support in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
Discusses support for UTF-8 server encoding and configuration precautions users should take when working with UTF-8 encoded data.
OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery
Discusses how your application can be configured to take advantage of the high-availability, disaster recovery features added in SQL Server 2012 (11.x).
Accessing Diagnostic Information in the Extended Events Log
Discusses enhancements to OLE DB Driver for SQL Server and data tracing that gives you access to diagnostic information in the ring buffer and XEvents log.
OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for LocalDB
Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for the LocalDB feature.
Using Transparent Network IP Resolution
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports transparent network IP resolution in a failover cluster.
Idle Connection Resiliency
Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports idle connection resiliency.
See Also
OLE DB Driver for SQL Server
OLE DB How-to Topics
Installing OLE DB Driver for SQL Server