ODBC Driver for SQL Server

Idris Patel 21 Reputation points
2022-07-08T05:06:10.417+00:00

Hi,

Can you tell me what is the difference between Microsoft ODBC driver 17.x and 18.x in technical terms. Which one is better to pick for SQL Server 2019.
I also have one question 17.x and 18.x both are independent series or not.

SQL Server
SQL Server
A family of Microsoft relational database management and analysis systems for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.
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  1. Olaf Helper 45,811 Reputation points
    2022-07-08T05:54:39.253+00:00

    Can you tell me what is the difference between Microsoft ODBC driver 17.x and 18.x in technical terms

    Newer ODBC provider supports newer features of SQL Server.

    Which one is better to pick for SQL Server 2019.

    It's always the best to use the latest ODBC provider version, currently it's 18.0.1.1
    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver16

    I also have one question 17.x and 18.x both are independent series or not.

    Sorry, what?

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  1. Erland Sommarskog 116.5K Reputation points MVP
    2022-07-08T07:56:05.12+00:00

    Generally, you should always use the most recent version. That is, 18.x in this case.

    One thing to be aware is that there is a breaking change between 17.x an 18.x. 18.x defaults to Encrypt=Mandatory. That is, it requires the connection to be encrypted with a trusted certificate. If you just install SQL Server and connect with the default settings of 18.x, connection will fail, whereas they will succeed with 17.x, because the self-signed certificate that is created at installation of SQL Server is not trusted. To connect with 18.x, you need Encrypt=Optional in the connection string.

    Then again, if your organization already has procedures to install trusted certificates, you will not even notice this difference.

    Now, this may get you thinking "I go with 17.x, 18.x has too much hassle", but that's the wrong conclusion. This is a change that Microsoft are doing with all their APIs, so this is something we will need to learn to live with, so you may just as well take the hit now.

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  2. Idris Patel 21 Reputation points
    2022-07-08T08:17:36.073+00:00

    Actually I am creating data source in system DSN (odbcad32.exe). So, with ODBC driver 18.x I need to click on server certificate check box. After that connection goes successful . So, can you tell me what is the meaning of this server certificate. Is it self-signed certificate which you are talking about.
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