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Using Connection String Keywords with OLE DB Driver for SQL Server

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW)

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Some APIs in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server use connection strings to specify connection attributes. Connection strings are a list of keyword and associated values; each keyword identifies a particular connection attribute.

Note

OLE DB Driver for SQL Server allows ambiguity in connection strings to maintain backward compatibility (for example, some keywords may be specified more than once, and conflicting keywords may be allowed with resolution based on position or precedence). Future releases of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server might not allow ambiguity in connection strings. it's good practice when modifying applications to use OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to eliminate any dependency on connection string ambiguity.

The following sections describe the keywords that can be used with the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server, and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) when using OLE DB Driver for SQL Server as the data provider.

OLE DB Driver connection string keywords

There are two ways OLE DB applications can initialize data source objects:

  • IDBInitialize::Initialize

  • IDataInitialize::GetDataSource

In the first case, a provider string can be used to initialize connection properties by setting the property DBPROP_INIT_PROVIDERSTRING in the DBPROPSET_DBINIT property set. In the second case, an initialization string can be passed to IDataInitialize::GetDataSource method to initialize connection properties. Both methods initialize the same OLE DB connection properties, but different sets of keywords are used. The set of keywords used by IDataInitialize::GetDataSource is at minimum the description of properties within the initialization property group.

Any provider string setting that has a corresponding OLE DB property set to some default value or explicitly set to a value, the OLE DB property value will override the setting in the provider string.

Boolean properties set in provider strings via DBPROP_INIT_PROVIDERSTRING values are set using the values yes and no. Boolean properties set in initialization strings using IDataInitialize::GetDataSource are set using the values true and false.

Applications using IDataInitialize::GetDataSource can also use the keywords used by IDBInitialize::Initialize, but only for properties that don't have a default value. If an application uses both the IDataInitialize::GetDataSource keyword and the IDBInitialize::Initialize keyword in the initialization string, the IDataInitialize::GetDataSource keyword setting is used. It's recommended that applications don't use IDBInitialize::Initialize keywords in IDataInitialize:GetDataSource connection strings, as this behavior may not be maintained in future releases.

Note

A connection string passed through IDataInitialize::GetDataSource is converted into properties and applied via IDBProperties::SetProperties. If component services found the property description in IDBProperties::GetPropertyInfo, this property will be applied as a stand-alone property. Otherwise, it will be applied through DBPROP_PROVIDERSTRING property. For example, if you specify the connection string Data Source=server1;Server=server2, Data Source will be set as a property, but Server will go into a provider string.

If you specify multiple instances of the same provider-specific property, the first value of the first property will be used.

Using IDBInitialize::Initialize

Connection strings used by OLE DB applications using DBPROP_INIT_PROVIDERSTRING with IDBInitialize::Initialize have the following syntax:

  • connection-string ::= empty-string[;] | attribute[;] | attribute; connection-string

  • empty-string ::=

  • attribute ::= attribute-keyword=[{]attribute-value[}]

  • attribute-value ::= character-string

  • attribute-keyword ::= identifier

Attribute values can optionally be enclosed in braces, and it's good practice to do so. This practice avoids problems when attribute values contain non-alphanumeric characters. The first closing brace in the value is assumed to terminate the value, so values can't contain closing brace characters.

A space character after the = sign of a connection string keyword will be interpreted as a literal, even if the value is enclosed in quotation marks.

The following table describes the keywords that may be used with DBPROP_INIT_PROVIDERSTRING.

Keyword Initialization property Description
Addr SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKADDRESS Synonym for Address.
Address SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKADDRESS The network address of the server running an instance of SQL Server. Address is usually the network name of the server, but can be other names such as a pipe, an IP address, or a TCP/IP port and socket address.

If you specify an IP address, make sure that the TCP/IP or named pipes protocols are enabled in SQL Server Configuration Manager.

The value of Address takes precedence over the value passed to Server in connection strings when using OLE DB Driver for SQL Server. Also note that Address=; will connect to the server specified in the Server keyword, whereas Address= ;, Address=.;, Address=localhost;, and Address=(local); all cause a connection to the local server.

The complete syntax for the Address keyword is as follows:

[protocol:]Address[,port |\pipe\pipename]

protocol can be tcp (TCP/IP), lpc (shared memory), or np (named pipes). For more information about protocols, see Configure Client Protocols.

If neither protocol nor the Network keyword is specified, OLE DB Driver for SQL Server will use the protocol order specified in SQL Server Configuration Manager.

port is the port to connect to, on the specified server. By default, SQL Server uses port 1433.
APP SSPROP_INIT_APPNAME The string identifying the application.
ApplicationIntent SSPROP_INIT_APPLICATIONINTENT Declares the application workload type when connecting to a server. Possible values are ReadOnly and ReadWrite.

The default is ReadWrite. For more information about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server's support for Always On availability groups, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery.
AttachDBFileName SSPROP_INIT_FILENAME The name of the primary file (include the full path name) of an attachable database. To use AttachDBFileName, you must also specify the database name with the provider string Database keyword. If the database was previously attached, SQL Server doesn't reattach it (it uses the attached database as the default for the connection).
Authentication1 SSPROP_AUTH_MODE Specifies the SQL or Microsoft Entra authentication used. Valid values are:
  • (not set): Authentication mode determined by other keywords.
  • ActiveDirectoryPassword:User ID and password authentication with a Microsoft Entra identity.
  • ActiveDirectoryIntegrated: Integrated authentication with Microsoft Entra ID.

  • NOTE: The ActiveDirectoryIntegrated keyword can also be used for Windows authentication to SQL Server. It replaces Integrated Security (or Trusted_Connection) authentication keywords. It's recommended that applications using Integrated Security (or Trusted_Connection) keywords or their corresponding properties set the value of the Authentication keyword (or its corresponding property) to ActiveDirectoryIntegrated to enable new encryption and certificate validation behavior.

  • ActiveDirectoryInteractive: Interactive authentication with a Microsoft Entra identity. This method supports Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication.
  • ActiveDirectoryMSI: Managed Identity authentication. For a user-assigned identity, the user ID should be set to the object ID of the user identity.
  • ActiveDirectoryServicePrincipal: Authentication with a Microsoft Entra service principal. The user ID should be set to the application (client) ID. The password should be set to the application (client) secret.
  • SqlPassword: Authentication using user ID and password.

  • NOTE: It's recommended that applications using SQL Server authentication set the value of the Authentication keyword (or its corresponding property) to SqlPassword to enable new encryption and certificate validation behavior.
Auto Translate SSPROP_INIT_AUTOTRANSLATE Synonym for AutoTranslate.
AutoTranslate SSPROP_INIT_AUTOTRANSLATE Configures OEM/ANSI character translation. Recognized values are yes and no.
ConnectRetryCount SSPROP_INIT_CONNECT_RETRY_COUNT Controls the number of reconnection attempts if the connection is lost. Valid values range from 0 to 255. The default value is 1. A value of 0 would result in no attempt to reconnect. For more information, see Idle Connection Resiliency.
ConnectRetryInterval SSPROP_INIT_CONNECT_RETRY_INTERVAL Specifies the number of seconds between each connection retry attempt if the connection is lost. Valid values range from 1 to 60. The default value is 10. For more information, see Idle Connection Resiliency.
Database DBPROP_INIT_CATALOG The database name.
DataTypeCompatibility SSPROP_INIT_DATATYPECOMPATIBILITY Specifies the mode of data type handling to use. Recognized values are 0 for provider data types and 80 for SQL Server 2000 data types.
Encrypt1 SSPROP_INIT_ENCRYPT Specifies whether data should be encrypted before sending it over the network. Possible values are Optional, Mandatory, and Strict. The default value is Mandatory. For versions 18.x.x, see MSOLEDBSQL major version differences.
FailoverPartner SSPROP_INIT_FAILOVERPARTNER The name of the failover server used for database mirroring.
FailoverPartnerSPN SSPROP_INIT_FAILOVERPARTNERSPN The SPN for the failover partner. The default value is an empty string. An empty string causes OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use the default, provider-generated SPN.
HostNameInCertificate SSPROP_INIT_HOST_NAME_CERTIFICATE The host name to be used in validating the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate. If the HostNameInCertificate keyword isn't set, the driver uses the Server keyword value on the connection URL as the host name to validate the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate.
NOTE: This property is ignored if the server certificate is trusted. If Encrypt is set to Strict, the certificate will always be validated.
Language SSPROP_INIT_CURRENTLANGUAGE The SQL Server language.
MarsConn SSPROP_INIT_MARSCONNECTION Enables or disables multiple active result sets (MARS) on the connection if the server is SQL Server 2005 (9.x) or later. Possible values are yes and no. The default value is no.
MultiSubnetFailover SSPROP_INIT_MULTISUBNETFAILOVER Always specify MultiSubnetFailover=Yes when connecting to the availability group listener of a SQL Server availability group or a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance. MultiSubnetFailover=Yes configures OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to provide faster detection of and connection to the (currently) active server. Possible values are Yes and No. The default is No. For example:

MultiSubnetFailover=Yes

For more information about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server's support for Always On availability groups, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery.
Net SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKLIBRARY Synonym for Network.
Network SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKLIBRARY The network library used to establish a connection to an instance of SQL Server in the organization.
Network Library SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKLIBRARY Synonym for Network.
PacketSize SSPROP_INIT_PACKETSIZE Tabular Data Stream (TDS) packet size. The default is 0 (the actual value will be determined by the server).
PersistSensitive DBPROP_AUTH_PERSIST_SENSITIVE_AUTHINFO Accepts the strings yes and no as values. When no is used, the data source object isn't allowed to persist sensitive authentication information
PWD DBPROP_AUTH_PASSWORD The SQL Server login password.
Server DBPROP_INIT_DATASOURCE The name of a SQL Server instance. The value must be either the name of a server on the network, an IP address, or the name of a SQL Server Configuration Manager alias.

When not specified, a connection is made to the default instance on the local computer.

The Address keyword overrides the Server keyword.

You can connect to the default instance on the local server by specifying one of the following options:

Server=;

Server=.;

Server=(local);

Server=(local);

Server=(localhost);

Server=(localdb)\instancename;

For more information about LocalDB support, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for LocalDB.

To specify a named instance of SQL Server, append \InstanceName.

When no server is specified, a connection is made to the default instance on the local computer.

If you specify an IP address, make sure that the TCP/IP or named pipes protocols are enabled in SQL Server Configuration Manager.

The complete syntax for the Server keyword is as follows:

Server=[protocol:]Server[,port]

protocol can be tcp (TCP/IP), lpc (shared memory), or np (named pipes).

The following example specifies a named pipe:

np:\\.\pipe\MSSQL$MYINST01\sql\query

The above line specifies the named pipe protocol (np), a named pipe on the local machine (\\.\pipe), the name of the SQL Server instance (MSSQL$MYINST01), and the default name of the named pipe (sql/query).

If neither a protocol nor the Network keyword is specified, OLE DB Driver for SQL Server will use the protocol order specified in SQL Server Configuration Manager.

port is the port to connect to, on the specified server. By default, SQL Server uses port 1433.

Spaces are ignored at the beginning of the value passed to Server in connection strings when using OLE DB Driver for SQL Server.
ServerCertificate SSPROP_INIT_SERVER_CERTIFICATE Specifies the path to a certificate file to match against the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate. This option can only be used when Strict encryption is enabled. The accepted certificate formats are PEM, DER, and CER. If specified, the SQL Server certificate is checked by seeing if the provided certificate is an exact match.
ServerSPN SSPROP_INIT_SERVERSPN The SPN for the server. The default value is an empty string. An empty string causes OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use the default, provider-generated SPN.
Timeout DBPROP_INIT_TIMEOUT The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for data source initialization to complete.
TransparentNetworkIPResolution SSPROP_INIT_TNIR Affects the connection sequence when the first resolved IP of the hostname doesn't respond and there are multiple IPs associated with the hostname. TNIR interacts with MultiSubnetFailover to provide different connection sequences. Possible values are Yes and No. The default value is Yes. For more information, see Using Transparent Network IP Resolution.
Trusted_Connection DBPROP_AUTH_INTEGRATED When yes, this option instructs the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use Windows Authentication for login validation. Otherwise, the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server will use a SQL Server username and password for login validation, and the UID and PWD keywords must be specified.
TrustServerCertificate1 SSPROP_INIT_TRUST_SERVER_CERTIFICATE Accepts the strings yes and no as values. The default value is no, which means that the server certificate will be validated.
UID DBPROP_AUTH_USERID The SQL Server login name.
UseFMTONLY SSPROP_INIT_USEFMTONLY Controls how metadata is retrieved when connecting to SQL Server 2012 (11.x) and newer. Possible values are yes and no. The default value is no.

By default, the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server uses sp_describe_first_result_set and sp_describe_undeclared_parameters stored procedures to retrieve metadata. These stored procedures have some limitations (for example, they'll fail when operating on temporary tables). Setting UseFMTONLY to yes instructs the driver to use SET FMTONLY for metadata retrieval instead.
UseProcForPrepare SSPROP_INIT_USEPROCFORPREP This keyword is deprecated, and its setting is ignored by the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server.
WSID SSPROP_INIT_WSID The workstation identifier.

[1]: To improve security, encryption and certificate validation behavior is modified when using Authentication or Access Token initialization properties or their corresponding connection string keywords. For more information, see Encryption and certificate validation.

Using IDataInitialize::GetDataSource

Connection strings used by OLE DB applications using IDataInitialize::GetDataSource have the following syntax:

  • connection-string ::= empty-string[;] | attribute[;] | attribute; connection-string

  • empty-string ::=

  • attribute ::= attribute-keyword=[quote]attribute-value[quote]

  • attribute-value ::= character-string

  • attribute-keyword ::= identifier

  • quote ::= " | '

Property use must conform to the syntax permitted in its scope. For example, WSID uses curly braces ({}) quotation characters and Application Name uses single (') or double (") quotation characters. Only string properties can be quoted. Attempting to quote an integer or enumerated property will result in a Connection String doesn't conform to OLE DB specification error.

Attribute values can optionally be enclosed in single or double quotes, and it's good practice to do so. This practice avoids problems when values contain non-alphanumeric characters. The quoted character used can also appear in values if it's double quoted.

A space character after the = sign of a connection string keyword will be interpreted as a literal, even if the value is enclosed in quotation marks.

If a connection string has more than one of the properties listed in the following table, the value of the last property will be used.

The following table describes the keywords that may be used with IDataInitialize::GetDataSource:

Keyword Initialization property Description
Access Token1 SSPROP_AUTH_ACCESS_TOKEN The access token used to authenticate to Microsoft Entra ID.

NOTE: It's an error to specify this keyword and also UID, PWD, Trusted_Connection, or Authentication connection string keywords or their corresponding properties/keywords.
Application Name SSPROP_INIT_APPNAME The string identifying the application.
Application Intent SSPROP_INIT_APPLICATIONINTENT Declares the application workload type when connecting to a server. Possible values are ReadOnly and ReadWrite.

The default is ReadWrite. For more information about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server's support for Always On availability groups, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery.
Authentication1 SSPROP_AUTH_MODE Specifies the SQL or Microsoft Entra authentication used. Valid values are:
  • (not set): Authentication mode determined by other keywords.
  • ActiveDirectoryPassword:User ID and password authentication with a Microsoft Entra identity.
  • ActiveDirectoryIntegrated: Integrated authentication with Microsoft Entra ID.

  • NOTE: The ActiveDirectoryIntegrated keyword can also be used for Windows authentication to SQL Server. It replaces Integrated Security (or Trusted_Connection) authentication keywords. It's recommended that applications using Integrated Security (or Trusted_Connection) keywords or their corresponding properties set the value of the Authentication keyword (or its corresponding property) to ActiveDirectoryIntegrated to enable new encryption and certificate validation behavior.

  • ActiveDirectoryInteractive: Interactive authentication with a Microsoft Entra identity. This method supports Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication.
  • ActiveDirectoryMSI: Managed Identity authentication. For a user-assigned identity, the user ID should be set to the object ID of the user identity.
  • ActiveDirectoryServicePrincipal: Authentication with a Microsoft Entra service principal. The user ID should be set to the application (client) ID. The password should be set to the application (client) secret.
  • SqlPassword: Authentication using user ID and password.

  • NOTE: It's recommended that applications using SQL Server authentication set the value of the Authentication keyword (or its corresponding property) to SqlPassword to enable new encryption and certificate validation behavior.
Auto Translate SSPROP_INIT_AUTOTRANSLATE Configures OEM/ANSI character translation. Recognized values are true and false.
Connect Timeout DBPROP_INIT_TIMEOUT The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for data source initialization to complete.
Connect Retry Count SSPROP_INIT_CONNECT_RETRY_COUNT Controls the number of reconnection attempts if the connection is lost. Valid values range from 0 to 255. The default value is 1. A value of 0 would result in no attempt to reconnect. For more information, see Idle Connection Resiliency.
Connect Retry Interval SSPROP_INIT_CONNECT_RETRY_INTERVAL Specifies the number of seconds between each connection retry attempt if the connection is lost. Valid values range from 1 to 60. The default value is 10. For more information, see Idle Connection Resiliency.
Current Language SSPROPT_INIT_CURRENTLANGUAGE The SQL Server language name.
Data Source DBPROP_INIT_DATASOURCE The name of an instance of SQL Server in the organization.

When not specified, a connection is made to the default instance on the local computer.

For more information about valid address syntax, see the description of the Server keyword, in this article.
DataTypeCompatibility SSPROP_INIT_DATATYPECOMPATIBILITY Specifies the mode of data type handling to use. Recognized values are 0 for provider data types and 80 for SQL Server 2000 (8.x) data types.
Failover Partner SSPROP_INIT_FAILOVERPARTNER The name of the failover server used for database mirroring.
Failover Partner SPN SSPROP_INIT_FAILOVERPARTNERSPN The SPN for the failover partner. The default value is an empty string. An empty string causes OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use the default, provider-generated SPN.
Host Name In Certificate SSPROP_INIT_HOST_NAME_CERTIFICATE The host name to be used in validating the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate. If the Host Name In Certificate keyword isn't set, the driver uses the Data Source keyword value on the connection URL as the host name to validate the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate.
NOTE: This property is ignored if the server certificate is trusted. If Use Encryption for Data is set to Strict, the certificate will always be validated.
Initial Catalog DBPROP_INIT_CATALOG The database name.
Initial File Name SSPROP_INIT_FILENAME The name of the primary file (include the full path name) of an attachable database. To use AttachDBFileName, you must also specify the database name with the provider string DATABASE keyword. If the database was previously attached, SQL Server doesn't reattach it (it uses the attached database as the default for the connection).
Integrated Security DBPROP_AUTH_INTEGRATED Accepts the value SSPI for Windows Authentication.
MARS Connection SSPROP_INIT_MARSCONNECTION Enables or disables multiple active result sets (MARS) on the connection. Recognized values are true and false. The default is false.
MultiSubnetFailover SSPROP_INIT_MULTISUBNETFAILOVER Always specify MultiSubnetFailover=True when connecting to the availability group listener of a SQL Server availability group or a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance. MultiSubnetFailover=True configures OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to provide faster detection of and connection to the (currently) active server. Possible values are True and False. The default is False. For example:

MultiSubnetFailover=True

For more information about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server's support for Always On availability groups, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery.
Network Address SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKADDRESS The network address of an instance of SQL Server in the organization.

For more information about valid address syntax, see the description of the Address keyword, in this article.
Network Library SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKLIBRARY The network library used to establish a connection to an instance of SQL Server in the organization.
Packet Size SSPROP_INIT_PACKETSIZE Tabular Data Stream (TDS) packet size. The default is 0 (the actual value will be determined by the server).
Password DBPROP_AUTH_PASSWORD The SQL Server login password.
Persist Security Info DBPROP_AUTH_PERSIST_SENSITIVE_AUTHINFO Accepts the strings true and false as values. When false, the data source object isn't allowed to persist sensitive authentication information
Provider For OLE DB Driver for SQL Server, this value should be "MSOLEDBSQL19" or "MSOLEDBSQL".
Server Certificate SSPROP_INIT_SERVER_CERTIFICATE Specifies the path to a certificate file to match against the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate. This option can only be used when Strict encryption is enabled. The accepted certificate formats are PEM, DER, and CER. If specified, the SQL Server certificate is checked by seeing if the provided certificate is an exact match.
Server SPN SSPROP_INIT_SERVERSPN The SPN for the server. The default value is an empty string. An empty string causes OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use the default, provider-generated SPN.
TransparentNetworkIPResolution SSPROP_INIT_TNIR Affects the connection sequence when the first resolved IP of the hostname doesn't respond and there are multiple IPs associated with the hostname. TNIR interacts with MultiSubnetFailover to provide different connection sequences. Possible values are True and False. The default value is True. For more information, see Using Transparent Network IP Resolution.
Trust Server Certificate1 SSPROP_INIT_TRUST_SERVER_CERTIFICATE Accepts the strings true and false as values. The default value is false, which means that the server certificate will be validated.
Use Encryption for Data1 SSPROP_INIT_ENCRYPT Specifies whether data should be encrypted before sending it over the network. Possible values are Optional, Mandatory, and Strict. The default value is Mandatory. For versions 18.x.x, see MSOLEDBSQL major version differences.
Use FMTONLY SSPROP_INIT_USEFMTONLY Controls how metadata is retrieved when connecting to SQL Server 2012 (11.x) and newer. Possible values are true and false. The default value is false.

By default, the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server uses sp_describe_first_result_set and sp_describe_undeclared_parameters stored procedures to retrieve metadata. These stored procedures have some limitations (for example, they'll fail when operating on temporary tables). Setting Use FMTONLY to true instructs the driver to use SET FMTONLY for metadata retrieval instead.
User ID DBPROP_AUTH_USERID The SQL Server login name.
Workstation ID SSPROP_INIT_WSID The workstation identifier.

[1]: To improve security, encryption and certificate validation behavior is modified when using Authentication/Access Token initialization properties or their corresponding connection string keywords. For details, see Encryption and certificate validation.

Note

In the connection string, the Old Password property sets SSPROP_AUTH_OLD_PASSWORD, which is the current (possibly expired) password that isn't available via a provider string property.

ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) Connection String Keywords

ADO applications set the ConnectionString property of ADODBConnection objects or supply a connection string as a parameter to the Open method of ADODBConnection objects.

ADO applications can also use the keywords used by the OLE DB IDBInitialize::Initialize method, but only for properties that don't have a default value. If an application uses both the ADO keywords and the IDBInitialize::Initialize keywords in the initialization string, the ADO keyword setting will be used. it's recommended that applications only use ADO connection string keywords.

Connection strings used by ADO have the following syntax:

  • connection-string ::= empty-string[;] | attribute[;] | attribute; connection-string

  • empty-string ::=

  • attribute ::= attribute-keyword=["]attribute-value["]

  • attribute-value ::= character-string

  • attribute-keyword ::= identifier

Attribute values can optionally be enclosed in double quotes, and it's good practice to do so. This practice avoids problems when values contain non-alphanumeric characters. Attribute values can't contain double quotes.

The following table describes the keywords that may be used with an ADO connection string:

Keyword Initialization property Description
Access Token1 SSPROP_AUTH_ACCESS_TOKEN The access token used to authenticate to Microsoft Entra ID.

NOTE: It's an error to specify this keyword and also UID, PWD, Trusted_Connection, or Authentication connection string keywords or their corresponding properties/keywords.
Application Intent SSPROP_INIT_APPLICATIONINTENT Declares the application workload type when connecting to a server. Possible values are ReadOnly and ReadWrite.

The default is ReadWrite. For more information about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server's support for Always On availability groups, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery.
Application Name SSPROP_INIT_APPNAME The string identifying the application.
Authentication1 SSPROP_AUTH_MODE Specifies the SQL or Microsoft Entra authentication used. Valid values are:
  • (not set): Authentication mode determined by other keywords.
  • ActiveDirectoryPassword:User ID and password authentication with a Microsoft Entra identity.
  • ActiveDirectoryIntegrated: Integrated authentication with Microsoft Entra ID.

  • NOTE: The ActiveDirectoryIntegrated keyword can also be used for Windows authentication to SQL Server. It replaces Integrated Security (or Trusted_Connection) authentication keywords. It's recommended that applications using Integrated Security (or Trusted_Connection) keywords or their corresponding properties set the value of the Authentication keyword (or its corresponding property) to ActiveDirectoryIntegrated to enable new encryption and certificate validation behavior.

  • ActiveDirectoryInteractive: Interactive authentication with a Microsoft Entra identity. This method supports Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication.
  • ActiveDirectoryMSI: Managed Identity authentication. For a user-assigned identity, the user ID should be set to the object ID of the user identity.
  • ActiveDirectoryServicePrincipal: Authentication with a Microsoft Entra service principal. The user ID should be set to the application (client) ID. The password should be set to the application (client) secret.
  • SqlPassword: Authentication using user ID and password.

  • NOTE: It's recommended that applications using SQL Server authentication set the value of the Authentication keyword (or its corresponding property) to SqlPassword to enable new encryption and certificate validation behavior.
Auto Translate SSPROP_INIT_AUTOTRANSLATE Configures OEM/ANSI character translation. Recognized values are true and false.
Connect Timeout DBPROP_INIT_TIMEOUT The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for data source initialization to complete.
Connect Retry Count SSPROP_INIT_CONNECT_RETRY_COUNT Controls the number of reconnection attempts if the connection is lost. Valid values range from 0 to 255. The default value is 1. A value of 0 would result in no attempt to reconnect. For more information, see Idle Connection Resiliency.
Connect Retry Interval SSPROP_INIT_CONNECT_RETRY_INTERVAL Specifies the number of seconds between each connection retry attempt if the connection is lost. Valid values range from 1 to 60. The default value is 10. For more information, see Idle Connection Resiliency.
Current Language SSPROPT_INIT_CURRENTLANGUAGE The SQL Server language name.
Data Source DBPROP_INIT_DATASOURCE The name of an instance of SQL Server in the organization.

When not specified, a connection is made to the default instance on the local computer.

For more information about valid address syntax, see the description of the Server keyword, in this article.
DataTypeCompatibility SSPROP_INIT_DATATYPECOMPATIBILITY Specifies the mode of data type handling that will be used. Recognized values are 0 for provider data types and 80 for SQL Server 2000 data types.
Failover Partner SSPROP_INIT_FAILOVERPARTNER The name of the failover server used for database mirroring.
Failover Partner SPN SSPROP_INIT_FAILOVERPARTNERSPN The SPN for the failover partner. The default value is an empty string. An empty string causes OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use the default, provider-generated SPN.
Host Name In Certificate SSPROP_INIT_HOST_NAME_CERTIFICATE The host name to be used in validating the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate. If the Host Name In Certificate keyword isn't set, the driver uses the Data Source keyword value on the connection URL as the host name to validate the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate.
NOTE: This property is ignored if the server certificate is trusted. If Use Encryption for Data is set to Strict, the certificate will always be validated.
Initial Catalog DBPROP_INIT_CATALOG The database name.
Initial File Name SSPROP_INIT_FILENAME The name of the primary file (include the full path name) of an attachable database. To use AttachDBFileName, you must also specify the database name with the provider string DATABASE keyword. If the database was previously attached, SQL Server doesn't reattach it (it uses the attached database as the default for the connection).
Integrated Security DBPROP_AUTH_INTEGRATED Accepts the value SSPI for Windows Authentication.
MARS Connection SSPROP_INIT_MARSCONNECTION Enables or disables multiple active result sets (MARS) on the connection if the server is SQL Server 2005 (9.x) or later. Recognized values are true and false. The default is false.
MultiSubnetFailover SSPROP_INIT_MULTISUBNETFAILOVER Always specify MultiSubnetFailover=True when connecting to the availability group listener of a SQL Server availability group or a SQL Server Failover Cluster Instance. MultiSubnetFailover=True configures OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to provide faster detection of and connection to the (currently) active server. Possible values are True and False. The default is False. For example:

MultiSubnetFailover=True

For more information about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server's support for Always On availability groups, see OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery.
Network Address SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKADDRESS The network address of an instance of SQL Server in the organization.

For more information about valid address syntax, see the description of the Address keyword, in this article.
Network Library SSPROP_INIT_NETWORKLIBRARY The network library used to establish a connection to an instance of SQL Server in the organization.
Packet Size SSPROP_INIT_PACKETSIZE Tabular Data Stream (TDS) packet size. The default is 0 (the actual value will be determined by the server).
Password DBPROP_AUTH_PASSWORD The SQL Server login password.
Persist Security Info DBPROP_AUTH_PERSIST_SENSITIVE_AUTHINFO Accepts the strings true and false as values. When false, the data source object isn't allowed to persist sensitive authentication information.
Provider For the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server, the value is MSOLEDBSQL19 or MSOLEDBSQL.
Server Certificate SSPROP_INIT_SERVER_CERTIFICATE Specifies the path to a certificate file to match against the SQL Server TLS/SSL certificate. This option can only be used when Strict encryption is enabled. The accepted certificate formats are PEM, DER, and CER. If specified, the SQL Server certificate is checked by seeing if the provided certificate is an exact match.
Server SPN SSPROP_INIT_SERVERSPN The SPN for the server. The default value is an empty string. An empty string causes OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to use the default, provider-generated SPN.
TransparentNetworkIPResolution SSPROP_INIT_TNIR Affects the connection sequence when the first resolved IP of the hostname doesn't respond and there are multiple IPs associated with the hostname. TNIR interacts with MultiSubnetFailover to provide different connection sequences. Possible values are True and False. The default value is True. For more information, see Using Transparent Network IP Resolution.
Trust Server Certificate1 SSPROP_INIT_TRUST_SERVER_CERTIFICATE Accepts the strings true and false as values. The default value is false, which means that the server certificate will be validated.
Use Encryption for Data1 SSPROP_INIT_ENCRYPT Specifies whether data should be encrypted before sending it over the network. Possible values are Optional, Mandatory, and Strict. The default value is Mandatory. For versions 18.x.x, see MSOLEDBSQL major version differences.
Use FMTONLY SSPROP_INIT_USEFMTONLY Controls how metadata is retrieved when connecting to SQL Server 2012 (11.x) and newer. Possible values are true and false. The default value is false.

By default, the OLE DB Driver for SQL Server uses sp_describe_first_result_set and sp_describe_undeclared_parameters stored procedures to retrieve metadata. These stored procedures have some limitations (for example, they'll fail when operating on temporary tables). Setting Use FMTONLY to true instructs the driver to use SET FMTONLY for metadata retrieval instead.
User ID DBPROP_AUTH_USERID The SQL Server login name.
Workstation ID SSPROP_INIT_WSID The workstation identifier.

[1]: To improve security, encryption and certificate validation behavior is modified when using Authentication/Access Token initialization properties or their corresponding connection string keywords. For details, see Encryption and certificate validation.

Note

In the connection string, the "Old Password" property sets SSPROP_AUTH_OLD_PASSWORD, which is the current (possibly expired) password that isn't available via a provider string property.

See also

Building Applications with OLE DB Driver for SQL Server