ODBC Driver Selection for Windows 10 to SQL Server 2014

odbcsql serverwindows 10

What driver to use for ODBC connection from Windows 10 host to SQL Server 2014?
I have a choice of 3 SQL Server clients:

  • ODBC Client 11
  • SQL Server
  • SQL Server Native Client.

I've tried the ODBC client and the native client they both seem to work.

Is there any reason to prefer one over the others?

Best Answer

I would suggest to use Native SQL Server client. SQL Server Native Client is one technology that you can use to access data in a SQL Server database.

From : When to Use SQL Server Native Client

For new applications, if you're using a managed programming language such as Microsoft Visual C# or Visual Basic, and you need to access the new features in SQL Server, you should use the .NET Framework Data Provider for SQL Server, which is part of the .NET Framework.

If you are developing a COM-based application and need to access the new features introduced in SQL Server, you should use SQL Server Native Client. If you don't need access to the new features of SQL Server, you can continue to use Windows Data Access Components (WDAC).

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