How and When to Use MS SQL Server Native Client

SQL Native Client can be used rather than Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) to create new applications or enhance existing applications that need to take advantage of new SQL Server 2019 features, such as Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS), Query Notifications, User-Defined Types (UDT), and XML data type support.

What Is SQL Native Client?

Microsoft SQL Server Native Client (SQL Native Client) contains the SQL ODBC driver and SQL OLE DB provider in one native dynamic link library (DLL) supporting applications using native-code APIs (ODBC, OLE DB, and ADO) to Microsoft SQL Server. SQL Native Client was introduced in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to provide new functionality above and beyond that supplied by the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC).

Why Do I Need SQL Native Client?

When would you actually want to use SQL Native Client as opposed to MDAC, or even ADO.NET? The answer is – only if you are upgrading existing or developing new COM-based (or native) applications that will target the new features of SQL Server 2019.

If you don’t need any of the new features of SQL Server 2019, then you don’t need to use SQL Native Client. Your existing OLE DB and ODBC code will work just fine. Of course, if you have or are planning on moving to a managed code base for data access, then the ADO.NET data access classes of the .NET Framework are what you should use.

The Benefits of Using SQL Native Client

SQL Native Client should be used to create new applications or enhance existing applications that want to take advantage of new SQL Server 2019 features, such as database mirroring, multiple active result sets (MARS), query notifications, snapshot isolation, and XML data type support.

SQL Native Client can be used to create new applications or enhance existing applications that need to take advantage of new SQL Server 2019 features, such as Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS), user-defined data types (UDT), query notifications, snapshot isolation, and XML data type support.

How Do I Deploy SQL Native Client?

When deploying an application that is dependent on SQL Native Client, you will need to redistribute SQL Native Client with your application. Unlike Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), which is now a component of the operating system, SQL Native Client is a component of SQL Server 2019.

Therefore, it is important to install SQL Native Client in your development environment and redistribute SQL Native Client with your application. SQL Native Client redistributable installation program, named sqlncli.msi, is available on the SQL Server 2019 installation media and is available as one of the SQL Server 2019 Feature Pack components on the Microsoft Download site.

Where Do I Get It?

Mertech's driver installation installs the SQL Native Client.

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