Using Native Client with v10 Flex2SQL MS SQL Server

The v10 SQL Server drivers exclusively use the SQL Server native client libraries.  This is the approach MS is taking and is evident by the fact that almost all new features in SQL 2008 can only be accessed through the native client.

However, as with all things Microsoft, things are not always that simple! In our testing, we have seen anamolies that shouldn't be there but are. For example, in previous version, we could be sure that older versions of the OLEDB providers would work with newer versions of SQL Server. Simple right?  Not so with the native clients.

When  it is necessary to match up the various versions of  native client versions with the versions of SQL Server. Here is what we recommend:

If you are connecting to  SQL Server 2005,  you can use Native Client 2005 or Native Client 2008 installed.
If you are connecting to  SQL Server 2008,  you MUST use Native Client 2008.  You cannot use the Native Client 2005.

So what does this mean?

If your customer has upgraded to SQL Server 2008 without informing you and now are experiencing "weird" behavior  with your application, tell them to make sure they install the Native Client for SQL Server 2008.  And yes, Microsoft wants you to intsall the native client because it is too much for them to just provide a single client connection library like MySQL or PostgreSQL!

The Flex2SQL v10 installation comes with a native client installation, for your convenience.