Welcome to the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux

The following are answers to questions you may have about the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux.

For more information about the driver, see the Microsoft SQLNCli team blog.

What is the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux?

The SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux allows native application developers (C/C++) running on Linux to connect to SQL Server. This release supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 connecting to SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 R2, and SQL Server 2012.

What new opportunities will it enable?

In a heterogeneous computing environment, the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux allows you to have a unified end-to-end database solution with interoperability. You can migrate from legacy databases to SQL Server without modifying your application.

How will existing ODBC applications on Red Hat Enterprise Linux work with the driver?

After you install the required version of the UnixODBC Driver Manager and the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux, you should be able to compile and run the ODBC applications that you have been compiling and running on Linux using other drivers.

Will Microsoft support other UNIX variants?

Other variants of Unix (SUSE, Solaris, and HP-UX) may be supported in a future release.

Is the driver 64 bit or 32 bit?

The first version of the driver is a 64 bit. A 32-bit driver may be available in a future release.

Are there plans for a Microsoft PHP driver on Linux?

The SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux is Microsoft’s first native interoperability offering. A Microsoft PHP driver on Linux is planned for a future release.

Which features of SQL Server 2012 does this version of the driver support?

The SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux supports all server features in SQL Server 2012 except AlwaysOn and LocalDB. For more information about SQL Server supported features, see Programming Guidelines.

Does the driver support Kerberos authentication?

Yes, for more information, see Using Integrated Authentication.

Which Unicode encoding should my application use?

UTF-8 for SQL_CHAR data and UTF-16 for SQL_WCHAR data.

When will the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux support connections to SQL Azure?

Support for connecting to SQL Azure is planned for an upcoming release.

Are there ODBC samples that I can download and run with the driver to experiment with it or evaluate it?

See Use Existing MSDN C++ ODBC Samples for Microsoft Linux ODBC Driver for a sample.

Is the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux open source?

No, the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux is not an open source product.

What other open source technologies does Microsoft support?

The Microsoft Drivers for PHP for SQL Server is an open source product. At SQL PASS 2011, Microsoft announced support for Hadoop.

Does the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux mean that a future version of SQL Server will run on Linux?

There are no plans to support SQL Server on Linux.

Why am I required to build the UnixODBC Driver Manager? Why can't I use the version already on my computer?

The version of the unixODBC Driver Manager (2.3.0) required by the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux is not installed by Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The version of the UnixODBC Driver Manager that ships with Red Hat Enterprise Linux does not have security fixes, support for UTF-8 conversions, and 64 bit SQLLEN types that are required by the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux. For information on how to install version 2.3.0 of the unixODBC Driver Manager, see Installing the Driver Manager.

The documentation for the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux includes:

• Known Issues in this Build of the Driver

• System Requirements

• Installing the Driver Manager

• Installing the Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux

• Connection String Keywords and Data Source Names (DSNs)

• Using Integrated Authentication

• Connecting with sqlcmd

• Connecting with bcp

• Programming Guidelines