It can be installed alongside the newer OLE DB Driver 19 , allowing you to maintain legacy application compatibility while testing newer drivers. Version 18 vs. Version 19: Which should you choose?

While version 18 is stable, Microsoft recommends version 19 for new development. Key differences include: OLE DB Driver 18 OLE DB Driver 19 MSOLEDBSQL MSOLEDBSQL19 Default Encryption Optional (Off by default) Mandatory (Encrypted by default) TLS Support Up to TLS 1.2 TLS 1.3 and TDS 8.0 support Certificate Check Can skip validation Always evaluates certificates Installation and Validation Download Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server

Versions 18.3 and later include built-in support for Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) without requiring separate libraries.

Ensure the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2022 is installed before running the driver setup. Key Features and Requirements

Version 18 supports SQL Server 2012 through SQL Server 2017, as well as Azure SQL Database and Azure Synapse Analytics.