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If I use linked tables in Access 2010 to connect via ODBC to SQL Server 2014 Express, which driver is better?

  • ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server
  • SQL Server Native Client 11.0

enter image description here

The image shows the possibilities of drivers one can use while creating a new data source.

As per my re-search I found that the "Native Drivers" also supports OLEDB.

Can someone give an objective answer about which driver is better?

Zameer Ansari
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Brian Lorraine
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  • FYI: I'm currently using DSN-less connections. I created Tabledef's to link the tables with VBA so it's working with that now, but given that I really want to separate the connectivity and the VBA/Access programming, this is the reason I'm going back to DSN's. If there are any connectivity issues, I'd like to have a non-Access programmer be able to help with less problems. – Brian Lorraine Aug 13 '15 at 18:43
  • Whether or not you use a DSN, you still need an ODBC driver. According to the following link, the ODBC Driver 11 is the latest and greatest. – AVG Aug 13 '15 at 20:46
  • So you're saying that if I install the Native drivers only, it won't work, because I have to have both? – Brian Lorraine Aug 16 '15 at 03:26
  • No, you only need one driver. Your question was, which is better. I tried to provide the link, but forgot that links don't display in SO comments. Do a web search for "Introducing the new Microsoft ODBC Drivers for SQL Server" and you will find it. NC 10 was for SQL Server 2008 and NC 11 was for SQL Server 2012. Typically you are better off using the driver for your version of SQL Server or later. – AVG Aug 16 '15 at 10:25
  • Sorry, I wasn't really asking the diff between Native client 10 and 11. In the screenshot above look at the first and last ("ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server" and "SQL Server Native Client 11". Are they the same thing? Both seem to work as far as basic connectivity. I'm just wondering if I should use one or the other. Forget the two drivers in the middle – Brian Lorraine Aug 17 '15 at 17:54
  • Note: This question is similar to [sql server - Differences Between Drivers for ODBC Drivers](https://stackoverflow.com/q/39440008). – Kevinoid Jan 15 '19 at 17:16

2 Answers2

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Native Client has been superseded by the ODBC Driver which Microsoft has standardized on. The Native Clients were originally for accessing features in Server 2005 and higher that the older ODBC driver ("SQL Server") could not access.

MachineGhost
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SQL Server Native Client can be used for both SQL OLE DB provider and SQL ODBC driver for Windows. It depends on if you need to connect to SQL Server using both these 2 different methods.

The following 2 points should be noted when choosing SQL native client.

SNAC 11 is a single dynamic-link library (DLL) containing both the SQL OLE DB provider and SQL ODBC driver for Windows.

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/sqlreleaseservices/snac-lifecycle-explained/

Also, you should notice that

OLE DB data access technology had been deprecated before. However, it is undeprecated now.

With this in mind, we have decided to undeprecate OLE DB data access technology, and release a new version by March 2018.

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/sqlnativeclient/2017/10/06/announcing-the-new-release-of-ole-db-driver-for-sql-server/

user3200692
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