| Legacy Component | Modern Replacement | |------------------|--------------------| | SQLNCLI OLE DB | MSOLEDBSQL (Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server) | | SQLNCLI ODBC | ODBC Driver 17/18 for SQL Server |

Now that we've covered the features and benefits of Microsoft SQL Native Client, let's talk about how to download it. Here are the steps:

(Scored based on current relevance; would be 9/10 if the year were 2012).

Because Microsoft removed standalone SQLNCLI installers from their main download center (redirecting to the modern drivers), you must use .

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\SQLNCLI11\CurrentVersion'

:: For x86 msiexec /i sqlncli.msi /quiet /norestart IACCEPTSQLNCLILICENSETERMS=YES

So, what makes Microsoft SQL Native Client so special? Here are some of its key features: