Microsoft ODBC driver for Linux vs FreeTDS?

Question

I am investigating the possibilities to connect to a MSSQL database from a RHEL6 application server. I have found two ways:

• FreeTDS
• Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux + unixODBC

Does anyone have experience in using either of these setups? (I'm especially curious about the latter, since it is officially supported by MS). Performance? Stability? Any other options I might be missing?

Smilacaceous

Are you still using FreeTDS in 2019? I've been using it since 2014, mainly without issues, but I'm curious about Microsoft's drivers. Their recent docs look very useful: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/linux-mac/… – Valvular

No, not using it anymore. – Smilacaceous

Answer 1

For the record, I went with FreeTDS at the moment. I evaluated both unixODBC and FreeTDS and found FreeTDS easier to work with at the moment.

Smilacaceous

Would you care to expand on this answer? I also want to know the differences between the two options you provided in your question. How or in what way is FreeTDS easier to work with? – Wooldridge

I found the documentation better, the APIs easier to start with and maybe most important, installation and deployment a lot easier. A big plus is that I can also read and understand the source code for FreeTDS. – Smilacaceous

Answer 2

Another option is the MS JDBC driver for SQL Server

Bejarano

Thanks. True, I should have written that the interface with the driver will be written in C++. – Smilacaceous

Answer 3

If you're working with older versions of SQL Server (e.g. 2000), current Microsoft ODBC drivers may not work.

FreeTDS claims to work with all versions of MS SQL Server: http://www.freetds.org/faq.html#Does.FreeTDS.support.my.server

Serial