Can 2000 driver be used to connect to 2005?

  • A project is upgrading some servers from 2000 to 2005. Will they need to upgrade all the client's ODBC drivers to 2005? I am guessing the answer is yes, but I wanted to confirm. Thanks!

  • You will need to spend time with SAC(surface area configuration tool) which you will use to configure connections within SQL Server 2005, then you need the current driver for your frontend langauge JDBC for JAVA and ADO.NET for .NET. So if you are in Windows 2003 you need at least SP2 because that fixes many MDAC issues. If you are in Windows 2008 or Vista it comes without MDAC so you just need current SP and updates.

    Kind regards,
    Gift Peddie

  • I don't exactly understand. Perhaps I was not clear.

    Windows XP on client machines comes with SQL Server ODBC Driver for 2000.

    Soon clients will have to connect to SQL Server 2005.

    Will the client ODBC need to be updated, from a usability (will it not work witho out it) and/or a security perspective?

    When I look at the Surface Area Configuration, it doesn't specify versions or anything like that.

  • I told you to start with SAC because you need it to enable remote and local connection required in SQL Server 2005 because Microsoft have depreciated what was enabling such client connection in 2000. I assumed you understand but here are two links which covers all you need to know because the protocols and the drivers work together in 2005. The reason you could have correct driver and still error out if you have not configured SAC, that is also the reason SAC was depreciated in 2008.

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/aa937733.aspx

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/aa937724.aspx

    Kind regards,
    Gift Peddie

  • Cat (4/21/2009)


    I don't exactly understand. Perhaps I was not clear.

    Windows XP on client machines comes with SQL Server ODBC Driver for 2000.

    Soon clients will have to connect to SQL Server 2005.

    Will the client ODBC need to be updated, from a usability (will it not work witho out it) and/or a security perspective?

    When I look at the Surface Area Configuration, it doesn't specify versions or anything like that.

    The traditional answer - it depends. If your clients don't need access to the new SQL Server 2005 capabilities then the ODBC driver currently installed will work. If the clients do need access you are going to need to upgrade.

    The only way you are going to know for sure is to test it out. Upgrade a test system and connect to the test system from an existing client without upgrading the client components. Test the application thoroughly to see if anything breaks.

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  • Thanks! That was what I was looking for!

  • I need to add this for relevance to my replies because both can eat up a lot of time with connection errors in 2005 related to what I explained in my second post. This post by Microsoft is three parts and counting.

    http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2005/10/29/486861.aspx

    Kind regards,
    Gift Peddie

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