--- title: "OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Features | Microsoft Docs" description: "OLE DB Driver for SQL Server features" ms.custom: "" ms.date: "02/11/2019" ms.prod: sql ms.prod_service: "database-engine, sql-database, sql-data-warehouse, pdw" ms.reviewer: "" ms.technology: connectivity ms.topic: "reference" helpviewer_keywords: - "MDAC [SQL Server]" - "MSOLEDBSQL, about OLE DB Driver for SQL Server" - "data access [OLE DB Driver for SQL Server], features" author: pmasl ms.author: pelopes --- # OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Features [!INCLUDE[appliesto-ss-asdb-asdw-pdw-md](../../../includes/appliesto-ss-asdb-asdw-pdw-md.md)] [!INCLUDE[Driver_OLEDB_Download](../../../includes/driver_oledb_download.md)] In addition to exposing features of the Windows (formerly Microsoft) Data Access Components (WDAC), OLE DB Driver for SQL Server also implements many other features to expose [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] functionality. ## In This Section [Using Database Mirroring](../../oledb/features/using-database-mirroring.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the use of mirrored databases, which is the ability to keep a copy, or mirror, of a [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] database on a standby server. [Performing Asynchronous Operations](../../oledb/features/performing-asynchronous-operations.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports asynchronous operations, which is the ability to return immediately without blocking on the calling thread. [Using Azure Active Directory](using-azure-active-directory.md) Discusses new authentication methods introduced in OLE DB driver 18.2.1 that have more secure default settings and allow connecting to an instance of Azure SQL Database using a federated identity. [Using Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS)](../../oledb/features/using-multiple-active-result-sets-mars.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports multiple active result sets (MARS). MARS enables you to execute and receive multiple result sets using a single database connection [Using XML Data Types](../../oledb/features/using-xml-data-types.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the XML data type, which is a XML-based data type that can be used as a column type, variable type, parameter type, or function return type. [Using User-Defined Types](../../oledb/features/using-user-defined-types.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports User-Defined Types (UDT), which extends the SQL type system by allowing you to store objects and custom data structures in a [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] database. [Using Large Value Types](../../oledb/features/using-large-value-types.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports large value data types, which are large object data types (LOB). [Changing Passwords Programmatically](../../oledb/features/changing-passwords-programmatically.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the handling of expired passwords so that passwords can now be changed on the client without administrator involvement. [Working with Snapshot Isolation](../../oledb/features/working-with-snapshot-isolation.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports the enhancement to row versioning that improves database performance by avoiding reader-writer blocking scenarios. [Working with Query Notifications](../../oledb/features/working-with-query-notifications.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports consumer notification on rowset modification. [Performing Bulk Copy Operations](../../oledb/features/performing-bulk-copy-operations.md) Discusses how OLE DB Driver for SQL Server supports bulk copy operations that allow the transfer of large amounts of data into or out of a [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] table or view. [Using Encryption Without Validation](../../oledb/features/using-encryption-without-validation.md) Discusses how to use OLE DB Driver for SQL Server to encrypt data sent to the server without validating the certificate. [Table-Valued Parameters (OLE DB Driver for SQL Server)](../../oledb/features/table-valued-parameters-oledb-driver-for-sql-server.md) Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for the table-valued parameters. [Large CLR User-Defined Types](../../oledb/features/large-clr-user-defined-types.md) Discusses support for large common language runtime (CLR) user-defined types (UDTs). [FILESTREAM Support](../../oledb/features/filestream-support.md) Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for the enhanced FILESTREAM feature. [Service Principal Name (SPN) Support in Client Connections](../../oledb/features/service-principal-name-spn-support-in-client-connections.md) Discusses how support for service principal names (SPNs) has been extended to enable mutual authentication across all protocols. [Sparse Columns Support in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server](../../oledb/features/sparse-columns-support-in-oledb-driver-for-sql-server.md) Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for sparse columns. [Date and Time Improvements](../../oledb/features/date-and-time-improvements.md) Discusses support added to OLE DB Driver for SQL Server for the date and time data types. [Metadata Discovery](../../oledb/features/metadata-discovery.md) Discusses metadata discovery improvements that were made in [!INCLUDE[ssSQL11](../../../includes/sssql11-md.md)]. [UTF-16 Support in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server](../../oledb/features/utf-16-support-in-oledb-driver-for-sql-server.md) Discusses a behavior change introduced in [!INCLUDE[ssSQL11](../../../includes/sssql11-md.md)]. If you supply a fixed-length buffer when binding a column result or output parameter and if the **wchar** character written into the buffer before the terminating character is a high surrogate code point of a surrogate pair, and if the next **wchar** character is a low surrogate code point, OLE DB Driver for SQL Server will not add the high surrogate code point to the buffer. [UTF-8 Support in OLE DB Driver for SQL Server](../../oledb/features/utf-8-support-in-oledb-driver-for-sql-server.md) Discusses support for UTF-8 server encoding and configuration precautions users should take when working with UTF-8 encoded data. [OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for High Availability, Disaster Recovery](../../oledb/features/oledb-driver-for-sql-server-support-for-high-availability-disaster-recovery.md) Discusses how your application can be configured to take advantage of the high-availability, disaster recovery features added in [!INCLUDE[ssSQL11](../../../includes/sssql11-md.md)]. [Accessing Diagnostic Information in the Extended Events Log](../../oledb/features/accessing-diagnostic-information-in-the-extended-events-log.md) Discusses enhancements to OLE DB Driver for SQL Server and data tracing that gives you access to diagnostic information in the ring buffer and XEvents log. [OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Support for LocalDB](../../oledb/features/oledb-driver-for-sql-server-support-for-localdb.md) Discusses OLE DB Driver for SQL Server support for the LocalDB feature. ## See Also [OLE DB Driver for SQL Server](../../oledb/oledb-driver-for-sql-server.md) [OLE DB How-to Topics](../../oledb/ole-db-how-to/ole-db-how-to-topics.md) [Installing OLE DB Driver for SQL Server](../../oledb/applications/installing-oledb-driver-for-sql-server.md)