Released: General Availability of Microsoft.Data.SqlClient 5.1

We have released for general availability Microsoft.Data.SqlClient 5.1. This .NET Data Provider for SQL Server provides general connectivity to the database and supports all the latest SQL Server features for applications targeting .NET, .NET Framework, and .NET Standard.

To try out the new package, add a NuGet reference to Microsoft.Data.SqlClient in your application.

If you've been following our preview releases, you know we've been busy working to add features and improve stability and performance of the Microsoft.Data.SqlClient library.

Highlights

Some of the highlights of new features in 5.1 over the 5.0 release of Microsoft.Data.SqlClient include:

• Added Windows ARM64 support when targeting .NET Framework
• Added support for DateOnly and TimeOnly for SqlParameter value and GetFieldValue
• Added support for TLS 1.3 on .NET and native SNI (Windows)
• Added ServerCertificate setting for Encrypt=Mandatory or Encrypt=Strict Read more

Minor Breaking Change

There is one minor breaking change in 5.1 over 5.0.

• Support for .NET Core 3.1 has been dropped.

For the full list of added features, fixes, and changes in Microsoft.Data.SqlClient 5.1, please see the Release Notes.

Again, to try out the new package, add a NuGet reference to Microsoft.Data.SqlClient in your application. If you encounter any issues or have any feedback, head over to the SqlClient GitHub repository and submit an issue.

David Engel