Microsoft® SQL Server® 2000 Driver for JDBC™ Service Pack 2

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need the release version of this driver for JDBC to install SP2?
A: No. The SP2 package comes with the complete set of files for the driver.

Q: How can I get this driver?
A: The driver is available for download now at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/downloads. This is the only way to obtain the driver.

Q: Where can I find version information for the driver?
A: While the individual .jar files are not branded with a version number, the version installed on your system is documented in the read.me file in the directory where the product is installed. If you installed it the default directory, that would be C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server 2000 driver for JDBC.

Q: Can I use this driver with SQL Server 7.0?
A: The driver is not certified for SQL Server 7.0 and it is not supported configuration.

Q: Can I redistribute this driver?
A: Once downloaded for your organization, you may install as many copies of this driver as you need within your organization. The driver may not be distributed outside your organization. Please read the End-User License Agreement that is included with the download for more information.

Q: Is the technology available for all versions or just the Enterprise version?
A: The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Driver for JDBC is compatible with all editions of SQL Server 2000 running on a supported operating system.

Q: Will the driver be supported? By whom?
A: Microsoft will provide support for the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Driver for JDBC as it does for other Microsoft data access components. Microsoft offers a variety of support options for its products ranging from per incident web support to onsite Premier Support.

Q: Does this driver for JDBC support Unicode?
A: Absolutely. As a pure Java component it is optimized for Unicode but has excellent support for DBCS and all of SQL Server’s supported code page encodings. The driver and documentation also are localized into German and Japanese.

Q: Do applications written using this driver work with SQL Server 2000 in a failover cluster?
A: Yes. Users just need to ensure they are connecting to the virtual server name the same way it is done in ODBC and OLEDB. Sample connection string jdbc:Microsoft:sqlserver://my-virtualserver:1433;DatabaseName=Pubs This assumes the use of default port 1433. If you have named instances or are using a non default port(s), you will have to check with your DBA to find out which port is being used and how to handle dynamic ports. This is not specifically related to JDBC and is well documented in SQL Server Book Online. 

Q: Does this driver support SSL and encrypted connections?
A: No. Due to the complexities involved in implementing SSL and encrypted connections with Type-4 drivers, few if any vendors provide such a feature. This capability is typically implemented in Type-3 drivers.

Q: What is the impact of the recent announcement on Microsoft's support for its Java Virtual Machine?
A: If you are presently using the Microsoft JVM, we recommend that you switch to another supported JVM like the ones from BEA or IBM. If you are currently NOT using the Microsoft JVM, there is no impact.