This Entity Framework 6 provider is a runtime replacement provider for the built-in SQL Server provider.
This provider depends on the modern Microsoft.Data.SqlClient ADO.NET provider, see my blog post here for why that can be desirable. One of the main reasons is the additional Azure Active Directory authentication methods that are now available.
The latest build of this package is available from NuGet
There are various ways to configure Entity Framework to use this provider.
You can register the provider in code using an attribute:
[DbConfigurationType(typeof(MicrosoftSqlDbConfiguration))]
public class SchoolContext : DbContext
{
public SchoolContext() : base()
{
}
public DbSet<Student> Students { get; set; }
}
If you have multiple classes inheriting from DbContext in your solution, add the DbConfigurationType attribute to all of them.
Or you can use the SetConfiguration method before any data access calls:
If you use App.Config with a .NET Core / .NET 5 or later app, you must remove the <system.data> section above and register the DbProviderFactory in code once:
Also update the provider name inside the EntityConnection connection string - sample of working App.Config file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<!-- For more information on Entity Framework configuration, visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=237468 -->
<section name="entityFramework" type="System.Data.Entity.Internal.ConfigFile.EntityFrameworkSection, EntityFramework, Version=6.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" requirePermission="false" />
</configSections>
<entityFramework>
<providers>
<provider invariantName="Microsoft.Data.SqlClient" type="System.Data.Entity.SqlServer.MicrosoftSqlProviderServices, ErikEJ.EntityFramework.SqlServer" />
</providers>
</entityFramework>
<system.data>
<DbProviderFactories>
<add name="SqlClient Data Provider" invariant="Microsoft.Data.SqlClient" description=".NET Framework Data Provider for SqlServer" type="Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlClientFactory, Microsoft.Data.SqlClient" />
</DbProviderFactories>
</system.data>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="ChinookEntities" connectionString="metadata=res://*/Model1.csdl|res://*/Model1.ssdl|res://*/Model1.msl;provider=Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;provider connection string="data source=.\SQLEXPRESS;initial catalog=Chinook;integrated security=True;App=EntityFramework"" providerName="System.Data.EntityClient" />
</connectionStrings>
</configuration>
In order to use the EDMX file with the Visual Studio designer, use Visual Studio 17.6 or later. Your project must be a "classic" .NET Framework project. Make sure to restore packages and build before opening the designer. You may need to restart Visual Studio after building for the first time. For designer issues, report here. An interesting hack for some designer issues is described here.
Code changes
In order to use the provider in an existing solution, a few code changes are required (as needed).
using System.Data.SqlClient; => using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Server; => using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.Server;
The following classes have been renamed to avoid conflicts with classes in the existing SQL Server provider:
Azure App Service with .NET Framework and connection strings configuration
If you use Azure App Service with .NET Framework and the connection strings configuration feature, you can encounter runtime issues, as the ProviderName connection string setting in this scenario is hardcoded to System.Data.SqlClient.
Solution is to use a derived MicrosoftSqlDbConfiguration class like this:
public class AppServiceConfiguration : MicrosoftSqlDbConfiguration
{
public AppServiceConfiguration()
{
SetProviderFactory("System.Data.SqlClient", Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlClientFactory.Instance);
SetProviderServices("System.Data.SqlClient", MicrosoftSqlProviderServices.Instance);
SetExecutionStrategy("System.Data.SqlClient", () => new MicrosoftSqlAzureExecutionStrategy());
}
}
Then use this derived class in the code-based configuration described above.
EntityFramework.dll installed in GAC
If an older version of EntityFramework.dll is installed in the .NET Framework GAC (Global Assembly Cache), you might get this runtime error:
The 'PrimitiveTypeKind' attribute is invalid - The value 'HierarchyId' is invalid according to its datatype
