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Mssql Bundle Laravel Package
mediamonks/mssql-bundle
Symfony bundle that adds Microsoft SQL Server support to Doctrine DBAL. Provides a custom MSSQL driver built on pdo_sqlsrv or pdo_dblib, plus schema tooling, so your Symfony app can use SQL Server for entities, migrations, and queries.
Greatly improves mssql support for Symfony on Unix using pdo_dblib
Frequently asked questions about Mssql Bundle
- Can I use mediamonks/mssql-bundle in a Laravel application?
- Not directly. It is a Symfony bundle, not a Laravel package: it ships a Bundle class plus a DI extension and compiler pass that registers a Doctrine DBAL driver, and none of that is consumed by Laravel's container. Nothing installs for free, so the only reusable asset is the driver code itself, which would have to be vendored or extracted.
- Which Laravel versions and Doctrine DBAL versions does it support?
- There is no Laravel support to speak of; the package targets Symfony with Doctrine DBAL, and its DBAL major version is not confirmed by the available signals. Doctrine DBAL 2 to 3 rewrote the Driver and Connection contracts, so if the bundle pins DBAL 2 it will not work on modern Laravel 10, 11, or 12 without porting. Check the composer.json constraint and the last commit date before assuming compatibility.
- Which PHP extension does it use for SQL Server, pdo_sqlsrv or pdo_dblib?
- Both, depending on platform. The driver wraps pdo_dblib on Unix, typically through FreeTDS, and pdo_sqlsrv on Windows, normalizing character encoding to UTF-8 and smoothing over dblib transaction and result-set quirks. On a Linux Laravel host you would almost certainly be in dblib territory.
- How do I install and configure the bundle in Symfony?
- Require it with Composer, enable the bundle in your Symfony kernel, and point a Doctrine DBAL connection at its custom driver scheme, such as mediamonks_mssql. The bundle then supplies the driver, schema tooling, and connection behaviour so entities, migrations, and queries reach SQL Server. That Symfony flow has no Laravel equivalent, which is the core adoption problem.
- Why would I use a dblib driver instead of Laravel's built-in sqlsrv driver?
- Only when you are constrained. Valid reasons are legacy hosts or an existing FreeTDS configuration, environments where Microsoft's ODBC Driver 17 or 18 cannot be installed, or a specific need for its transaction handling around stored procedures that return multiple result sets. Otherwise Laravel's first-party sqlsrv driver on msphpsql is the better maintained choice.
- How do I register a custom MSSQL dblib connection in Laravel?
- Vendor the driver classes you need into app/Database and register a custom connection in a service provider with DB::extend('mssql_dblib', ...). That is roughly 100 to 200 lines of glue and leaves you fully in control of the code. Do not expect a Composer require to wire anything up automatically.
- Does the bundle handle migrations and schema tooling for SQL Server?
- It does ship schema tooling for the Doctrine side, but Laravel has no dblib schema grammar. You would inherit SqlServerGrammar, which targets the sqlsrv PDO, then audit insertGetId, lastInsertId, LIMIT/OFFSET pagination, schema introspection, and boolean and date binding. Those are the predictable breakages.
- What UTF-8 and charset problems should I test before going to production?
- Charset conversion is the riskiest code path in any dblib layer. Double-encoding and nvarchar truncation tend to stay silent until non-ASCII data reaches production, so run round-trip tests with CJK characters, emoji, and RTL text, plus nvarchar boundary lengths and transactions around stored procedures. Compare the results against pdo_sqlsrv with ODBC 18 before committing to either driver.
- Is mediamonks/mssql-bundle production-ready and actively maintained?
- Treat it as high risk. Public signals are weak, with around 16 stars, zero dependents, and a single agency author, which means no evidence of production use and no community backstop. If you adopt the code, pin by commit SHA or a VCS repository entry and assume you own the fork when upstream goes quiet.
- What are the best alternatives for connecting Laravel to SQL Server?
- The default answer is Laravel's built-in sqlsrv connection driver on Microsoft's msphpsql extension with ODBC Driver 17 or 18, which is actively maintained and supported on Linux. Alternatives include Doctrine DBAL's sqlsrv driver if you are tied to Doctrine, or a hand-rolled FreeTDS and pdo_dblib setup when the Microsoft driver cannot be installed. Use this bundle as a reference implementation for dblib quirks, not as a dependency.
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