Visit Esri Support for general support information on Esri's Supported Environment Policy, as well as information on earlier versions.
Supported database versions
Standard/Enterprise editions
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 (64-bit) See Note below**
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (64-bit)
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP3 (64-bit)
Express editions
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 (64-bit) See Note below**
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (32-bit* & 64-bit)
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP3 (32-bit* & 64-bit)
*Microsoft SQL Server Express (32-bit) is only supported for desktop geodatabases.
Supported operating systems
If your database management system is installed on a server where ArcGIS products are installed, the server operating system must meet the ArcGIS product system requirements as well as the operating system requirements for your SQL Server version.
If you use the ST_Raster storage type (libst_raster_sql.dll) with your geodatabase in SQL Server, the server operating system must meet ArcGIS Server (Windows) operating system requirements.
If your database is not installed on the same server as an ArcGIS product, see the Microsoft documentation for operating system requirements for your SQL Server version.
Software required to connect to a DBMS
Your client machine (for example, the one running ArcMap) will need to have the appropriate client files installed for the RDBMS you are using. These client files are available from their respective RDBMS vendors, but some are also available on My Esri as a convenience. See Database clients for more information. RDBMS client files available from My Esri are IBM DB2, IBM Informix, Microsoft SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. Client files for ALTIBASE, IBM Netezza, Oracle, SAP HANA, and Teradata are not available on My Esri and must be obtained from the RDBMS vendors.