SAP SQL Anywhere - Updates History

SAP SQL Anywhere 10

SQL Anywhere 10 modernized the former "Adaptive Server Anywhere" stack with three headline advances:

• Parallel execution, which exploits all available cores to accelerate heavy queries;
• Integrated high availability via database mirroring with two or three nodes, complemented by snapshot isolation to eliminate reader/writer blocking;
• Strengthening of tools & SQL standard (client-side statement cache, SQL Flagger, fine-tuning of collations, native RSA encryption).

The 10.0.1 patch completes the whole (caching enabled by default, ANSI diagnostics, Oracle support on MobiLink side, etc.). Most advances are available after a simple catalog upgrade; only certain options (e.g. collation tailoring) require a rebuild. (Read more)

SQL Anywhere 11

SQL Anywhere 11 brought the product into the "modern-DBMS" era on three fronts:

1. Richer SQL & search capabilities (MERGE, CONTAINS, REGEXP, SIMILAR TO);
2. A smarter, leaner engine that can satisfy many queries straight from indexes and stream data in/out of client files;
3. Infrastructure upgrades for governance, scale-out, backup and mobile sync (MobiLink 11, QAnywhere).

In practice, most gains arrive with a simple catalog upgrade; only features like immediate-refresh materialized views or text search need a rebuild to expose new system objects. (Read more)

SQL Anywhere 12

SQL Anywhere 12 arrives with three headline shifts:

1. A new spatial-data stack with round-earth support, SRID catalogues and shapefile loaders;
2. A smarter, faster core engine — multiple-index scans, index-only retrieval, a modern CPU cost model and lighter-weight locking;
3. Refreshed security, cloud and tooling that pave the way for OnDemand Edition and large-scale deployments.

Patch level 12.0.1 adds cloud-specific login modes and SHA-2/OSGi-ready client libraries. Most gains are turnkey after an upgrade + catalog rebuild; spatial functions and deadlock events require a dbinit/dbunload-reload to surface the new system objects. (Read more)

SAP SQL Anywhere 16

SAP SQL Anywhere 16 modernizes the platform in four big ways:

1. A brand-new Role-Based Access Control security model,
2. Significant optimizer and parallel-execution gains,
3. First-party web integration through a built-in OData server,
4. Enterprise-grade diagnostics such as event tracing.

Support Packages up to build 1823 extend the picture with LDAP log-ins, disk sandboxing, RSA/AES crypto, multi-producer OData and more. Most benefits are turnkey after an upgrade + catalog rebuild, but security changes demand new GRANT/REVOKE statements and sometimes a review of certificate stores. (Read more)

SAP SQL Anywhere 17

SAP SQL Anywhere 17 is a noticeable step up from 16 and earlier releases: it introduces 100% web-based administration (the HTML-5 Cockpit), a more-parallel engine (parallel recovery, index creation, plan cache), modernized security (TLS 1.2+, CommonCryptoLib, SNI) and re-designed tooling (Profiler, dbisql, updated APIs). Patch levels up to PL 67 / 17.1 SP01 push the transition further: CommonCryptoLib adoption, TLS on TDS, Node.js 8 and PHP 7 drivers, the demise of the Flash Monitor, and more. Most of these changes require an update of start-up scripts, roles and sometimes a database rebuild to benefit from the extended catalog objects. (Read more)

SQL Anywhere 17 - Ongoing Support Packages

Over the nine years since SQL Anywhere 17 was released, its Support Packages (SPs) have steadily expanded the product's security posture, modern-platform reach and developer tool-chain while delivering dozens of engine and administration refinements that keep the database competitive in 2025. Highlights include a hard pivot to TLS 1.2+ with streamlined cipher lists, large batches of OpenSSL/ICU upgrades, CORS-enabled OData, the switch to CommonCryptoLib on Windows, richer diagnostics for plan-cache and wide-fetch workloads, new APIs for Node.js 12+ and PHP 7.3, a 64-bit-only MobiLink server, and certified support for Windows 11, Server 2022, Red Hat 9 and the latest macOS/iOS/Android releases. (Read more)