PHP - How to access Microsoft SQL Server from PHP?
On Windows machines, you can simply use the included ODBC support and the correct ODBC driver. On Unix machines, you can use the Sybase-CT driver to access Microsoft SQL Servers because they are (at least mostly) protocol-compatible. Sybase has made a free version of the necessary libraries for Linux systems. For other Unix operating systems, you need to contact Sybase for the correct libraries. Also see the answer to the next question.