Features
Methods to identify the build, edition, and patch level of Microsoft SQL Server.
Checking SQL Server version means retrieving the exact build number, edition, and patch level running on your instance so you can match Microsoft’s release matrix.
Version awareness guides upgrade planning, feature availability, security patching, and vendor support, avoiding incompatibilities and downtime.
Run SELECT @@VERSION; in any query window to receive a one-line string containing edition, architecture, OS, and compile date.
SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion') AS Version, SERVERPROPERTY('Edition') AS Edition; returns machine-readable fields ideal for scripts and monitoring tools.
Yes. In Object Explorer, right-click the server ➜ Properties ➜ General. “Product” and “Version” display the same numbers without writing SQL.
Open a terminal and execute sqlcmd -S myServer -Q "SELECT @@VERSION" to receive the build string directly in the shell.
Use the SqlServer module: Get-SqlInstance -ServerInstance "myServer" | Select-Object VersionString, Edition. This integrates with DevOps pipelines.
Yes, navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\Instance Names\SQL and read CurrentVersion, but registry reads are error-prone and require admin rights.
Galaxy’s AI copilot autocompletes @@VERSION or SERVERPROPERTY calls and displays results in a split panel, letting developers verify builds without context-switching.
2019 RTM starts at 15.0, 2022 at 16.0. Cross-check your ProductVersion prefix against Microsoft’s build chart to confirm major release.
Schedule a SQL Agent job or CI pipeline that logs SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion') and alerts when the value changes, ensuring patch events are tracked.
Version mismatches can break application dependencies and invalidate vendor support contracts. Knowing the precise build lets teams schedule timely cumulative updates and security patches. It also ensures new features such as Accelerated Database Recovery or Ledger Tables are actually available before writing code that relies on them. In analytics, engine capabilities impact query tuning, parallelism settings, and compatibility levels.
Yes, but it returns the logical host string for Azure. Use SERVERPROPERTY for a cleaner JSON-friendly result.
SELECT permissions on the server are enough for @@VERSION and most SERVERPROPERTY calls, so read-only users can run them.
Galaxy highlights SERVERPROPERTY snippets, autocompletes property names, and saves the query in a shared Collection so teammates can reuse it.
PowerShell with SMO can loop through multiple servers in one script, making it ideal for fleet-wide audits compared to manual query execution.
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