How To See What Version Of SQL Server Is Running

As an SQL DBA or even an SQL developer, it is crucial to know how to check what version of SQL Server is running. In this article, I will walk you through all the approaches to achieving this.

How To See What Version Of SQL Server Is Running

Let us discuss each approach individually.

Approach-1: Using SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer

To see what version of SQL server is running, follow the below steps

1. Open the SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your SQL server instance.

2. You will find the SQL server version in the name of the Object Explorer, as shown in the screenshot below.

how to find sql server version

You can check the respective product names as shown in the below table based on the version number.

check sql server version

Approach-2: Using SELECT @@VERSION

You can also use the SELECT @@VERSION statement as mentioned below for this purpose.

SELECT @@VERSION AS 'SQL Server Version'

Even you can also use the query like below.

SELECT @@VERSION

After executing the above query, I got the successfull output, as you can see in the screenshot below.

how to check sql server version using query

Approach-3: Using the Object explorer properties

1. Right-click on the object explorer and then select the Properties option.

find sql server version

2. On the Properties window, you will see the Version, as shown in the screenshot below.

determine sql server version

Approach-4: Using the SERVERPROPERTY method

You can also get the version information from the error log file.

1. Execute the below query to get the error file log path.

Select SERVERPROPERTY ( 'ErrorLogFileName' ) as 'Error Log Path'

After executing the query, you will get the path of your error log file, as shown in the screenshot below.

how to find out sql server version

2. Now, navigate to the above path on your local machine and see the version in the screenshot below.

how to tell sql server version

Or, You can also use the query as specified below to see the version number, as shown in the screenshot below.

Select SERVERPROPERTY ( 'ProductVersion' ) as 'SQL Server Version'
how to know sql server version

Conclusion

In order to work with SQL server, it is crucial to know what version of sql server is installed on your machine. You can use any of the approaches mentioned in this article to achieve this.

You may also like following the articles below.

Top 200 SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers

Free PDF On Top 200 SQL Server Interview Questions And Answers

Download A 40 pages PDF And Learn Now.