The simple query SELECT @@VERSION can quickly tell you quite a bit about a SQL Server installation (and the underlying operating system), assuming you know how to read the results correctly. Many people seem to get confused between the operating system information and the SQL Server information that this query returns.
You can determine whether you are running x86 (32-bit), or x64 or IA64 (64-bit) for both SQL Server itself, and the underlying operating system. You can determine the major version and build number of SQL Server, along with the edition of SQL Server. It is very important to know whether you are on Enterprise Edition or not, since so many features depend on that. You can also see what Service Pack the operating system is on.
Looking at the first example below, you can see the SQL Server information in the first part of the result, while the operating system information is everything after the word “on”. Knowing what the SQL Server and Windows major version numbers mean can help you interpret the query results much easier. Knowing what the SQL Server Build numbers mean will help you zero in on exactly what version and build of SQL Server you have installed. You may get build numbers that are not in my charts due to having a hotfix installed (from Windows Update or from Microsoft CSS).
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (SP1) - 10.0.2746.0 (X64) Nov 9 2009 16:37:47 Copyright (c) 1988-2008 Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.1 <X64> (Build 7600: )
-- SQL Server Major Versions 9.00 - SQL Server 2005 10.0 - SQL Server 2008 10.25 - SQL Server Azure 10.50 - SQL Server 2008 R2 -- SQL Server 2005/2008 Build lists -- 2005 SP2 Builds 2008 SP3 Builds -- Build Description Build Description -- 3042 SP2 RTM 4035 SP3 RTM -- 3161 SP2 CU1 4207 SP3 CU1 -- 3175 SP2 CU2 4211 SP3 CU2 -- 3186 SP2 CU3 4220 SP3 CU3 -- 3200 SP2 CU4 4226 SP3 CU4 -- 3215 SP2 CU5 4230 SP3 CU5 -- 3228 SP2 CU6 4266 SP3 CU6 -- 3239 SP2 CU7 4273 SP3 CU7 -- 3257 SP2 CU8 -- 3282 SP2 CU9 -- 3294 SP2 CU10 -- 3301 SP2 CU11 -- 3315 SP2 CU12 -- 3325 SP2 CU13 -- 3328 SP2 CU14 -- 3330 SP2 CU15 -- 3355 SP2 CU16 -- 3356 SP2 CU17 -- 2008 RTM Builds 2008 SP1 Builds -- Build Description Build Description -- 1600 Gold RTM -- 1763 RTM CU1 -- 1779 RTM CU2 -- 1787 RTM CU3 --> 2531 SP1 RTM -- 1798 RTM CU4 --> 2710 SP1 CU1 -- 1806 RTM CU5 --> 2714 SP1 CU2 -- 1812 RTM CU6 --> 2723 SP1 CU3 -- 1818 RTM CU7 --> 2734 SP1 CU4 -- 1823 RTM CU8 --> 2746 SP1 CU5 -- Windows Major Versions Windows NT 5.1 - Windows XP Windows NT 5.2 - Windows Server 2003 Windows NT 6.0, Build 6001 - Vista Windows NT 6.0, Build 6002 - Windows Server 2008 Windows NT 6.1 - Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
-- Some more example outputs from SELECT @@VERSION -- 32-bit SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition Build 4262, running on 32-bit Windows Server 2003 SP2 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - 9.00.4262.00 (Intel X86) Aug 13 2009 17:08:37 Copyright (c) 1988-2005 Microsoft Corporation Developer Edition on Windows NT 5.2 (Build 3790: Service Pack 2) -- 32-bit SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition Build 4262, running on 32-bit Windows Server 2003 SP2 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - 9.00.4262.00 (Intel X86) Aug 13 2009 17:08:37 Copyright (c) 1988-2005 Microsoft Corporation Standard Edition on Windows NT 5.2 (Build 3790: Service Pack 2) -- 64-bit SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition Build 2746, running on 64-bit Windows Server 2003 SP2 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (SP1) - 10.0.2746.0 (X64) Nov 9 2009 16:37:47 Copyright (c) 1988-2008 Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 5.2 <X64> (Build 3790: Service Pack 2) -- 64-bit SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition Build 2746, running on 64-bit Windows Server 2008 SP2 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (SP1) - 10.0.2746.0 (X64) Nov 9 2009 16:37:47 Copyright (c) 1988-2008 Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.0 <X64> (Build 6002: Service Pack 2) -- 64-bit SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition Build 2746, running on 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2 (or Windows 7) Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (SP1) - 10.0.2746.0 (X64) Nov 9 2009 16:37:47 Copyright (c) 1988-2008 Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.1 <X64> (Build 7600: )
