Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Bible

39

Chapter 3: Installing SQL Server

3

Table 3-5 lists the database version number and the corresponding SQL Server version.

TABLE 3-5 SQL Server Database Version Numbers

SQL Server Version Database Version Number

SQL Server 7 515

SQL Server 2000 539

SQL Server 2005 611

SQL Server 2005 SP2 + (vardecimal enabled) 612

SQL Server 2008 661

SQL Server 2008R2 665

SQL Server 2012 700

To identify the version number of a specifi c SQL Server database, you can query the

master.sys.sysdatabases table as follows

SELECT version

FROM master.sys.sysdatabases

WHERE name='AdventureWorks2012'

Upgrading Later

Selecting the right SQL Server Edition upfront allows you to accommodate for future needs

as your business grows. Many organizations choose to deploy a SQL Server Edition that con-

tains the features that meet the minimum requirements for their environment and upgrade

to a different edition as additional features are needed.

Deploying the SQL Server 2012 edition that satisfi es the minimum functionality

requirements initially is a cost-effective way to manage licensing costs. You can upgrade

all editions of SQL Server 2012 except for the Compact Edition to higher tier SQL Server

editions. For example, you can upgrade Express, Web, and Workgroup editions to Standard,

Enterprise, or Data Center editions. You can upgrade the Standard Edition to only the

Enterprise or Data Center editions.

The upfront savings in licensing costs may justify the decision to install a lower or mid-tier

SQL Server 2012 edition such as the Standard Edition. However, you also need to consider

downstream effects on budget, time, and resources when the need to upgrade to a higher

tier SQL Server Edition arises. Some of the factors that might require a higher tier SQL

Server Edition upgrade include implementing more robust mechanisms for disaster recov-

ery, high availability efforts, and scaling out as workloads increase.

For this reason, some organizations deploy higher tier SQL Server editions such as Enterprise,

which allows them to scale up and scale out when necessary both for performance and avail-

ability purposes, without having to undergo an environment upgrade process.

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