SQL Server 2012 AdventureWorks Database Download

The SQL Server 2012 AdventureWorks database is a sample database that allows developers and users to test and develop SQL Server queries without affecting production data. In this article, we will discuss the prerequisites and installation steps for downloading and setting up the AdventureWorks database.

To start with, it's essential to note that you can extract the database files to a different folder, but this requires making changes at the top of the database configuration file. To keep things simple, I'll stick with the default paths.

The first step is to check whether your SQL Server instance has the Full-Text Search feature installed. If you're unsure, you can run the following T-SQL query:

`SELECT FULLTEXTSERVICEPROPERTY('IsFullTextInstalled')`

If the feature is not installed, you can install it by enabling and configuring FILESTREAM. Follow the documentation to complete this step.

For those who have installed SQL Server a while ago and can't remember whether they installed the Full-Text Search feature, a quick Google search will provide the necessary information.

When installing a new instance of SQL Server, be sure to include this feature if you're setting up a production environment. The free Developer Edition of SQL Server is suitable for testing and development purposes.

To run the AdventureWorks database, you need to configure the following software, features, and settings:

* SQL Server 2012 Developer Edition

* Full-Text Search feature enabled

* FILESTREAM configured

The prerequisites and install steps may change in the future. However, the steps outlined below are derived from the AdventureWorks Github project Readme file as of September 8, 2023.

In this article series, I plan to use the AdventureWorks sample database for many of my future articles. The nice thing about a sample database that doesn't change much is that you can write code and scripts against it without having to constantly update them to keep up with changes to the sample database schema.

The only differences between the various versions of AdventureWorks are the name of the database and the database compatibility level. Note that AdventureWorks has not seen any significant changes since the 2012 version. For a sample database leveraging more recent features of SQL Server, see WideWorldImporters.

In conclusion, the SQL Server 2012 AdventureWorks database is an excellent resource for testing and developing SQL Server queries. With its simple setup process and free availability, it's an essential tool for anyone working with SQL Server.

Sql server 2012 adventureworks database download