The Sample AdventureWorks Database 2012 is a comprehensive database that showcases various features of Microsoft SQL Server. This release does not include Filestream, which is compatible with SQL Server 2008R2 and later versions. The database comes with full backups, scripts, and projects for AdventureWorks2008R2.

To explore the features of this database, users can run the SQL Server 2016 sample scripts on AdventureWorksDW2012.bak, a full database backup file. Additionally, there are OLTP backups and samples available in the idventure-works-2014-oltp-in-memory-sample.zip file.

The Sample AdventureWorks Database includes several components:

* AdventureWorks (OLTP) - A full database backup that can be used to install the sample database on a SQL Server instance.

* AdventureWorksLT (Lightweight) - A full database backup designed for lightweight databases.

* AdventureWorksDW (Data Warehouse) - A full database backup designed for data warehouses.

AdventureWorks2012 is an extended version of the database, designed to showcase SQL Server 2016 features. The download size is approximately 883 MB and users can use AdventureWorksDW as source data.

For those who are interested in downloading older releases, there are options available for AdventureWorks2008R2 and AdventureWorks2014. Users can also find install scripts for the OLTP and Data Warehouse versions of the database on GitHub.

The main difference between various versions of the AdventureWorks Database is the name of the database and its compatibility level. For additional guidance on attaching a database or restoring a database, users can refer to the instructions provided.

For those who are looking for a sample database that leverages more recent features of SQL Server, WideWorldImporters is another option available. Users can find install instructions in the Readme file, while information on multidimensional and tabular models can be found in AdventureWorks for Analysis Services.

It's worth noting that AdventureWorks has not undergone significant changes since its 2012 version. The database provides scripts and full database backups (.bak) files that users can use to install the sample databases on their SQL Server instances.

Sample adventureworks database 2012