Free AdventureWorks Database Download: A Step-by-Step Guide

The AdventureWorks database is a free sample transactional database provided by Microsoft, designed to demonstrate how to design a SQL Server database. In this article, we will guide you through the process of downloading and restoring the database in your own SQL Server instance.

Downloading the Database

To download the AdventureWorks database, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to one of the links provided in the download backup files section.

2. Choose the appropriate bak file that matches your SQL Server version.

3. Download the bak file to your desired location.

Restoring the Database using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

To restore the database using SSMS, follow these steps:

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

2. Right-click on Databases in Object Explorer > Restore Database.

3. Select Device and then select the ellipses (.) to choose a device.

4. Browse to the location where you saved the bak file and select it.

5. Follow the prompts to complete the restore process.

Alternative Method: Using the RESTORE Command

Alternatively, you can use the RESTORE command in Transact-SQL to restore the database. This method is useful if you are not familiar with SQL Server Management Studio or prefer a more manual approach.

1. Connect to your SQL Server instance using SSMS or Azure Data Studio.

2. Execute the following T-SQL command: `RESTORE DATABASE 'AdventureWorks' FROM DISK = 'C:\Path\To\BackupFile.bak'`

3. Replace `'AdventureWorks'` with the desired database name and `C:\Path\To\BackupFile.bak` with the actual path to your bak file.

Additional Files

In addition to the OLTP sample, you can also download additional files, including:

* Lightweight (LT) data: a lightweight and pared-down version of the OLTP sample.

* Data Warehouse (DW) data: for data warehousing workloads.

* OLTP data: for most typical online transaction processing workloads.

These links to download the appropriate sample database for your scenario can be found directly on GitHub.

In this article, we have provided direct links to download AdventureWorks sample databases and instructions for restoring them to SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced user, following these steps will allow you to easily get started with the AdventureWorks database.

References

* Microsoft Documentation on AdventureWorks sample databases

* Samples GitHub repository

Compatibility

The AdventureWorks database is compatible with:

* SQL Server (all supported versions)

* Azure SQL Database

* Azure SQL Managed Instance

* Azure Synapse Analytics

* Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Free adventureworks database download