Where is SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)?

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is NOT installed as part of the SQL Server install anymore, so you might be wondering, where can I get it and how do I install it? This blog post will answer those questions.

Similar to most software these days, SSMS is updated regularly, so in order to locate the most current version browse to this page: Download SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). It’s here where you will find the latest download.

What is SSMS?

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is a tool for accessing (via writing and executing queries) and managing SQL Server instances (changing properties). It is useful to have the SSMS tool on your workstation as it allows you to manage SQL Server without having to use remote desktop (RDP) to the server and then launch SSMS (if SSMS was installed) to perform a simple query of your databases. This is a must-have tool for any ConfigMgr Administrator.

Let’s get started!

Click on the Download SQL Server Management Studio link.

 

Click Save.

Once the setup is executed, click on the Install button.

 

Click on the Yes button at the User Account Control (UAC) prompt.

 

<Wait> as this process will take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

Click Restart to complete the installation.

Licensing

From time to time I’m asked about SSMS’ licensing and I always say that it is free, but ITAM people sometimes think there is a cost. To help anyone out who might still think there’s a cost, I will quote (the highlighting is me) from SSMS’ download page.

“This generally available release of SSMS is free and does not require a SQL Server license to install and use.”

In my opinion, this means that you can install SSMS on your workstation without any licensing cost.

Notes

I always recommend using the latest version of SSMS no matter what version of SQL Server you are running. Why? Because the latest version of SSMS will support all versions of SQL Server from 2005 to the current release. I my case, I switch between SQL Server 2008 R2 for my ConfigMgr 2007 lab to SQL Server 2016 and SQL Server 2014 within my ConfigMgr Current Branch lab.

The one thing to remember is that once you install SSMS, it will ask you to upgrade when needed. It seems to me that this occurs on a monthly basis. If you don’t upgrade you might have issues connecting to the latest version of SQL Server, but it will still connect to earlier versions without any problem.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at @GarthMJ.