New naming schema for Microsoft SQL Server software update packages

View products that this article applies to.

For a Microsoft Office version of this article, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

816916 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816916/ ) New naming schema for Microsoft Office software update packages

For a Microsoft Exchange version of this article, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

817903 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817903/ ) New naming schema for Exchange Server software update packages

For a Microsoft Windows version of this article, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

816915 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816915/ ) New file naming schema for Microsoft Windows software update packages

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SUMMARY

Microsoft has adopted a standardized naming schema for all the software update packages for SQL Server that are created and that are distributed by Microsoft.

A software update is an executable (.exe) file that contains one or more files that you can apply to Microsoft SQL Server to correct a specific problem. Software updates are distributed by Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) to customers whose computers are severely affected by a specific problem. Critical and recommended updates are software updates that we recommend for all customers. Critical or recommended updates can be obtained from the Microsoft Download Center, from Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) or from other Microsoft Web sites.

Microsoft has adopted this new naming schema for software update packages for the following reasons:

It creates consistency across Microsoft software update packages.
It makes it easier to search for software updated packages and Knowledge Base articles.
It clearly identifies the language of a software update package and the intended SQL Server version, when applicable.

MORE INFORMATION

New schema for naming SQL Server software update packages

Microsoft uses the following schema to name SQL Server software update packages:

ProductName-KBArticleNumber-BuildNumber-Version-Platform Identifier-Optional Field-Language Code.exe

For example, the following update packages are named according to this schema:

Microsoft SQL Server 2000: SQL2000-KB123456-8.00.0000-x86-ENU.exe
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0: SQL70-KB123456-7.00.0000-x86-ENU.exe
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: SQL2000.AS-KB123456-8.00.0000-x86-ENU.exe
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services: SQL2000.NS-KB123456-x86.exe

The following list provides information about each attribute in the new naming schema.

ProductName: The full product name, including the product version information. For SQL Server, this attribute is one of the following:
- SQL2000
  For SQL Server 2000
- SQL70
  For SQL Server 7.0
- SQL2000.NS
  For SQL Server 2000 Notification Services
- SQL2000.RS
  For SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services
- SQL2000.AS
  For SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services
KBArticleNumber: The Microsoft Knowledge Base article id that is associated with the software update.
BuildNumber: The SQL Server build number that includes the software update. For example, in SQL2000-KB840223-8.00.1007-ia64-ENU.exe, the build version of SQL Server is 8.00.1007. This will correspond to the file version of Sqlservr.exe and to the returned value from @@version run against this server instance.
Version: An optional field that indicates the version of the software release. Typically, this field is omitted unless the package is rereleased. Therefore, every package that has not been rereleased has a default "-v1," which means that this is the first release. If a package is rereleased, this information is added to the package name and to the properties as "-v2." This field will be incremented as many times as the package is rereleased.
Platform Identifier: This field is used to indicate on which processor architecture the particular hotfix package runs. The current options are the following:
- x86
  This package runs on x86 platforms.
- ia64
  This package runs on Itanium IA-64 platforms for 64-bit.
- x64
  This package only runs on AMD x64 and compatible systems.
- x86x64
  This package will install x86 binaries on both x86 platforms and x64 platforms.
Optional Field: For SQL Server hotfixes, this optional field is used to indicate certain other installer limitations that affect your choice of correct packaging. The only Optional Field that is currently used is NT98ME. NT98ME indicates that the package is designed only for certain Microsoft Windows operating systems. For example, consider SQL2000-KB905765-8.00.1030-x86-ENU-NT98ME.exe and SQL2000-KB905765-8.00.1030-x86-ENU.exe. The first package will only run on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition. The second package will only run on Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
Language Code: This field specifies which language version of the product is supported by this hotfix package. If no language code is specified, the hotfix package is not localized. The hotfix package successfully updates any language version of the product. If a language code is specified, the hotfix package can only be installed on products that are installed in the same language. For example, SQL2000-KB905765-8.00.1030-x86-ENU.exe can only be installed on an English installation of SQL Server 2000. The installation will fail if SQL2000-KB905765-8.00.1030-x86-ENU.exe is installed on a German instance of SQL Server 2000. You receive a message that SQL2000-KB905765-8.00.1030-x86-ENU.exe is the incorrect language for that product. Instead, you must install SQL2000-KB905765-8.00.1030-x86-DEU.exe on a German instance of SQL Server 2000.