You can use the @@DBTS function to get the current rowversion of a given database in SQL Server. More specifically, it returns the last-used rowversion value of the current database.

Example 1 – Basic Usage

To use the @@DBTS function, simply select it within a SELECT statement.

Like this:

SELECT @@DBTS;

Result:

+--------------------+
| (No column name)   |
|--------------------|
| 0x0000000000000FA0 |
+--------------------+

Example 2 – Different Databases

As mentioned, the rowversion value is specific to each database. Therefore, you need to make sure you’re in the right database.

Here’s an example to demonstrate:

USE Music;
SELECT @@DBTS AS "Music rowversion";

Use WideWorldImportersDW;
SELECT @@DBTS AS "WideWorldImportersDW rowversion";

Result:

Changed database context to 'Music'.
+--------------------+
| Music rowversion   |
|--------------------|
| 0x00000000000007D0 |
+--------------------+
(1 row affected)
Changed database context to 'WideWorldImportersDW'.
+-----------------------------------+
| WideWorldImportersDW rowversion   |
|-----------------------------------|
| 0x0000000000015F90                |
+-----------------------------------+
(1 row affected)

Where is this Value Used?

The rowversion value is used by columns that have either a rowversion or timestamp data type. Such columns are automatically updated with a unique number, based on the incremented value of rowversion, whenever an insert or update occurs.

Using the above example, if I insert or update a row in the Music database, and that row has a rowversion column, that column’s value will probably be set to 0x00000000000007D1 (i.e. 0x00000000000007D0 incremented by 1). At this stage, if I was to use @@DBTS against that database, it would return 0x00000000000007D1 (because that’s the last-used rowcount value).

If I then update that row, its rowversion column will become 0x00000000000007D2. This is true, even if the update operation didn’t actually change any data. This time, if I run @@DBTS it would return 0x00000000000007D2.

For an example that demonstrates this, see What is “rowversion” in SQL Server.

The timestamp data type is actually a synonym for rowversion, so the value returned by @@DBTS reflects the current rowversion value whether it was incremented by a rowversion column or a timestamp column.

Also note that timestamp is one of four deprecated data types that are in maintenance mode and may be removed in a future version of SQL Server. Therefore you should use rowversion instead of timestamp in new development work. You should also plan to modify applications that currently use timestamp.