In SQL Server you can use the sp_primarykeys system stored procedure to return the primary key columns from a specified linked server. It returns one row per key column, for the specified remote table.
The simplest way to execute this stored procedure is to pass the name of the linked server. Doing that will return all primary keys from the default database on the specified linked server.
You also have the option of specifying a different database and/or a specific table schema.
Syntax
The syntax goes like this:
sp_primarykeys [ @table_server = ] 'table_server'
[ , [ @table_name = ] 'table_name' ]
[ , [ @table_schema = ] 'table_schema' ]
[ , [ @table_catalog = ] 'table_catalog' ]
The @table_server argument is the only required argument. This is the name of the linked server that you want the primary key information from.
The other arguments are optional.
Example 1 – Return all Primary Keys in the Default Database
The following example returns all primary keys from the default database on the linked server called Homer.
EXEC sp_primarykeys @table_server = 'Homer';
It can also be run like this:
EXEC sp_primarykeys 'Homer';
Result:
+-------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+-----------+-----------+ | TABLE_CAT | TABLE_SCHEM | TABLE_NAME | COLUMN_NAME | KEY_SEQ | PK_NAME | |-------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+-----------+-----------| | Music | dbo | Albums | AlbumId | 1 | NULL | | Music | dbo | Artists | ArtistId | 1 | NULL | | Music | dbo | Country | CountryId | 1 | NULL | | Music | dbo | Genres | GenreId | 1 | NULL | +-------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+-----------+-----------+
In this case there are four primary key columns (they’re listed under COLUMN_NAME). You’ll notice that the PK_NAME column is NULL. This column is for the primary key identifier. Microsoft states that this returns NULL if not applicable to the data source.
The KEY_SEQ column is the sequence number of the column in a multicolumn primary key. In this case there were no multicolumn primary keys, so the value is 1 for each primary key. The next example returns some results with multicolumn primary keys.
Example 2 – Specify a Different Database
The following example specifies that the WideWorldImportersDW database should be used.
EXEC sp_primarykeys @table_server = 'Homer', @table_catalog = 'WideWorldImportersDW';
Result:
+----------------------+---------------+-------------------------+------------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | TABLE_CAT | TABLE_SCHEM | TABLE_NAME | COLUMN_NAME | KEY_SEQ | PK_NAME | |----------------------+---------------+-------------------------+------------------------------+-----------+-----------| | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | City | City Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Customer | Customer Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Date | Date | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Employee | Employee Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Payment Method | Payment Method Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Stock Item | Stock Item Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Supplier | Supplier Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Dimension | Transaction Type | Transaction Type Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Movement | Movement Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Movement | Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Order | Order Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Order | Order Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Purchase | Purchase Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Purchase | Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Sale | Sale Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Sale | Invoice Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Stock Holding | Stock Holding Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Transaction | Transaction Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Transaction | Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | City_Staging | City Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Customer_Staging | Customer Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Employee_Staging | Employee Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | ETL Cutoff | Table Name | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Lineage | Lineage Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Movement_Staging | Movement Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Order_Staging | Order Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | PaymentMethod_Staging | Payment Method Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Purchase_Staging | Purchase Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Sale_Staging | Sale Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | StockHolding_Staging | Stock Holding Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | StockItem_Staging | Stock Item Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Supplier_Staging | Supplier Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | Transaction_Staging | Transaction Staging Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Integration | TransactionType_Staging | Transaction Type Staging Key | 1 | NULL | +----------------------+---------------+-------------------------+------------------------------+-----------+-----------+
Example 3 – Specify a Table Schema
The following example narrows the results to a specific table schema.
EXEC sp_primarykeys @table_server = 'Homer', @table_schema = 'Fact', @table_catalog = 'WideWorldImportersDW';
Results:
+----------------------+---------------+---------------+-------------------+-----------+-----------+ | TABLE_CAT | TABLE_SCHEM | TABLE_NAME | COLUMN_NAME | KEY_SEQ | PK_NAME | |----------------------+---------------+---------------+-------------------+-----------+-----------| | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Movement | Movement Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Movement | Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Order | Order Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Order | Order Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Purchase | Purchase Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Purchase | Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Sale | Sale Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Sale | Invoice Date Key | 2 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Stock Holding | Stock Holding Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Transaction | Transaction Key | 1 | NULL | | WideWorldImportersDW | Fact | Transaction | Date Key | 2 | NULL | +----------------------+---------------+---------------+-------------------+-----------+-----------+