How to compare the versions of 2 SharePoint Servers

Question

I want to know how to find out the versions of 2 SharePoint servers in my development environment. I tried with the PowerShell command (get-spfarm).buildversion

I got the below result for development server1

   PS C:\Windows\system32> (get-spfarm).buildversion

   Major  Minor  Build  Revision
   -----  -----  -----  --------
   15     0      4551   1508    

and got the below result for development server2

   PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-PSSnapin "microsoft.sharepoint.powershell"

   (get-spfarm).buildversion

    Major  Minor  Build  Revision
    -----  -----  -----  --------
    15     0      4551   1508  

Does this means that these two servers are using the same version?I have to take the backup of content db from server2 to server1. When I performed this, it throws error in sql server.Does this means that these 2 versions were not same.

Answer 1

Not only the SharePoint versions but also the SQL server need to be the same. Please make sure all the SQL Server bits also have the same CU and SP's.

For a quick check run the following command in your SQL Management Studio.

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY ('productlevel'), SERVERPROPERTY ('edition')

Let me know if you still see any queries.

Answer 2

The quickest way would probably be to go to Central Administration, System Settings, and "Manage servers in this farm": then check the value in "Configuration database version" (and see the table at http://blogs.technet.com/b/steve_chen/archive/2013/03/26/3561010.aspx to know corresponding CU/SP).

It may also happen that binaries of a Cumulative Update or Service Pack has been deployed, but without running the Products Configuration Wizard. In that case, the "Configuration database version" may not be updated (as the DB has not really been updated). You may check what has been installed in CA, "Upgrade and Migration" and "Check product and patch installation status".