Can I connect to a SQL Server 2000 instance from SQL Server Management Studio 2012?

I would like to update my development machine to SQL Server 2012 but I still manage some (very old) SQL Server 2000 machines. Wil my 2012 SSMS be able to connect to those SQL Server 2000 machines?

SQL Server 2008 R2 works fine (what I have now).

Yes, you absolutely CAN connect to a SQL Server 2000 instance using SSMS 2012 as a client. I do it every day as I still have 5 SQL Server 2000 instances in my environment that I manage. However, keep in mind that SSMS will present you with some options based on functions that are available in the version of SSMS you are using, and you may not be able to perform those functions from SSMS due to differences in commands between the versions.

And there are some things that SQL 2k simply doesn't like coming from SSMS. For example, if you use the GUI to manage permissions for a database role be prepared for SSMS to crash in some circumstances. For that reason it is always a good idea to keep a copy of SQL 2000 Enterprise Manager handy somewhere.

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#22833, answer score: 9