System Tables

A table is a collection of rows (records) that have associated columns (fields). The master database and each user database contain system tables of information about SQL Server as a whole and about each user database.

All of the SQL Server - supplied tables in the master database (the controlling database) are considered system tables. Each user database is created with a subset of those system tables.

The master database and its tables are created when you install SQL Server. The system tables in a user database are automatically created when the database is created. The names of most system tables begin with sys. For in-depth information about the system tables, see the Microsoft SQL Server Transact-SQL Reference.

For more information, choose one of the following topics:

Permissions for System Tables

Querying the System Tables