---
title: "View Availability Group Properties (SQL Server) | Microsoft Docs"
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# View Availability Group Properties (SQL Server)
This topic describes how to view the properties of an availability group for an Always On availability group by using [!INCLUDE[ssManStudioFull](../../../includes/ssmanstudiofull-md.md)] or [!INCLUDE[tsql](../../../includes/tsql-md.md)] in [!INCLUDE[ssCurrent](../../../includes/sscurrent-md.md)].
- **To view availability group properties, using:**
[SQL Server Management Studio](#SSMSProcedure)
[Transact-SQL](#TsqlProcedure)
## Using SQL Server Management Studio
**To view and change the properties an availability group**
1. In Object Explorer, connect to the server instance that hosts the primary replica, and expand the server tree.
2. Expand the **Always On High Availability** node and the **Availability Groups** node.
3. Right-click the availability group whose properties you want to view, and select the **Properties** command.
4. In the **Availability Group Properties** dialog box, use the **General** and **Backup Preferences** pages to view and, in some cases, change properties of the selected availability group. For more information, see [Availability Group Properties: New Availability Group (General Page)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/availability-group-properties-new-availability-group-general-page.md) and [Availability Group Properties: New Availability Group (Backup Preferences Page)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/availability-group-properties-new-availability-group-backup-preferences-page.md).
Use the **Permissions** page to view the current logins, roles, and explicit permissions associated with the availability group. For more information, see [Permissions or Securables Page](../../../relational-databases/security/permissions-or-securables-page.md).
## Using Transact-SQL
**To view the properties and state of an availability group**
To query the properties and states of the availability groups for which the server instance hosts an availability replica, use the following views:
[sys.availability_groups](../../../relational-databases/system-catalog-views/sys-availability-groups-transact-sql.md)
Returns a row for each availability group for which the local instance of [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] hosts an availability replica. Each row contains a cached copy of the availability group metadata.
**Column names:** group_id, name, resource_id, resource_group_id, failure_condition_level, health_check_timeout, automated_backup_preference, automated_backup_preference_desc
[sys.availability_groups_cluster](../../../relational-databases/system-catalog-views/sys-availability-groups-cluster-transact-sql.md)
Returns a row for each availability group in the WSFC cluster. Each row contains the availability group metadata from the Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) cluster.
**Column names:** group_id, name, resource_id, resource_group_id, failure_condition_level, health_check_timeout, automated_backup_preference, automated_backup_preference_desc
[sys.dm_hadr_availability_group_states](../../../relational-databases/system-dynamic-management-views/sys-dm-hadr-availability-group-states-transact-sql.md)
Returns a row for each availability group that possesses an availability replica on the local instance of [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)]. Each row displays the states that define the health of a given availability group.
**Column names:** group_id, primary_replica, primary_recovery_health, primary_recovery_health_desc, secondary_recovery_health, secondary_recovery_health_desc, synchronization_health, synchronization_health_desc
## Related Tasks
**To view information about availability groups**
- [View Availability Replica Properties (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/view-availability-replica-properties-sql-server.md)
- [View Availability Group Listener Properties (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/view-availability-group-listener-properties-sql-server.md)
- [Always On Policies for Operational Issues with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/always-on-policies-for-operational-issues-always-on-availability.md)
- [Use the Always On Dashboard (SQL Server Management Studio)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/use-the-always-on-dashboard-sql-server-management-studio.md)
- [Monitor Availability Groups (Transact-SQL)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/monitor-availability-groups-transact-sql.md)
**To configure an existing availability group**
- [Add a Secondary Replica to an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/add-a-secondary-replica-to-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
- [Remove a Secondary Replica from an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/remove-a-secondary-replica-from-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
- [Add a Database to an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/availability-group-add-a-database.md)
- [Remove a Secondary Database from an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/remove-a-secondary-database-from-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
- [Create or Configure an Availability Group Listener (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/create-or-configure-an-availability-group-listener-sql-server.md)
- [Remove an Availability Group Listener (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/remove-an-availability-group-listener-sql-server.md)
- [Remove a Primary Database from an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/remove-a-primary-database-from-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
- [Remove an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/remove-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
**To manually fail over an availability group**
- [Perform a Planned Manual Failover of an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/perform-a-planned-manual-failover-of-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
- [Perform a Forced Manual Failover of an Availability Group (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/perform-a-forced-manual-failover-of-an-availability-group-sql-server.md)
## See Also
[Overview of Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/overview-of-always-on-availability-groups-sql-server.md)
[Monitor Availability Groups (Transact-SQL)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/monitor-availability-groups-transact-sql.md)
[Always On Policies for Operational Issues with Always On Availability Groups (SQL Server)](../../../database-engine/availability-groups/windows/always-on-policies-for-operational-issues-always-on-availability.md)