How to install downgrade of SQL Standard 2016 to Standard 2014 This is probably a super basic question, but if I purchase an OEM SQL Server 2016 Standard edition, how would I install it as 2014 to match the other servers? Can I get a 2014 installer and use the 2016 license key during the installation?
If you want a Sql Server 2014 instance, you'll need to install that specific version. Installing Sql Server 2016 will create a Sql Server 2016 instance, but you can control certain database behaviors to be compatible with the specified version of SQL Server by ALTERING the COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL.