Other versions are also available for the following:
SQL Server 2008 Books Online (November 2009)
Security Catalog Views (Transact-SQL)
Security information is exposed in catalog views that are optimized for performance and utility. When possible, use the following catalog views to access catalog metadata.

Database-Level Views

Server-Level Views

Encryption Views

SQL Server Audit Views

Permissions
In SQL Server 2005 and later versions, the visibility of the metadata in catalog views is limited to securables that a user either owns or on which the user has been granted some permission. For more information, see Metadata Visibility Configuration.

See Also