Is there an “IF EXISTS” test for a linked server?

Question

I want to be able to programmatically (in T-SQL) check if a specific linked server already exists for my current server and database (so that if the link doesn\'t exist yet,

Answer 1

IF NOT EXISTS ( SELECT TOP (1) * FROM sysservers WHERE srvname = 'myserver\devdb_1' )

Answer 2

Check in sys.servers:

if not exists(select * from sys.servers where name = N'myserver\devdb_1')