Achieve bi-directional replication

The following is one of 15 replication tips in 15 minutes. Click here to return to the full list of tips.

2 of 15 replication tips: Achieve bi-directional replication

If you require bi-directional replication between two servers, use the following techniques according to your environment:

Use transactional replication if

  • only one node of the publisher-subscriber pair is updated at a time or if
  • you have perfect partitioning.

    Use transactional replication with immediate updating subscribers if

  • your publisher has more than one subscriber,
  • the majority of the data manipulation language (DML) activity occurs on your publisher,
  • and you have well connected links.

    Use queued updating if

  • your publisher has between two and 10 subscribers,
  • the majority of the DML occurs on your publisher,
  • and your links or publisher could go offline.

    Use merge replication if

  • you have many subscribers,
  • you need rich conflict handling,
  • and your subscribers go offline frequently.

    Click here to return to 15 replication tips in 15 minutes.

    About the author: Hilary Cotter has been involved in IT for more than 20 years as a Web and database consultant. Microsoft first awarded Cotter the Microsoft SQL Server MVP award in 2001. Cotter received his bachelor of applied science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto and subsequently studied both economics at the University of Calgary and computer science at UC Berkeley. He is the author of a book on SQL Server transactional replication and is currently working on books on merge replication and Microsoft search technologies.

    This was first published in July 2005

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