What is meant by Database Replication

[Deep123]

Hi,, While searching for some information on Database, i found this post What do you meant by Database on this forum. Well, it contains some important and useful information. But can anyone make me know what is meant by Database Replication ? Many times i come across this term while working around SQL Server. Please help..

[Spyrus]

Database replication is the creation and maintenance of multiple copies of the same database. In long definition, it is the frequent electronic copying data from a database in one computer or server to a database in another so that all users share the same level of information. Implementing and maintaining replication might not be a simple proposition. If you have numerous database servers in various types of replication should be implied, a simple task quickly complex. The implementation of replication can also be complex the application architecture. Replication allows you to take one database, make an exact copy of it on another server, and set one of them to take all its updates from the other.

In addition to replication, in SQL Server 2008, you can sychronize databases by using Microsoft Sync Framework and Sync Services for ADO.NET. Sync Services for ADO.NET provides an intuitive and flexible API that you can use to build applications that target offline and collaboration scenarios.

[Anand D.]

Replication is a set of technologies for copying and distributing data and database objects from one database to another and then synchronizing between databases to maintain consistency. Using replication, you can distribute data to different locations and to remote or mobile users over local and wide area networks, dial-up connections, wireless connections, and the Internet. Many times one database server maintains the primary copy of the database and additional database servers maintain copies of the slave database. However, replication involves much more than setup, and unfortunately there aren't many sources of information for implementing and troubleshooting it.

[Steve123]

Database replication can be done in 3 ways, that is Snapshot replication, Merging replication and Transactional replication.

Snapshot replication is used to provide the initial data set for transactional and merge replication; it can also be used when complete refreshes of data are appropriate. With these three types of replication, SQL Server provides a powerful and flexible system for synchronizing data across your enterprise.

Merge replication is primarily designed for mobile applications or distributed server applications that have possible data conflicts. Common scenarios include: exchanging data with mobile users; consumer point of sale (POS) applications; and integration of data from multiple sites.

Transactional replication is typically used in server-to-server scenarios that require high throughput, including: improving scalability and availability; data warehousing and reporting; integrating data from multiple sites; integrating heterogeneous data; and offloading batch processing.