Configuring Publishing and Distribution

3 4

Now that you have been introduced to basic replication concepts, let's look at how to perform the first step in configuring replication in SQL Server: setting up publishing and distribution. To carry out this task, you use the Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard. (Although it is possible to completely configure SQL Server replication by using stored procedures, the preferred method is to use the replication configuration wizards.) Other wizards used in the process of configuring replication (all accessed through Enterprise Manager) are listed here:

  • Create Publication Wizard
  • Create Pull Subscription Wizard
  • Create Push Subscription Wizard
  • Disable Publishing And Distribution Wizard

You use the procedures described in this section to set up publishing and distribution no matter which type of replication you want to implement. You configure a replication type after you configure publishing and distribution. Instructions for setting up specific types of replication are provided later in this chapter and in the next two chapters. To configure publishing and distribution, follow these steps:

  1. In Enterprise Manager, click the server you want to configure as the distributor. Choose Wizards from the Tools menu. In the Select Wizard dialog box that appears, expand the Replication folder, and then select Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard, as shown in Figure 26-1. Click OK.

    Figure 26-1. The Select Wizard dialog box.

  2. The Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard welcome screen appears, as shown in Figure 26-2.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-2. The Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard welcome screen.

  3. Click Next to display the Select Distributor screen, shown in Figure 26-3.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-3. The Select Distributor screen.

  4. In this screen, you can choose to make the server you selected in step 1 the distributor as well as the publisher or you can choose to configure only publishing and use an already configured distributor. If you choose to set up the recently selected system as the distributor, click the first option button. The wizard will eventually create the distribution database and log for you. If you want to use another SQL Server system as the distributor, click the second option button. If no other SQL Server systems are configured as distributors, only the first option will be available. You will likely want to use a dedicated system as the distributor.

    NOTE


    A publisher can have only one distributor defined on it. All publications must use the same distributor.

  5. If you choose to use another system as the distributor, you must register the SQL Server system and it must already be configured as a distributor. Click Add Server and, in the Registered SQL Server Properties window, select an authentication method to establish a connection to the SQL Server system on the distributor.
  6. For our example, choose to make the system that you are configuring the distributor. After all, this section is about how to configure the distributor.
  7. At this point, the wizard makes sure that the publisher has access to the distributor. If the account that SQL Server runs under does not have access, the SQL Server Agent Properties window is invoked to allow you to modify the agent login account. This window is shown in Figure 26-4.

    Figure 26-4. The SQL Server Agent Properties window.

    NOTE


    If you had configured SQL Server to use the LocalSystem account when you installed it, you will see this message. The LocalSystem account has permissions only on the local system; hence the name. If you had configured SQL Server during the installation process to use a domain account, you will not get the warning and you will not need to access the SQL Server Agent Properties window.

  8. In this window, you can modify other features of SQL Server Agent. (For more information, see Chapter 31.) When you are finished modifying SQL Server Agent, click OK.
  9. The Configure SQL Server Agent screen appears, as shown in Figure 26-5. This screen prompts you to configure the SQL Server Agent to start automatically. Replication is run under the command of the SQL Server Agent, so if the Agent is not running, neither will replication. Choose to have the SQL Server Agent start automatically (recommended) or choose to start it manually. Click Next to continue.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-5. The Configure SQL Server Agent screen.

  10. The Specify Snapshot Folder screen appears, shown in Figure 26-6. This screen allows you to set the snapshot location. This location is the directory where snapshots will reside. Choose a new location or keep the default location. Click Next to continue.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-6. The Specify Snapshot Folder screen.

  11. The Customize The Configuration screen appears, as shown in Figure 26-7.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-7. The Customize The Configuration screen.

  12. In this screen, you can either accept the default configuration options for the distribution database (the second option) or customize the distribution database (the first option). If you accept the default settings, the process is complete, and you will proceed to a final screen. For this example, select the first option.

    NOTE


    The default location of the SQL Server data files might be on a disk drive with insufficient performance and space. In the next step, you will see how to relocate the distribution database to a disk drive with sufficient space and I/O performance capacity.

  13. Click Next to display the Provide Distribution Database Information screen, shown in Figure 26-8. Here you can specify the database name and the locations for the distribution database and log files. You must do this if the distribution database will exceed the space available in the default location.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-8. The Provide Distribution Database Information screen.

  14. Click Next to display the Enable Publishers screen, shown in Figure 26-9. In this screen, you can choose to use a different publisher than the server selected in step 1, or you can add publishers. (Click New to establish a connection to SQL Server on the new publisher.)
  15. Click Next to display the Enable Publication Databases screen, shown in Figure 26-10. Here you can enable transactional replication or merge replication for specific databases. By default, no databases on the publisher are enabled. If you skip this step, you will create a publisher and distributor but will have no publications defined. You can then define publications by using the Create Publication Wizard, which is the preferred method.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-9. The Enable Publishers screen.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-10. The Enable Publication Databases screen.

  16. Click Next to display the Enable Subscribers screen, shown in Figure 26-11. In this screen, you can choose a subscriber for the publisher you selected. However, it's preferable to do this separately using the Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-11. The Enable Subscribers screen.

  17. Click Next to display the Completing The Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard screen, shown in Figure 26-12. This screen shows a summary of your settings. Click Finish to apply the configuration you have created. This might take a few minutes. After the process is complete, you will be presented with several informational screens that tell you about the progress of the setup as well as whether you need to configure SQL Server Agent for automatic startup. For the replication agents to run, SQL Server Agent must be running. Notice that once this wizard is completed, the Replication Monitor folder appears in Enterprise Manager.

    NOTE


    If you want to alter the configuration of a replicated database, click the database in Enterprise Manager, and point to Replication on the Tools menu to display a submenu containing options for managing your replication configuration.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 26-12. The Completing The Configure Publishing And Distribution Wizard screen.



Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Companion
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Administrators Companion
ISBN: B001HC0RPI
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 264

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net