Chapter 26 -- Microsoft SQL Server Replication: Overview and Snapshot Replication

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Chapter 26

Microsoft SQL Server database replication technology is designed to help you distribute data and stored procedures among the servers in your company. Replication allows you to configure systems to copy data to other systems automatically. Using database replication, you can copy as much or as little data as you want, and you can allocate data among as many systems as you want. Because the replication process is automatic and because during replication a database stores data about the state of the replication as well as the replicated data, there is no danger in losing data. If a replication procedure is interrupted (say, due to a power failure), replication resumes from the point of failure as soon as the systems are running normally again.

Because replication is a complex process, three chapters in this book are devoted to the topic of replication. In this chapter, you will learn about the basics of replication and about the snapshot replication method. In Chapter 27, you will learn about transactional replication, and in Chapter 28, you will learn about merge replication. These three chapters provide the information you need to thoroughly understand SQL Server replication, including understanding how to configure, administer, and use replication technology.