Alternate snapshot location for merge replication subscriber

Hi,
I'm trying to set up a subscriber for merge replication over https. The
initial snapshot file is about 50 Gigs and I'm wondering if its
possible to download & store this snapshot somewhere other than on my
database drive (I have size contraints). Any ideas or direction?
Thanks,
JC
Hi
Yes this feature is available for merge replication, there is some more
information here about alternate snapshot locations.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...limpl_3vcj.asp
Nabila Lacey
<jbzcooper@.gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1139947715.833574.258470@.g47g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi,
> I'm trying to set up a subscriber for merge replication over https. The
> initial snapshot file is about 50 Gigs and I'm wondering if its
> possible to download & store this snapshot somewhere other than on my
> database drive (I have size contraints). Any ideas or direction?
> Thanks,
> JC
>
|||As well as Nabila's advice, you might want to consider using winzip 9.0 or
winrar to speed up the data transfer. Compression is available in SQL Server
but is limited to the 2GB limitation of a CAB file.
Cheers,
Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP, www.replicationanswers.com
(recommended sql server 2000 replication book:
http://www.nwsu.com/0974973602p.html)
|||Thank you both. I suppose I should have been more clear. I have no
control over the publication itself and thus cannot specify an
alternate location on the publisher. I was told that the drive I was
replicating to needed at least 100GB free to house both the snapshot
and the database it would be loaded into. Is it possible for me to zip
and download the snapshot to my subscriber (assuming they will let me)
on an alternate drive and point my subscription to that?
I do appreciate the help,
Jeremiah
|||Jeremiah,
the alternative snapshot location I was referring to is basically a
subscriber setting. the method you propose is exactly what I have done in
the past for large publications.
Cheers,
Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP, www.replicationanswers.com
(recommended sql server 2000 replication book:
http://www.nwsu.com/0974973602p.html)

Alternate snapshot for push subscribtion

Can I define an alternate snapshot file location for a push subscriber?
How?
Have a look at the agent profile parameters - http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...trib_2f09.asp.
EG for the distribution agent there is a property -AltSnapshotFolder
Regards,
Paul Ibison
|||right click on your publication, select publication properties, select
snapshot location. Then select on the Generate snapshots in the following
location, and enter a new snapshot location. Then restart your snapshot
agent, and your distribution agent.
"Humam" <anonymous@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:490BF15E-9BC5-4042-BEC4-A98383BBFF18@.microsoft.com...
> Can I define an alternate snapshot file location for a push subscriber?
> How?
>
|||That is right, but I need to transfer the snapshot files
to where the subscriber resides (on CD's).
How can I configure the push subscriber to use the
snapshot files located at the subscriber?
Thanks for your help.

>--Original Message--
>right click on your publication, select publication
properties, select
>snapshot location. Then select on the Generate snapshots
in the following
>location, and enter a new snapshot location. Then restart
your snapshot
>agent, and your distribution agent.
>"Humam" <anonymous@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message
>news:490BF15E-9BC5-4042-BEC4-A98383BBFF18@.microsoft.com...
push subscriber?
>
>.
>
|||Run your snapshot agent. Copy the snapshot path from repldata on down to
your subscriber.
Then when you pull your subscriber go through the prompts using the wizard
until you get to the Snapshot Delivery dialog. Select the Use snapshot files
from the following folder and point to the repldata folder you have copied
from your publisher. Then click on next and continue to build your pull
subscription.
"Humam" <anonymous@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1621e01c41711$30106440$a301280a@.phx.gbl...
> That is right, but I need to transfer the snapshot files
> to where the subscriber resides (on CD's).
> How can I configure the push subscriber to use the
> snapshot files located at the subscriber?
> Thanks for your help.
> properties, select
> in the following
> your snapshot
> message
> push subscriber?

Alternate Snapshot Folder during Setup in 2005

One of the things that annoys me in 2005 is that you cannot change the snapshot location during the setup of the replication. Does anyone know if I missed something or if they are going to change that in a future patch?

Hi Rich,

Although you can't set alternate snapshot folder locations in publication setup wizard, you can change it immediately in "Publication Properties" dialog. Please see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms151745.aspx.

If you would like to specify default snapshot location, you can set it in distributor property dialog (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms151258.aspx)

Peng

|||This is true, but if you are pulling a subsription and you use the ability to setup multiple subscribers all at once then I have to go to the properties of each subscription and change the alternate folder location which is a pain.|||

What is the purpose of using alternate snapshot location, are you no longer in need of using the default snapshot location? You're not required to need both, you can set the default to be the location of the alternate, then you don't have to worry about specifying altnernate snapshot location. See books online topic "Alternate Snapshot Folder Locations". ms-help://MS.SQLCC.v9/MS.SQLSVR.v9.en/rpldata9/html/437553b0-19df-4522-8f27-06b5bc747c69.htm.

|||

In this case I do require both. There is a publisher in Toronto that I have limited control over because it is owned y a different company. My distributor is also in Toronto (different facility) where the snapshots are storedin RAW format for my subscribers in Toronto. I then have a process where I compress the snapshots and FTP them to a server I have in Vancouver and ucompress them for my subscribers there. So in this case I need both the default and alternate location. I have about 16 publications like that and about 8 go to each subsciber that I have and I have about 13 subscribers currently.

I'll check out BOL on that matter as you suggest.

Thanks

Rich

Alter table that is masked for replication

Hi,
I have a snapshot replication between two SQL server 2000 (Main Svr & Backup
Svr). At present the replication is working well but now due enhancement i
need to alter soem of the table. When I perform the alteration to the 'Main
Svr' I get a error message 'Cannot delete and create table and it is used by
replication'.
How can I alter the table?
After alteration will this be reflected back to 'Backup Svr'?
The 'Backup Svr' is hosted as another SQL instance on a Win2k server. How
can I connect to this second instance using ADODB (V2.8) from visual basic.
Thanks
Hari
Hi Paul,
Thanks for that let me try it.
Hope you could also help me on this.
How can i connect to secodn sql instance using ADODB in VB.
Thanks,
Hari
"Paul Ibison" wrote:

> To add a column, use sp_repladdcolumn. To drop one use
> sp_repldropcolumn. To change an existing column, you
> could add a new column with the new datatype
> (sp_repladdcolumn), do an update on the table to populate
> the column, then drop the column (sp_repldropcolumn). Do
> this again to create the column having the same original
> name. Alternatively you could use:
> sp_dropsubscription @.publication = 'northwindxxx'
> , @.article = 'region'
> , @.subscriber = 'pll-lt-16'
> sp_droparticle @.publication = 'northwindxxx'
> , @.article = 'region'
> sp_refreshsubscriptions @.publication ='northwindxxx'
> And do the opposite to add back in once the change has
> been made.
> Rgds,
> Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP, www.replicationanswers.com
> (recommended sql server 2000 replication book:
> http://www.nwsu.com/0974973602p.html)
>

Almost Replicated - I think

I have a new server, new instance of SQL on the network
with an old server,old SQL db. I attempted to set up
replication by creating a snapshot and making new server
(Win 2k3) a subscriber to publisher/distributor. I get
the following error:
Invalid column name ', '.
(Source: NewServer (Data source); Error number: 207)
Confused (1) because NewServer had nothing on it (only
standard SQL install db and (2) don't know where to go
next.
Any help, ideas?
TIA
Rob
Rob,
if you have been replicating a view then I have seen this before. This
problem occurs because the Snapshot Agent always sets the QUOTED_IDENTIFIER
option to ON, regardless of the actual setting. Therefore, if the stored
procedures or views use double quotation marks, the Distribution Agent or
the Merge Agent assumes the default behavior of using double quotation marks
for identifiers only. To get round this, you can change the object script to
refer to literals using single quotes, or use DTS to transfer the objects.
If this is not the issue, I came across this error in merge replication that
might be of use:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;821535
HTH,
Paul Ibison