SQL Server Replication for Data Storage for Your Business

Database management systems are among the most important software systems for businesses in the information age. SQL Server is an enterprise level RDBMS provided by Microsoft and is widely used in the business world. SQL Server provides the technology that allows you to replicate your data to different servers thus allowing your company data to be stored in more than one location this process is called replication.

Replication is the process of sharing data between databases in different locations. Using replication, you create copies of the database and share the copy with different users. This allows them to make changes to their local copy of the database and later synchronize the changes to the source database.

Database replication can also supplement your disaster-recovery plans by duplicating the data from a local database server to a remote database server. If the primary server fails, your applications can switch to the replicated copy of the data and continue operations.

You can automatically backup a database by keeping a replica on a different computer. Replication allows you to continue making changes online.

You can replicate a database on additional network servers and reassign users to balance the loads across those servers.

Microsoft SQL server uses publishing industry model to represent the components and processes in replication architecture.

Based on the publication model we can identify the following entities for the SQL Server replication model: Publisher, Distributor, Agent, Subscriber, Articles, Publications, and Subscriptions.

Publisher

Publisher is a server that makes the data available for subscription to other servers. In addition to making data available for replication, a publisher also identifies what data has changed at the subscriber during the synchronizing process. Depending on the type of replication, changed data is identified at different instances. We will learn more about Replication types in the Replication Types section.

Distributor

Distributor maintains the Distribution Database. The role of the distributor varies depending on the type of replication. Two types of Distributors are identified: Remote distributor and Local distributor. Remote distributor is separate from publisher and is configured as a distributor for replication. Local distributor is a server that is configured as a publisher and a distributor.

Agents

Agents are the processes that are responsible for copying and distributing data between Publisher and subscriber.

Subscriber

Subscriber is a server that receives and maintains the published data.

Articles

An article can be any database object, viz. Tables, Views, Indexed views, Stored Procedures, User defined functions.

Publication

Publication is a collection of articles.

Subscriptions

Subscription is a request for copy of data or database objects to be replicated.

Subscription Types

Changes to the subscriptions at the publisher can be replicated to subscribers via PUSH subscription or PULL subscription. With Push subscription the publisher is responsible for synchronizing all the changes to the subscriber without the subscriber asking for those changes.

With Pull subscription the subscriber initiates the replication instead of the publisher.

Replication Types

Microsoft SQL Server supports the following types of replication: Snapshot Replication, Transactional Replication, and Merge Replication.

Snapshot Replication

Snapshot replication copies and distributes data and database objects exactly as they appear at the current moment in time.

Transactional Replication

In transactional replication, modifications to the publication at the publisher are propagated to the subscriber incrementally.

Merge Replication

Merge replication provides advantages of both Snapshot replication and Transactional replication. The initial snapshot applied to the subscribers and then SQL server tracks changes to the data at publisher and subscriber levels. The data is synchronized on a scheduled basis or on demand.

Replicating to Third Party Hosts

SQL Server can easily be configured to replicate data to a third party supplier over the internet. Thus allowing the third party supplier to house an up to date copy of your most important company databases. To this you will need to work closely with the third party supplier, but you have to ensure that your publications allow pull and anonymous subscriptions.

1. configure the publishers or distributor to listen on TCP/IP 2. configure the publication to use FTP 3. configure a subscription to use FTP

** About the author text: SQL Server Replication is the process of replicating data from your company database to a database stored on another SQL Server. The second server can be hosted by a third party in Global Data Vault. Protect your company data at http://www.globaldatavault.com

SQL Server Replication is the process of replicating data from your company database to a database stored on another SQL Server. The second server can be hosted by a third party in Global Data Vault. Protect your company data at http://www.globaldatavault.com.

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Online computer Data Backup and Recovery - How Do I Know My Digital Information is Being Backed Up?

Your computer backup is only as good as the information put into it, and the regular monitoring and testing applied thereafter.

Q: How do I know if the online data backup and recovery service Im using is actually backing up my computer every day?

A: Excellent questionbecause, unless youre receiving email confirmation on a daily basis from your chosen storage provider, telling you that your backup has completed successfully on that particular day, you cant know for certain.

And herein lies one of the many dangerous pitfalls of self-serve websites that allow you to (translate as: insist that you) download applications unassisted, leaving you to install and set up the application yourself. How can you possibly know that youve set up the application to run properly? What assurance do you receive from a faceless corporate website, without even a telephone number for possible contact with a human being, that your digital records are indeed being encrypted and securely stored offsite? Are you willing to accept an automatically processed charge on your monthly credit card statement as proof that your business is being backed up in entirety each and every day?

And with something as critical to the survival of your business as daily computer backup, you certainly do not want to take the chance that youve missed a step or omitted a critical file from your backup set. Moreover, as a savvy business owner, you want to know that youre getting the service that youre paying for.

But, even more to the point, the whole purpose of computer backup is the ability to recover information destroyed by a hard drive crash, or lost to a fire or theft.

So picture this: 18 months ago you downloaded an application to automatically backup your computer online on a daily basis, allowing you to erase the concern of data loss from your mind. Every month you notice the small charge on your credit card statement, and you feel relieved that your information is protected, and glad that you never have to think about data backup.

But one day, unexpectedly, your trusty computer crashes and wipes out your client database, all your accounting records, emails, and documents. Its a bad situation, but at least once you get your new computer set up youll be able to restore your information! Right?

Wrongbecause about 12 months ago you installed a Windows update that, unbeknownst to you, changed a setting that prevented your backup from running. Youve been charged to store your information for the last 12 months offsite, but your chosen service provider has only been storing the information as it appeared the day before the Windows update. Youve just lost an entire years worth of progress, and theres nothing you can do about it. You can fight with your service provider to have your storage charges refunded, but thats not going to get you your data back.

Youre extremely surprised to learn that no one employed by your service provider was monitoring your account. There were no safeguards in place to alert you or your storage provider that something had gone amiss. Why? Because you chose the cheapest solution that requires that you know enough about your own system to verify, on your own, that your backup is running properly. And guess what? You agreed to this arrangement when you clicked accept to the service agreement at the time of installation. You agreed that you would monitor and test your backup yourself.

Shocking, but true. This being said, here are some tips to prevent this nightmare from happening to you:

What Not To Do:

1.Keep convincing yourself that this wont happen to you.

2.Tell yourself that you have the time, energy and expertise necessary to monitor and test your backup yourself.

3.Put off making a decision on a reliable backup solution for another day.

4.Employ an online data backup service based strictly on price.

What To Do:

1.Online services need not be impersonal nor absent. Outsource your daily online data backup to a storage provider that first speaks with you to learn about you and your business, and then completes the software installation and setup for you.

2.Insist on daily email confirmation that your backup is running successfully.

3.Choose a storage provider that invites you to call for telephone support 24/7/365.

4.Ensure that the onus for regular monitoring and testing of your account is placed on the storage provider. Theyre the experts, so make them prove it.

5.Commit right now the time and resources necessary to protect the survival of your business with daily offsite computer backup. Dont become a bankruptcy statistic because you procrastinated on protecting your companys more valuable assetyour information.

And remember, your computer backup is only as good as your ability to recover lost information when you need it most. Survive the crash, restore your information, and look forward to your next success.

Copyright 2007 - Blue Melnick. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline:

Blue Melnick is the Co-Founder and Lead Storage Specialist of Virtual Tape Drive Canada. Blue invites you to contact him through www.vtdcanada.com or by phone at 416-462-3323. Not sure if online data backup is right for you? Why not sign up for Biz Link NewsBlues free ezineto learn more about how this new technology can save your business?

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