SQL Server replication: Overview of

components and topography

The volume of data retained, managed, and accessed today is unprecedented. Businesses expect
the IT department to keep data online and accessible indefinitely, putting intense pressure on the
databases required to store and manage it. To meet today’s needs; we need to replace outdated
and inefficient legacy processes with new, more agile techniques. SQL Server Replication is one of
the techniques to accommodate such demands.

In this article, let’s you shape your understanding of the full SQL Server replication topography
including components, internals and the SQL to bind it all together. After you complete reading
this article, you‘ll understand:

 SQL Server replication, in general

 Components of transactional SQL Server replication, in particular
 How to get distributor properties
 How to find the publisher using the same distributor
 What are the databases used for SQL Server replication
 The general topology of a replication environment
 What are the articles that are mapped to the type of SQL Server replication model
 How to get publication details
 How to get subscription details
 SQL Server Replication agents
 And more…

Replication
SQL Server replication is a technology for copying and distributing data and database objects
from one database to another and then synchronizing between databases to maintain
consistency and integrity of the data. In most cases, replication is a process of reproducing the
data at the desired targets. SQL Server replication is used for copying and synchronizing data
continuously or it can also be scheduled to run at predetermined intervals. There are several
different replication techniques that support a variety of data synchronization approaches; one-
way; one-to-many; many-to-one; and bi-directional, and keep several datasets in sync with each
other.

Transactional SQL Server replication components

The following diagram depicts the components of transactional SQL Server replication.

Including the SQL Server replication …

 Publisher
 Publication database
 Publication
 Articles
  Distributor
 Distribution database
 Subscriber
 Subscription database
 Subscription
 Replication agents

SQL Server replication diagram

Article
An article is the basic unit of SQL Server Replication. An article can consist of tables, stored
procedures, and views. It is possible to scale the article, horizontally and vertically using a filter
option. We can also create multiple articles on the same object with some restrictions and
limitations.
Using the New Publication wizard, the Article can be navigated. It allows us to view the
properties of an article and provide options to set properties for the articles. In some case, the
properties can be set during the time of publication creation and it’s a read-only property.

After the creation of a SQL Server replication publication, for instance, if some property requires a
change, it will, in turn, require a new replication snapshot to be generated. If the publication has
one or more subscriptions then the change requires all subscriptions to be reinitialized. For more
information, see How to add/drop articles to/from existing publication in SQL Server article.

To list all the articles that are published, run the following T-SQL

SELECT

Pub.[publication] [PublicationName]

,Art.[publisher_db] [DatabaseName]

,Art.[article] [Article Name]

,Art.[source_owner] [Schema]

,Art.[source_object] [Object]

FROM

[distribution].[dbo].[MSarticles] Art

INNER JOIN [distribution].[dbo].[MSpublications] Pub

ON Art.[publication_id] = Pub.[publication_id]

ORDER BY

Pub.[publication], Art.[article]

To get the details of articles in transactional or merge SQL Server replication in a published
database, run the following T-SQL.

SELECT st.name [published object], st.schema_id, st.is_published , st.is_merge_published, is_schema_published

FROM sys.tables st WHERE st.is_published = 1 or st.is_merge_published = 1 or st.is_schema_published = 1

UNION

SELECT sp.name, sp.schema_id, 0, 0, sp.is_schema_published

FROM sys.procedures sp WHERE sp.is_schema_published = 1

UNION

SELECT sv.name, sv.schema_id, 0, 0, sv.is_schema_published

FROM sys.views sv WHERE sv.is_schema_published = 1;

To get detailed information about an article in the listed publisher, run the following T-SQL
DECLARE @publication AS sysname;

SET @publication = N'PROD_HIST_Pub';

USE MES_PROD_AP

EXEC sp_helparticle

@publication = @publication;

GO

To get column level details, run the following T-SQL

USE MES_PROD_AP

GO

sp_helparticlecolumns @publication = N'PROD_HIST_Pub' , @article = 'tb_Branch_Plant'

To list the columns that are published in transactional replication in the publication database, run
the following T-SQL
SELECT object_name(object_id) [published table], name [published column] FROM sys.columns sc WHERE sc.is_replica

ted = 1;

Publications
A Publication is a logical collection of articles from a database. The entity allows us to define and
configure article properties at the higher level so that the properties are inherited to all the
articles in that group.

EXEC sp_helppublication;

Publisher database
The publisher is a database that contains a list of objects that are designated as SQL Server
replication articles are known as publication database. The publisher can have one or more
publications. Each publisher defines a data propagation mechanism by creating several internal
replication stored procedures.

USE Distribution

GO

select * from MSpublications

Publisher
The Publisher is a database instance that makes data available to other locations through SQL
Server replication. The Publisher can have one or more publications, each defining a logically
related set of objects and data to replicate.

Distributor
The Distributor is a database that acts as a storehouse for replication specific data associated
with one or more Publishers. In many cases, the distributor is a single database that acts as both
the Publisher and the Distributor. In the context of SQL Server replication, this is commonly
known as a “local distributor”. On the other hand, if it’s configured on a separate server, then it is
known as a “remote distributor”. Each Publisher is associated with a single database known as a
“distribution database” aka the “Distributor”.

The distribution database identifies and stores SQL Server replication status data, metadata about
the publication, and, in some cases, acts as a queue for data moving from the Publisher to the
Subscribers.

Depending on the replication model, the Distributor might also be responsible for notifying the
Subscribers that have subscribed to a publication that an article has changed. Also, the
distribution database maintains the integrity of the data.

Distribution databases
Each Distributor must have at least one distribution database. The distribution database consists
of article detail, replication meta-data and data. A Distributor can hold more than one
distribution database; however, all publications defined on a single Publisher must use the same
distribution database.

To find out whether …

 a server is a distributor or not?

SELECT @@ServerName Servername, case when is_distributor=1 then 'Yes' else 'No' end status FROM sys.serv

ers WHERE name='repl_distributor' AND data_source=@@servername;


 a distribution database installed or not?

SELECT name FROM sys.databases WHERE is_distributor = 1

 a Publisher is using this Distributor or not?

EXEC sp_get_distributor


 
 or just to interrogate various Distributor and Distribution database properties?

EXEC sp_helpdistributor;

EXEC sp_helpdistributiondb;

EXEC sp_helpdistpublisher;

Subscriber
A database instance that consumes SQL Server replication data from a publication is called a
Subscriber. The subscriber can receive data from one or more publishers and publications. The
subscriber can also pass data changes back to the publisher or republish the data to other
subscribers depending on the type of the replication design and model.

EXEC sp_helpsubscriberinfo;

Subscriptions
A subscription is a request for a copy of a publication to be delivered to a Subscriber. The
subscription defines what publication data will be received, where, and when.

There are two types of subscriptions: push subscriptions and pull subscriptions

 Push subscription: Distributor directly updates the data in the Subscriber database
 Pull subscription: the Subscriber is scheduled to check at the Distributor regularly if any
new changes are available, and then updates the data in the subscription database itself.

EXEC sp_helpsubscription;

Subscription databases
A target database of a replication model is called a subscription database.

Replication agents
SQL Server replication uses a pre-defined set of standalone programs and events are known as
agents, to carry out the tasks associated with data. By default, SQL Server replication agents run
as scheduled jobs under SQL Server Agent. Replication agents can also be run from the
command line and by applications that use Replication Management Objects (RMO). SQL Server
replication agents can be monitored and administered using Replication Monitor and SQL Server
Management Studio.

Replication snapshot Agent

The Replication snapshot Agent is used with all types of SQL Server replication technology as it
provides the required data set to perform the initial data synchronization of the publication
database with the subscription database. It prepares schema and initial data of published articles,
snapshot files, and records information about the synchronization type in the distribution
database.

Log Reader Agent

The Log Reader Agent is used only with transactional replication. It moves replication
transactions from the online transaction log of the publication database to the distribution
database.

Distribution Agent
The Distribution Agent is used only with Replication snapshot and Transactional SQL Server
replication. This agent applies the initial replication snapshot to the subscription database and
later, the data changes are tracked and recorded in the distribution database and applied to the
subscription database.

Merge Agent
The Merge Agent is used with the merge replication model. By default, the Merge Agent uploads
changes from the Subscriber to the Publisher and then downloads changes from the Publisher to
the Subscriber. Each subscription has its own Merge Agent that connects to both the Publisher
and the Subscriber and updates both. The Merge Agent runs at either the Distributor for push
subscriptions or the Subscriber for pull subscriptions. Here, the synchronization is bi-directional.
The data conflicts are handled by a set of triggers that supports the entire process

Summary
Thus far, we’ve seen a walk-through of some of the important concepts of SQL Server replication.
Also, T-SQL scripts are shown to query system tables and replication stored procedures to answer
most of the commonly asked question about SQL Server replication.