Although is a good summary and a step-by-step for novice Administrators it shows almost nothing that is not in BOL. If you are an experienced DBA this book is not for you.

Quick Review:
This is good book for any novice developer to start in the world of database replication implementation and maintenance. Replication is important part of highly availability and one book covers all the concept and methodology at one place.

Detail Review:
Replication is the process of sharing information so as to ensure consistency between redundant resources, such as software or hardware components, to improve reliability, fault-tolerance, or accessibility. Database replication can be used on many database management systems, usually with a master/slave relationship between the original and the copies. The master logs the updates, which then ripple through to the slaves. The slave outputs a message stating that it has received the update successfully, thus allowing the sending of subsequent updates.

This books talks about different replication types and methods. This book explains different scenarios where types of replication can be used. Sujoy Paul (SQL Server - MCP) explains the concept with many screenshots and simple examples. This book is not limited to replication types only but it also covers replication between heterogeneous databases and other objects.

Pros :

* Lots of screen shots
* Lots of explanation of how different procedures works
* Good coverage of different kind of replications
* Step by Step guidance
* Complete coverage of any methodology
* Truly useful to novice programmers

Cons:

* No discussion about potential errors can come across during replication process
* Some of the screen shots are hard to read (Apress should look into this matter)
* Some of the chapters are very blurry

Overall, this is great book for any novice developer who is beginning in the world of replication. Though this book covers many screenshots and material directly from Book On Line this is great collection of all the concept at any place. I have personally used this book when I was new DBA and have learned replication basics from this book.

Stars: 4 Stars

Summary: This a comprehensive single source of information will save lots of time as there is no need to go through multiple books to implement and maintain replication solutions.

Reference : Pinal Dave (Founder - SQLAuthority.com)

I have never used any other SQL SERVER Replication books, so I can't compare it to anything else.
I needed a book for reference as I set up a large scale SQL replication enviornment. I have done it in Oracle, and was experience with SQL 2005, but never SQL replication.
This book gave me enough knowledge that I was able to accomplish some advanced replication. I highly recommend it for those, like me, that are new to SQL replication.

I have been involved in administering a database working on several geographically-separated servers. Initially, we've been using IPSec protocol for connections between the servers. To connect the clients, we've been using stunnel, which is easier to manage and to route. We were planning to stop using IPSec and moving to stunnel entirely. But I had no idea how to make Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to synchronize using stunnel. Microsoft had no ready-to-use solution for this. Thanks to this book, I have found the answer. Although this book does not explicitly state how to use stunnel, but it had enough clues to make me able to figure out the answer. For our company, this book was worth its price.

Anyway, this book is for an entry-level administrator of the SQL Server 2005. It contains the most basic information, with lots of screenshots and explanations. This overall information is quite easy to understand. If you want something specific, for example a solution for a rare or a complicated problem, this book is not for you, you would better to go to a specified forum. But if you are a novice in replication, I highly recommend this book.

Coming from mostly an Oracle background, I needed to come upto speed quickly to work on some replication projects. Paul's book was just what the doctor ordered. It provided clear and concise coverage of all the key topics especially peer-to peer replication and Merge replication which were essential reads in my case. I would recommend this book to SQL Server and other DB products users as well, who are looking to work on SQL Server replication projects.

There is nothing useful in this book. The author makes it more complicated than it actually is. I rather use the Books On-line or MSDN than this "book". It is unbelievable how he wrote almost 1000 pages without content actually saying anything worthy. Thru all the book you can see the author's ego say: "I am so pro and I worked so hard to find the answers, so don't be naive dear reader, I won't give you any of those answers." Well, thank you for that dear author.
I regret I spent my time and money on this ... so called "book".

I found this book to be very usefull as it enables one to very quickly understand the concepts of replication and implement a solution quickly.



This a comprehensive single source of information and there is no need to go through multiple manuals/books to design, implement and maintain replication solutions.



The first three chapters cover the basics very well and comprehensively.



I also found the presntation of each replication method in configuring and internals chapters to be extremely useful. This way I can easily set up and get my replication going by refering to the configuring chapter and if required I can refer to the internals chapter for advanced understanding.



The screen shots are a bit difficult to read. I understand that increasing the size of the of the screen shots will increase the number of pages, however the book then could have been published in two volumes.

I found this book to be very usefull as it enables one to very quickly understand the concepts of replication and implement a solution quickly.

This a comprehensive single source of information and there is no need to go through multiple manuals/books to design, implement and maintain replication solutions.

The first three chapters cover the basics very well and comprehensively.

I also found the presntation of each replication method in configuring and internals chapters to be extremely useful. This way I can easily set up and get my replication going by refering to the configuring chapter and if required I can refer to the internals chapter for advanced understanding.

The screen shots are a bit difficult to read. I understand that increasing the size of the of the screen shots will increase the number of pages, however the book then could have been published in two volumes.

I, like Mr. Griffith from Portland, had a need. The problem is that until June, this is the only book out there on replication for SQL Server 2005. I read the other reviews, and fiured that a book of nearly 1000 pages will include everything I need for replication.

Not quite. But at the same time, Replication is a HUGE topic, and I am quickly finding out that even 1000 pages is not enough to cover everything you need to know about replication.

That said, this book is very thorough on replication basics, meaning, the foundation of Replication and the information you need to know to get you up and running for the core components of Replication.

Where this book lacks is the information needed to take readers beyond the basic/intermediate information. For example, how do you set up merge replication if the subscriber is outside of the firewall and not a member of the publisher domain? I haven't found that information in the book, but if it is in there, I'd really like to know.

Yes, it is a lot of BOL screenshots and information, but the author does a great job organizing it. BOL can be very confusing sometimes and information can be hard to find, and this book does a great job organizing the information into easy-to-read (and find) topics.

Overall, if you are new to replication, this is your book. Absolutely no doubt about that. But if you need beyond that, you might want to wait for the book coming out in June.

I had a need... Bring up replication for a med-large Publishing DB (800GB).

I needed to configure, create test data, test several configurations, get a feel for performance and error handling, create the production scripts, prep the production environment, and turn it on.

The configuration we have setup involved "nosync" continuous Transactional Replication due to the Subscriber database starting out as an empty DB. The subscriber only receives new replicated transactions and does not have "snapshot" synchronization.

I had no real prior experience, nor guidance other than MSDN, MS Knowledgebase (KB), and various web sources.

Then, I came across this book, took a cursory glance, and saw what seemed to be a rich explication of replication. What caught my eye, in particular, were the chapters entitled: "Internals of Transactional Replication." There was such a chapter for each type of Replication (Snapshot, Transactional and Merge). I had hoped these would provide enough information to sort out problems I encountered and make my way through the task more efficiently.

Those were my expectations, and I was disappointed. Here's why:

1. The assumption is that Replication is going to use immediate Snapshot Synchronization. I got to believe there's a substantial number of DB's that would like to use it in a 'nosync' situation, particularly with a situation of Large DB replicating to Small DB. BOL, KB, nor this book really discusses this situation. There are specific and significant steps you must take in this situation. I was required to discover them through trial and error.

If you follow the directions given, you'll be forced to use Synchronization to initialize the Subscriber for Replication and this cannot happen in many situations.

Suggestion: provide a section for some types of "non-standard" database replication topologies and a summary of the differences. "Standard" topology, in this case, is where the Publisher and Subscriber are completely synchronized by an initial Snapshot Synchronization prior to replication transactions being distributed to the Subscriber.

2. This book is nearly 1000 pages. You'd expect a great deal of insight in that size of a book. I found little. What I did find was page after page of SQL Server Replication Wizard screenshots. I don't know about you, but I get pretty familiar with those wizards in the course of using them. They don't add very much value in a book like this.

Suggestion: Please don't provide out-of-the-box Wizard screenshots. If there is a situation that an admin will likely stumble over, then great! A snapshot of just that screen, pointing out what should be done is appreciated.

Suggestion: If you use diagrams (I love them!) provide more diagrams at a level like those in Chapter 3 that illustrate "how things work" by sequencing the replication types. Include some more non-standard ones perhaps in the Internals chapters.

3. The chapters entitled: "Internals of " include ER-like figures. I say "ER-like" in that they are very inconsistent. In some cases there several Entity boxes (UML form) with the columns listed in a pattern in the figure. There are no relationship connectors, while it is clear there *are* relationships there. You're left to sort that out on your own. Effectively, what is added value is a listing of tables that are used for a specific form of replication. NOTE, *some* of the diagrams (Figure 10-29) have the relationships, but the Standard Transactional Publication figures (10-55 through 10-71) show almost no relationships. These were the ones I needed.

Suggestion: Create ER diagrams with the Entity names and their relationships (THESE ARE HELPFUL!). Don't try to list every column in the entity. If there are specific entities for which the column names are to be discussed, use separate figure(s).


4. Many of the non-wizard screenshots throughout chapter 10, the chapter I needed, were very blurry. I cannot even read some of them. I've looked at multiple copies of the book and they are the same. This is an issue with APress, not the author. This seems pretty unacceptable. Yuck.

Suggestion: proof *the entire book* before press...! :-)


5. Is it necessary (for even novices) to have 25% of the book showing Wizards and T-SQL for configuration? There are 6 chapters, 2 for each of the replication types entitled: "Configuring Using the GUI" and "Configuring Using T-SQL"

What's needed is:

- A conceptual understanding of what you're trying to achieve (terminology, roles, responsibilities, sequence of events) and I think you do this. This should provide enough information to identify the pattern of implementation you require.

- Next describe the procedures (tables, diagrams, enumerations) with the essence of how to implement the pattern. Look at the Table of Contents for "Configuring Transactional Replication using T-SQL" and you see the types of sequences that should be illustrated (not with Wizard GUI's). Then you have more room for non-standard configurations such as 'no-sync'. Specifically in this regard, nowhere is it discussed the correct procedure for generating the stored procedures and establishing them in the no-sync case.

6. Please focus on the "gotchas" what are the common mistakes you'll make and how do you rectify them. I believe the list is large and available, and it would be a great help to compile a succinct list/solutions.

7. More discussion is required regarding errors you may find in the Replication and what to do with them. There are a standard set of errors you may run into, and standard methods to deal with them, how to investigate MSrepl_errors, etc. You're not alone. There really is no great source for help in this regard.

I had a need... Bring up replication for a med-large Publishing DB (800GB).

I needed to configure, create test data, test several configurations, get a feel for performance and error handling, create the production scripts, prep the production environment, and turn it on.

The configuration we have setup involved "nosync" continuous Transactional Replication due to the Subscriber database starting out as an empty DB. The subscriber only receives new replicated transactions and does not have "snapshot" synchronization.

I had no real prior experience, nor guidance other than MSDN, MS Knowledgebase (KB), and various web sources.

Then, I came across this book, took a cursory glance, and saw what seemed to be a rich explication of replication. What caught my eye, in particular, were the chapters entitled: "Internals of Transactional Replication." There was such a chapter for each type of Replication (Snapshot, Transactional and Merge). I had hoped these would provide enough information to sort out problems I encountered and make my way through the task more efficiently.

Those were my expectations, and I was disappointed. Here's why:

1. The assumption is that Replication is going to use immediate Snapshot Synchronization. I got to believe there's a substantial number of DB's that would like to use it in a 'nosync' situation, particularly with a situation of Large DB replicating to Small DB. BOL, KB, nor this book really discusses this situation. There are specific and significant steps you must take in this situation. I was required to discover them through trial and error.

If you follow the directions given, you'll be forced to use Synchronization to initialize the Subscriber for Replication and this cannot happen in many situations.

Suggestion: provide a section for some types of "non-standard" database replication topologies and a summary of the differences. "Standard" topology, in this case, is where the Publisher and Subscriber are completely synchronized by an initial Snapshot Synchronization prior to replication transactions being distributed to the Subscriber.

2. This book is nearly 1000 pages. You'd expect a great deal of insight in that size of a book. I found little. What I did find was page after page of SQL Server Replication Wizard screenshots. I don't know about you, but I get pretty familiar with those wizards in the course of using them. They don't add very much value in a book like this.

Suggestion: Please don't provide out-of-the-box Wizard screenshots. If there is a situation that an admin will likely stumble over, then great! A snapshot of just that screen, pointing out what should be done is appreciated.

Suggestion: If you use diagrams (I love them!) provide more diagrams at a level like those in Chapter 3 that illustrate "how things work" by sequencing the replication types. Include some more non-standard ones perhaps in the Internals chapters.

3. The chapters entitled: "Internals of " include ER-like figures. I say "ER-like" in that they are very inconsistent. In some cases there several Entity boxes (UML form) with the columns listed in a pattern in the figure. There are no relationship connectors, while it is clear there *are* relationships there. You're left to sort that out on your own. Effectively, what is added value is a listing of tables that are used for a specific form of replication. NOTE, *some* of the diagrams (Figure 10-29) have the relationships, but the Standard Transactional Publication figures (10-55 through 10-71) show almost no relationships. These were the ones I needed.

Suggestion: Create ER diagrams with the Entity names and their relationships (THESE ARE HELPFUL!). Don't try to list every column in the entity. If there are specific entities for which the column names are to be discussed, use separate figure(s).


4. Many of the non-wizard screenshots throughout chapter 10, the chapter I needed, were very blurry. I cannot even read some of them. I've looked at multiple copies of the book and they are the same. This is an issue with APress, not the author. This seems pretty unacceptable. Yuck.

Suggestion: proof *the entire book* before press...! :-)


5. Is it necessary (for even novices) to have 25% of the book showing Wizards and T-SQL for configuration? There are 6 chapters, 2 for each of the replication types entitled: "Configuring Using the GUI" and "Configuring Using T-SQL"

What's needed is:

- A conceptual understanding of what you're trying to achieve (terminology, roles, responsibilities, sequence of events) and I think you do this. This should provide enough information to identify the pattern of implementation you require.

- Next describe the procedures (tables, diagrams, enumerations) with the essence of how to implement the pattern. Look at the Table of Contents for "Configuring Transactional Replication using T-SQL" and you see the types of sequences that should be illustrated (not with Wizard GUI's). Then you have more room for non-standard configurations such as 'no-sync'. Specifically in this regard, nowhere is it discussed the correct procedure for generating the stored procedures and establishing them in the no-sync case.

6. Please focus on the "gotchas" what are the common mistakes you'll make and how do you rectify them. I believe the list is large and available, and it would be a great help to compile a succinct list/solutions.

7. More discussion is required regarding errors you may find in the Replication and what to do with them. There are a standard set of errors you may run into, and standard methods to deal with them, how to investigate MSrepl_errors, etc. You're not alone. There really is no great source for help in this regard.

The book contains lots of info from BOL + lots of screenshots which show step by steps details of some replication related actions. And BOL material + screenshots - its practically entire book. I think for some DBAs it will be good book, but I somewhat disappointed.