Replication Task Scheduling

In most cases, replication is scheduled through the replication administration interface provided by SQL Enterprise Manager, and you will not need to use SQL Executive to set up scheduled replication tasks.

However, it is possible to use SQL Executive to create replication tasks or modify already-scheduled replication tasks. You might typically:

Another reason to use SQL Executive is if you choose to set up replication manually, using replication stored procedures instead of SQL Enterprise Manager. You may find it convenient to schedule replication tasks using SQL Executive, instead of using the scheduling stored procedures.

There are three types of replication tasks that can be scheduled:

When administering a LogReader task, the following optional commands can be entered in the Command box of the New Task or Edit Task dialog boxes:

-a packetsize
Where packetsize is the network packet size used for connections. The default is 4096.
-b transbatchsize
Where transbatchsize is the size of the transaction batch. This determines the maximum number of transactions that are read out of the log in each attempt. The default is 100.
-c commitbatchsize
Where commitbatchsize is the size of the commit batch. This determines how many transactions are placed in the distribution database before a commit can be issued against the distribution database. The default is the -b value (100).
-i pollinginterval
Where pollinginterval is the size of the polling interval, in milliseconds, when log reader runs as a continuous task.
-l logintimeout
Where logintimeout is the login timeout, in seconds. The default is 5 seconds.
-o filename
Where filename is the name of an optional output file. This outputs some debug information into the specified file as the log reader runs.
-p performancecounters
Where performancecounters is either 1 or 0. Providing 1 enables performance counter information to be maintained by the LogReader; providing 0 stops maintenance of that information. The default value is 1.
-q querytimeout
Where querytimeout is the query timeout, in seconds. The default is 30 seconds.

When administering a Distribution task, the following optional commands can be entered in the Command box of the New Task or Edit Task dialog boxes:

-a packetsize
Where packetsize is the network packet size used for connections. The default is 4096.
-b jobbatchsize
Where jobbatchsize is the maximum number of jobs to be read from the distribution database. The default is 0, which indicates all jobs in the database.
-B commandbuffers
Where commandbuffers is the number of 4K command buffers to use in the distribution buffer pool. The default number of buffers is 2.
-c commitbatchsize
Where commitbatchsize is the number of jobs to be issued to the subscription server before performing a commit on the subscription server. The default is 100.
-d subscriberdb
Where subscriberdb is the name of the subscription database.
-i pollinginterval
Where pollinginterval is the polling interval, in milliseconds. The polling interval is in effect when the distribution process is set for continuous.
-l logintimeout
Where logintimeout is the login timeout, in seconds. The default is 5 seconds.
-m missingjobsfailure
Where missingjobsfailure is 0 or 1. If 1, a missing job will raise an error with a severity of 20 (fatal). If 0, a missing job will raise an error with a severity of 10 (informational). The default is 0.

When you recover a subscriber there may be a case when the distribution database does not have the jobs to properly re-create transactions. This could happen if jobs between the subscriber's last job_id (in MSlast_job_info) and the distributor's last job_id (in MSsubscriber_status) are no longer in the distribution database (which can occur if sp_replcleanup was run and the retention period was inadequate).

-n publisherdb
Where publisherdb is the name of the publication database.
-o filename
Where filename is the name of an optional output file. This outputs some debug information into the specified file as the distribution process runs. It will output to the screen when a filename is not supplied.
-p publishername
Where publishername is the name of the publication server.
-P subpassword
Where subpassword is the password used for the subscription server login ID.
-q querytimeout
Where querytimeout is the query timeout, in seconds. The default is 30 seconds.
-s initscript
Where initscript is the filename of an initialization script that is run against the subscription database if the distribution process has never been run against that database before. The default is the DBREPL.SQL script, which configures the database as a subscription database and adds the MSlastjob_info table.
-S subscribername
Where name is the name of the subscription server.
-t subscribertype
Where subscribertype is 0 for SQL Server and 1 for an other ODBC source.
-U subloginid
Where subloginid is the login ID used when the process logs into the subscription server. The default is REPL_PUBLISHER.

When administering a Sync task, the following optional commands can be entered in the Command box of the New Task or Edit Task dialog boxes:

-a packetsize
Where packetsize is the network packet size used for connections. The default is 4096.
-l logintimeout
Where logintimeout is the login timeout, in seconds. The default is 5 seconds.
-o filename
Where filename is the name of an optional output file. This outputs some debug information into the specified file as the synchronization process runs.
-q querytimeout
Where querytimeout is the query timeout, in seconds. The default is 30 seconds.
-t pubtaskid
Where pubtaskid is the publication task ID (the ID of the synchronization task associated with the publication).

For information about replication, see Part 6, Replication. For information about using SQL Executive to create, modify, or disable a replication task, see Creating a Task, Modifying a Task, and Disabling a Task.