1. SQL Replication for RCSQL Reporting
Todd Endicott

2. Agenda Pro’s and Con’s Pre-Req’s Service Account
Setup Replication from backup

3. Pro’s and Con’s No downtime for end users
Less system intensive during setup
Sometimes easier to fix
VLDB’s
Must completely remove and add back in for system upgrades
Not DR capable

4. Pre-Req’s Secondary SQL server
Hard Drive space (Virtual Drive recommended) (External?)
Replication components installed
Service Accounts (Likely bounce of SQL services)
Permissions, permissions, permissions

5. Service Account
Windows Service Account (example - ZOLLREPL)

6. Service Account
Must change “Log On” account for SQL and SQL Agent

7. Service Account
Must restart SQL and SQL Agent service for the new Login’s to take effect.

8. Service Account Repeat steps on “Replicated” SQL server
Know where your data will live (Permissions and storage availability are critical to replication performance)
Recommend not using the default SQL paths just because of long path name (Example – E:\ZOLLREPL vs. E:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10_50.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\REPL

9. Setup Replication The order of the steps is critical to success!!
How do we set it up?
What happens if things go wrong?
Common mistakes/issues
How to remove replication

10. Setup Distribution Database
Setup “Distribution” database (Where do I put it? How large will it be? Other considerations?)

11. Setup Distribution Database
Components not installed?

12. Setup Distribution Database
Add necessary components to existing instance.

13. Setup Distribution Database

14. Setup Distribution Database

15. Setup Distribution Database
(Several screenshots were skipped in showing this step. Defaults are fine on missing screens)
Close the installation and re-launch SQL Management studio
Don’t forget to install components on secondary server

16. Setup Distribution Database

17. Setup Distribution Database

18. Setup Distribution Database
WARNING!!! (Probably don’t want to do this)

19. Setup Distribution Database
Still wrong!!!

20. Setup Distribution Database
Correct path and permissions

21. Setup Distribution Database
MDF and LDF location

22. Setup Distribution Database

23. Setup Distribution Database

24. Setup Distribution Database

25. Setup Distribution Database

26. Distribution Database
Where do I find it?

27. Setup Publication

28. Setup Publication
Start Publication Wizard

29. Setup Publication
Choose RCSQL database

30. Setup Publication
Choose replication type (Transactional publication)

31. Setup Publication

32. Setup Publication
Some tables WON’T replicate (Missing Primary Keys)

33. Setup Publication
Remove “RescueNet Central Reporting Log” from replicated articles

34. Setup Publication

35. Setup Publication

36. Setup Publication
THIS IS DIFFERENT!!!!!

37. Setup Publication
Setup Service Account

38. Setup Publication

39. Setup Publication
Will automatically use service account for log reader

40. Setup Publication

41. Setup Publication
Name your publication

42. Setup Publication
Your Article amount may differ

43. RCSQL Publication

44. RCSQL Publication
Must set subscription to be able to be initialized from a backup. (Publisher properties)

45. RCSQL Publication Now that Publication is built
Run full backup of RCSQL in production (Can be compressed)
Where backup is located will be VERY IMPORTANT!!
Restore backup to secondary SQL server
Give DBO rights to RCSQL on both servers to service account
Wait for restore to complete
Possibly move BAK file back to production server (Virtual Drive vs. File Copy)

46. RCSQL Publication
Should now have RCSQL on Production server and replicated server
Make sure you can access tables on restored databases before proceeding
Make sure replicated copy of RCSQL matches in size to the production copy.

47. Setup Subscription NO GUI? PUSH OR PULL?
Check Permissions (Folders and Databases)
Subscription Script

48. Setup Subscription /*At the publisher, run the following command */
USE [RCSQL] GO
EXEC sp_addsubscription
@publication = 'RCSQL Pub to DSS',
@subscriber = 'ITSREPL',
@destination_db = RCSQL,
@subscription_type ='Push',
@sync_type = 'initialize with backup',
@article = 'all',
@update_mode = 'read only',
@subscriber_type = 0,
@backupdevicetype ='disk',
@backupdevicename = '\\ITSSQL\zollrepl\rcsql.bak'
Change backup device name to UNC path.....

49. Setup Subscription

50. Setup Subscription

51. Validate Subscription
Where do I find it? Push vs Pull

52. Validate Subscription

53. Validate Subscription

54. Validate Subscription
What are the errors?

55. Validate Subscription
Check all tabs for possible errors

56. Validate Subscription
Job Activity Monitor (Note the red X’s)

57. Validate Subscription
Job Activity Monitor (Note the red X)

58. Validate Subscription
After checking permissions, notices I did not add DBO access for service account on production server. (All red X’s are gone)

59. Validate Subscription
A “HAPPY” replication monitor

60. Validate Subscription
Check “Undistributed Commands” tab

61. What Next? Make change in “RescueNet” Admin to utilize the DSS server
Test reports against “Replicated” side and “Production”, validate results
When satisfied, move all report functions to the replicated server (Custom reports will need to be manually pointed at report server)
If Archiving, Archive first then replicate. Archive server and replication server can be the same server.

62. Q & A