Merge Replication problem over VPN

The setup:
Publisher/Distributor
Win2000
SQLServer2000
Merge replication enabled
Publication created
Subscriber
Win2000
MSDE
connect to publisher over VPN
can ping Publisher using alias
Publisher alias registered in EM
can create subscription (via wizard)
The problem:
When I creat the subscription (or Start Synchronizing), after
"connecting to distributor" (completes successfully), I get the
message:
"The remote server does not exist or has not been designated as a valid
Publisher."
I've looked all over the web and the couple of solutions seem to
suggest adding an alias in the Client Network Utility. But I've already
done that (and can ping by alias).
Configure Publishing ... | Publishers tab has the publisher listed and
checked with its distributor. But the publisher name is listed twice -
once with a distributor and checked, and once unchecked with no
distributor. I thought this was kind of strange.
So, what could it be? Please help!
- Desperate in Pittsburgh
Something is hosed here. The brainless way to fix this is to disable
replication and then to reenable it. The more masochistic but precise way to
do this is to modify the underlying system tables.
Hilary Cotter
Looking for a SQL Server replication book?
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<richerwin@.ubs-europe.org> wrote in message
news:1107578304.398811.87440@.g14g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> The setup:
> --
> Publisher/Distributor
> Win2000
> SQLServer2000
> Merge replication enabled
> Publication created
> Subscriber
> Win2000
> MSDE
> connect to publisher over VPN
> can ping Publisher using alias
> Publisher alias registered in EM
> can create subscription (via wizard)
> The problem:
> --
> When I creat the subscription (or Start Synchronizing), after
> "connecting to distributor" (completes successfully), I get the
> message:
> "The remote server does not exist or has not been designated as a valid
> Publisher."
> I've looked all over the web and the couple of solutions seem to
> suggest adding an alias in the Client Network Utility. But I've already
> done that (and can ping by alias).
> Configure Publishing ... | Publishers tab has the publisher listed and
> checked with its distributor. But the publisher name is listed twice -
> once with a distributor and checked, and once unchecked with no
> distributor. I thought this was kind of strange.
> So, what could it be? Please help!
> - Desperate in Pittsburgh
>

Merge Replication Overwritting Data

Hi,
I have a problem with merge replication overwriting data without any
reason. Here is my setup:
Publisher/Distributor runs on Windows 2003 Server
Subscribers running on Windows 2000/XP using SQL desktop engine.
Subscribers update/modify data via an application and sync back to the
publisher.
Users also log straight into the server via an application to update/
modify data.
Data is been overwritten by an older version of that record. To give
you an example of the process a user enters in a record it then gets
reviewed by a manger who approves a "status" change, the data is then
entered into a secondary system then the record is closed/completed.
What is happening is that record for some reason is reverting back to
a previous version with an old status and is coming up on managers
reports again, causing work flow issues.
This is happening inconsistently and very rarely and we cant seems to
reproduce the scenario. Can anyone give me incite into what is
happening here why replication is reverting data back.
Regards,
Ben
Are you seeing any conflicts?
Cheers,
Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP, www.replicationanswers.com
|||Setting the flag is an option. If this is the issue, I'd also like to know
exactly why this occurs though - ie why can't the change be applied at the
replica. Are the constraints different perhaps? Is the change being applied
to the PK etc.
Cheers,
Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP, www.replicationanswers.com
|||On Mar 7, 8:51 pm, "Paul Ibison" <Paul.Ibi...@.Pygmalion.Com> wrote:
> Setting the flag is an option. If this is the issue, I'd also like to know
> exactly why this occurs though - ie why can't the change be applied at the
> replica. Are the constraints different perhaps? Is the change being applied
> to the PK etc.
> Cheers,
> Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP,www.replicationanswers.com
That is a good question, my biggest problem is trying to reproduce the
problem to isolate where it is occurring. Unfortunately I haven't been
able to do this. The only thing I know thus far is it happens
intermittently and it's affecting records at random, both of which are
no help. I do know however that this problem only began when
replication started.
Would any of the following 2 scenarios be related to this problem:
1. A subscriber (Salesperson) sync's their data but fails in the
attempt,
the user then continues to modify data on their local machine and then
sync's
again only this time successfully, causing previous changes to be
overwritten.
2. A subscriber (Salesperson) sync's their data but fails in the
attempt, a
snapshot is taken of the publisher's data then the user sync's again
only
this time successfully, causing previous changes to be overwritten.
I'm not sure what else to check as I have nothing else to go on, any
other suggestions?