SQL Administrator Interview Question:

Please explain what the different types of Replication and why are they used?

Submitted by: Muhammad

There are basically 3 types of replication: Snapshot, Transactional and Merge Replication. The type of Replication you choose depends on the requirements and/or the goals one is trying to achieve.For example, Snapshot Replication is useful only when the data inside the tables does not change frequently and the amount of data is not too large, such as a monthly summary table or a product list table etc. Transactional Replication would useful when maintaining a copy of a transactional table such as sales order tables etc. Merge Replication is more useful in case of remote / distributed systems where the data flow can be from multiple sites, for example, sales done at a promotional event which might not be connected to the central servers always.
Submitted by: Muhammad