Testing replicated databases

About this task

After the SQL Server administrator configures all the publication and subscription databases for replication, you need to check that:

• Replication is enabled

• The database properties are correct (at this stage you can turn on Audit History)

• Replication is working correctly

• The Conflict Viewer dialog is accessible in the publication database

• The audit log is working correctly (if used)

You must log on as a database or system administrator to perform these steps.

Procedure

1. To test that replication is enabled:

   1. At the publisher site, start iBase, log on as a database or system administrator, and open the publication database.

   2. Select Tools > Replication Status Report. Depending on the status of the publication database, you should see the following messages:

      Message	Description
      Publication is OK	The publication database is configured for replication.
      <server>\<instance>:<SQL Server database name>	Lists the names of the subscription databases, one for each subscriber site.
      No subscriptions	Indicates that the subscriber sites are not yet configured for replication.
      Publication not found	Replication is not running at the Publisher. Contact your SQL Server administrator.
      The publication is invalid because it permits anonymous subscriptions	Replication is incorrectly configured in SQL Server. Contact your SQL Server administrator. (Note: You are not able to review and resolve any conflicts until this problem is rectified.)

2. Verify that the user who uses the Conflict Viewer has the correct access rights in SQL Server:

   1. At the publisher site, start iBase, log on as the user who administers conflicts, and open the publication database.

   2. Select Tools > Replication Conflict Viewer. The Conflict Viewer dialog appears if the user has sufficient access rights to the SQL Server database. For more information about the iBase permissions required by this user account, see iBase system roles.

      Note: If there is a problem with how replication is configured in SQL Server, you see a message warning that the publication is invalid. This problem prevents you from using the replicated iBase database. Contact your SQL Server administrator.

3. Test that replication is working: A user is required at each site to test replication; the users do not need to be administrators. Alternatively, you might be able to perform the whole test yourself if you are able to log on to the remote servers.

   1. In the publication database, add a record.

   2. After a short interval, check that the new record is replicated to the subscription data

      Note: If you are using a read-only database, replication is working correctly if the new record appears in the subscription database. Remove the test record by deleting it in the publication database.

   3. If the subscription database is not read-only, delete the record.

   4. After a short interval, check that the record is deleted from the publication database. For example, try searching for it.

   5. Repeat these steps for any other subscription databases in your iBase system.

      Note: Contact your SQL Server administrator if there are any problems.

4. Test the audit log: Check that the audit log is recording the appropriate actions for all the sites that are involved in replication, and that audit history is turned on (if required).

   1. Open the audit log for the publication database. You should see the Database Opened and Database Closed actions for all the replicated databases.

   2. Repeat this for each site. The audit level should be the same for all sites.

   3. To test that the audit history is replicating, edit a record in the subscription database and confirm that you can see the audit history for that record. After a short interval, check the audit history for that record in the publication database.