How to: Validate Data at the Subscriber (RMO Programming)

Article
12/03/2008

Replication enables you to use Replication Management Objects (RMO) to programmatically validate that data at the Subscriber matches data at the Publisher. The objects you use depend on the type of replication topology. Transactional replication requires validation of all subscriptions to a publication.

To validate data for all articles in a transactional publication

Create a connection to the Publisher by using the ServerConnection class.
Create an instance of the TransPublication class. Set the Name and DatabaseName properties for the publication. Set the ConnectionContext property to the connection created in step 1.
Call the LoadProperties method to get the remaining properties of the object. If this method returns false, either the publication properties in step 2 were defined incorrectly or the publication does not exist.
Call the ValidatePublication method. Pass the following:
- ValidationOption
- ValidationMethod
- A Boolean that indicates whether to stop the Distribution Agent after validation is completed.
This marks the articles for validation.
If not already running, start the Distribution Agent to synchronize each subscription. For more information, see How to: Synchronize a Push Subscription (RMO Programming) or How to: Synchronize a Pull Subscription (RMO Programming). The result of the validation operation is written to the agent history. For more information, see How to: Programmatically Monitor Replication (RMO Programming).

To validate data in all subscriptions to a merge publication

Create a connection to the Publisher by using the ServerConnection class.
Create an instance of the MergePublication class. Set the Name and DatabaseName properties for the publication. Set the ConnectionContext property to the connection created in step 1.
Call the LoadProperties method to get the remaining properties of the object. If this method returns false, either the publication properties in step 2 were defined incorrectly or the publication does not exist.
Call the ValidatePublication method. Pass the desired ValidationOption.
Run the Merge Agent for each subscription to start validation, or wait for the next scheduled agent run. For more information, see How to: Synchronize a Pull Subscription (RMO Programming) and How to: Synchronize a Push Subscription (RMO Programming). The result of the validation operation is written to the agent history, which you view by using Replication Monitor. For more information, see How to: Programmatically Monitor Replication (RMO Programming).

To validate data in a single subscription to a merge publication

Create a connection to the Publisher by using the ServerConnection class.
Create an instance of the MergePublication class. Set the Name and DatabaseName properties for the publication. Set the ConnectionContext property to the connection created in step 1.
Call the LoadProperties method to get the remaining properties of the object. If this method returns false, either the publication properties in step 2 were defined incorrectly or the publication does not exist.
Call the ValidateSubscription method. Pass the name of the Subscriber and subscription database being validated and the desired ValidationOption.
Run the Merge Agent for the subscription to start validation, or wait for the next scheduled agent run. For more information, see How to: Synchronize a Pull Subscription (RMO Programming) and How to: Synchronize a Push Subscription (RMO Programming). The result of the validation operation is written to the agent history, which you view by using Replication Monitor. For more information, see How to: Programmatically Monitor Replication (RMO Programming).

Example

This example marks all subscriptions to a transactional publication for rowcount validation.

// Define the server, database, and publication names
string publisherName = publisherInstance;
string publicationName = "AdvWorksProductTran";
string publicationDbName = "AdventureWorks";

TransPublication publication;

// Create a connection to the Publisher.
ServerConnection conn = new ServerConnection(publisherName);

try
{
    // Connect to the Publisher.
    conn.Connect();

    // Set the required properties for the publication.
    publication = new TransPublication();
    publication.ConnectionContext = conn;
    publication.Name = publicationName;
    publication.DatabaseName = publicationDbName;

    // If we can't get the properties for this publication, 
    // throw an application exception.
    if (publication.LoadProperties())
    {
        // Initiate validataion for all subscriptions to this publication.
        publication.ValidatePublication(ValidationOption.RowCountOnly,
            ValidationMethod.ConditionalFast, false);

        // If not already running, start the Distribution Agent at each 
        // Subscriber to synchronize and validate the subscriptions.
    }
    else
    {
        throw new ApplicationException(String.Format(
            "Settings could not be retrieved for the publication. " +
            "Ensure that the publication {0} exists on {1}.",
            publicationName, publisherName));
    }
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    // Do error handling here.
    throw new ApplicationException(
        "Subscription validation could not be initiated.", ex);
}
finally
{
    conn.Disconnect();
}

' Define the server, database, and publication names
Dim publisherName As String = publisherInstance
Dim publicationName As String = "AdvWorksProductTran"
Dim publicationDbName As String = "AdventureWorks"

Dim publication As TransPublication

' Create a connection to the Publisher.
Dim conn As ServerConnection = New ServerConnection(publisherName)

Try
    ' Connect to the Publisher.
    conn.Connect()

    ' Set the required properties for the publication.
    publication = New TransPublication()
    publication.ConnectionContext = conn
    publication.Name = publicationName
    publication.DatabaseName = publicationDbName

    ' If we can't get the properties for this publication, 
    ' throw an application exception.
    If publication.LoadProperties() Then

        ' Initiate validataion for all subscriptions to this publication.
        publication.ValidatePublication(ValidationOption.RowCountOnly, _
         ValidationMethod.ConditionalFast, False)

        ' If not already running, start the Distribution Agent at each 
        ' Subscriber to synchronize and validate the subscriptions.
    Else
        Throw New ApplicationException(String.Format( _
         "Settings could not be retrieved for the publication. " + _
         "Ensure that the publication {0} exists on {1}.", _
         publicationName, publisherName))
    End If
Catch ex As Exception
    ' Do error handling here.
    Throw New ApplicationException( _
     "Subscription validation could not be initiated.", ex)
Finally
    conn.Disconnect()
End Try

This example marks a specific subscription to a merge publication for rowcount validation.

// Define the server, database, and publication names
string publisherName = publisherInstance;
string publicationName = "AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge";
string publicationDbName = "AdventureWorks";
string subscriberName = subscriberInstance;
string subscriptionDbName = "AdventureWorksReplica";

MergePublication publication;

// Create a connection to the Publisher.
ServerConnection conn = new ServerConnection(publisherName);

try
{
    // Connect to the Publisher.
    conn.Connect();

    // Set the required properties for the publication.
    publication = new MergePublication();
    publication.ConnectionContext = conn;
    publication.Name = publicationName;
    publication.DatabaseName = publicationDbName;


    // If we can't get the properties for this merge publication, then throw an application exception.
    if (publication.LoadProperties())
    {
        // Initiate validation of the specified subscription.
        publication.ValidateSubscription(subscriberName,
            subscriptionDbName, ValidationOption.RowCountOnly);
        
        // Start the Merge Agent to synchronize and validate the subscription.
    }
    else
    {
        throw new ApplicationException(String.Format(
            "Settings could not be retrieved for the publication. " +
            "Ensure that the publication {0} exists on {1}.",
            publicationName, publisherName));
    }
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    // Do error handling here.
    throw new ApplicationException(String.Format(
        "The subscription at {0} to the {1} publication could not " +
        "be validated.", subscriberName, publicationName), ex);
}
finally
{
    conn.Disconnect();
}

' Define the server, database, and publication names
Dim publisherName As String = publisherInstance
Dim publicationName As String = "AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge"
Dim publicationDbName As String = "AdventureWorks"
Dim subscriberName As String = subscriberInstance
Dim subscriptionDbName As String = "AdventureWorksReplica"

Dim publication As MergePublication

' Create a connection to the Publisher.
Dim conn As ServerConnection = New ServerConnection(publisherName)

Try
    ' Connect to the Publisher.
    conn.Connect()

    ' Set the required properties for the publication.
    publication = New MergePublication()
    publication.ConnectionContext = conn
    publication.Name = publicationName
    publication.DatabaseName = publicationDbName

    ' If we can't get the properties for this merge publication, then throw an application exception.
    If publication.LoadProperties() Then
        ' Initiate validation of the specified subscription.
        publication.ValidateSubscription(subscriberName, _
         subscriptionDbName, ValidationOption.RowCountOnly)

        ' Start the Merge Agent to synchronize and validate the subscription.
    Else
        Throw New ApplicationException(String.Format( _
         "Settings could not be retrieved for the publication. " + _
         "Ensure that the publication {0} exists on {1}.", _
         publicationName, publisherName))
    End If
Catch ex As Exception
    ' Do error handling here.
    Throw New ApplicationException(String.Format( _
     "The subscription at {0} to the {1} publication could not " + _
     "be validated.", subscriberName, publicationName), ex)
Finally
    conn.Disconnect()
End Try

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How to: Validate Data at the Subscriber (RMO Programming)

To validate data for all articles in a transactional publication

To validate data in all subscriptions to a merge publication

To validate data in a single subscription to a merge publication

Example

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