To subscribe means to agree to receive a publication or an article. A destination database on a subscription server subscribes to replicated data from a publication database on a publication server.
When setting up a subscription, you have the option of performing either a pull subscription or a push subscription. The type of subscription is determined by the administrative focus, that is, on whether you are administering the publication server or the subscription server.
A pull subscription is carried out while a subscription server is being administered. A subscription is created by "pulling" in a publication or an article from a publication server. A push subscription is carried out while a publication server is being administered. As part of the process of creating or managing a publication, subscriptions are created by "pushing" out a publication or an article to one or more subscription servers.
After a subscription is set up, the publication and destination tables must be initially synchronized. Synchronization makes the table schema and the table data in the destination database identical to that in the publication database. SQL Server prevents updates from being replicated to a destination database until the new subscription has been synchronized.
In many cases, when you set up a subscription, you will specify automatic synchronization, which is accomplished automatically by SQL Server and requires no user intervention. However, if a subscription is set up specifying manual synchronization, a user must first perform the synchronization and then inform SQL Server that the manual synchronization is completed. Only after SQL Server is informed of this manual synchronization are updates allowed to be applied to the destination database.
For more information, choose one of the following topics.
Acknowledging a Manual Synchronization