Designating a New Design Master

The Design Master replica is the most important replica in a set because it is the only replica where you can make changes to the structure of the database. Under certain circumstances, you may need to make another replica the Design Master. For example, you may have the Design Master replica on your computer and another member of your development team has a replica on his or her computer. While you are on vacation, you want the other developer to be able to make changes to the database. The following procedure designates a new Design Master by using the Synchronize Now command to synchronize the two replicas and set the DesignMasterID property of the current Design Master to the value of the other replica's ReplicaID property.

Û To make a replica into the new Design Master

1. Make sure that the replica and the current Design Master are not in use elsewhere, and then open the replica that you want to make the new Design Master.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Replication, and then click Synchronize Now.
3. In the Synchronize With box, click the current Design Master.
4. Select the Make 'File name' the Design Master check box, and then click OK.

You must have the Design Master replica open to make another replica the Design Master. The Design Master replica is, by definition, a read/write replica. If you make a read-only replica the Design Master, the new Design Master is made read/write and the old Design Master is made read-only.

If the replica serving as the Design Master is totally erased or corrupted, you can designate another replica to act as the Design Master. However, remember that you can have only one Design Master at a time.

If you decide to make your own replica the new Design Master for the set, synchronize all the replicas in the replica set before setting the DesignMasterID property in your replica. You must have your replica open to make it the Design Master.