When the Snapshot Agent is run to create the snapshot of the published table, the agent locks the entire table while it bulk copies out the data. While the Snapshot Agent locks the table, no other users are able to add or change data in the table until the locks are released. To minimize the user effect from being unable to add to or update the table, you should do one of the following:
To help plan the optimum schedule for running the Snapshot Agent, you should estimate the length of time it will take the Agent to complete the snapshot. Because the snapshot is created using bcp, perform a test bulk copy of your data set and time how long it takes to complete. If your data set is very large, perform the bulk copy on a sample of the data set and extrapolate the lapse time to the entire data set.
| Copying Data Using bcp or BULK INSERT | Running the bcp Utility |