Typical Uses of Replication (SQL Server Compact Edition)

  • Article

Replication is used on supported devices to ensure that the data stored on the devices is consistent with the data on the server after changes have been made to the data in either location. There are many scenarios in which a supported device is used in a server-client replication environment.

Replication Scenarios

The following scenarios provide examples of how a device using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (SQL Server Compact Edition) uses replication.

  • Customer Relationship Management and Sales Force Automation
    Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Force Automation (SFA) applications are frequently used to manage information at remote sites. For example, a sales person enters order data while visiting a customer. This data is transmitted back to a central location, such as company headquarters or a data center.
    Users typically receive only a subset of the data available at headquarters by using filtering at the publication. Some of this data is updated only at headquarters, some of it by a single remote user, and some by more than one remote user. If more than one user updates data, conflicts can occur and must be handled appropriately. When SQL Server Compact Edition is the client, conflicts are always handled at the server.
  • Field Force Automation
    Field Force Automation (FFA) applications let workers in the field, such as delivery drivers, maintenance workers, and inspectors, use handheld devices to collect and transmit data from remote locations. For example, delivery drivers enter data about package deliveries at delivery locations, and this data is transmitted back to a central location, such as company headquarters or a data center.
    It is common in these applications for data to be collected primarily in the field and subsequently uploaded to headquarters without conflict, because a single remote user is updating a particular piece of data. It is also common that after data has been transmitted to a central site, it is no longer needed on the device and can be deleted.
  • Consumer Point of Sale Applications
    Consumer point of sale (POS) applications include those applications that consumers are exposed to directly or indirectly at the point of sale. Examples include terminals used by cashiers, ATM machines, and in-store kiosks. These applications collect data at remote sites and transmit it back to a central location, such as headquarters or a data center.
    It is common in these applications for data to be collected primarily at the point of sale and subsequently uploaded to headquarters without conflict, because a single remote user, typically a customer or sales clerk, is updating a particular piece of data.

For information about server to client scenarios, see "Replicating Data in a Server to Client Environment" in the SQL Server Books Online.