Merge replication with SQL Server Workgroup edition

[jane...@yahoo.com]

Hi,

I want to establish a merge replication publisher server that will run
SQL Server 2005 or 2008.
In SQL Server 2000, the minimum version to use as the publisher was
Standard edition. According to feature comparison chart, Workgroup
edition can be used with SQL Server 2005 (there was no Workgroup
Edition with SQL Server 2000).
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2005/en/us/compare-features.aspx#integration

The feature comparison chart for SQL Server 2008 lists Workgroup
editon as subscriber only.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/sl-si/library/cc645993(en-us).aspx

I have the following questions:

1. The feature comparsion chart for SQL Server 2005 says that
Workgroup edition can publish to up to 25 subscribers. Is this:
- number of subscribers per complete server (all published databases),
- number of subscribers per one published database,
- number of subscribers per one publication?

2. What happens when the number of subscribers goes over that limit?
Is there some notification when user wants to add new subscription and
25 of them already exist?
If the limit is reached, is it possible to immediately cleanup some
old, obsolete subscriptions to make room for the new subscriptions?
In other words, how subscriptions are managed regarding obsolete and
new subscriptions to assure that the limit is not reached?

2. Is Workgroup edition of SQL Server 2008 really subscriber only or
is there a mistake in feature comparison chart? I do not see any
reason why this should be changed between 2005 and 2008?

Thanks
Janez

[Hilary Cotter]

I'll have to get confirmation on this. The features chart for SQL 2008 was
inadvertently not published. I've alerted Microsoft to this.

1) Number of subscriptions per publication.
2) You can't create more than 25 subscriptions to a publication. You can
drop subscription to allow new subscriptions.

I think the edition chart is incorrect, but I'll have to get confirmation on
this,

[jane...@yahoo.com]

Hi Hilary,

thanks for the info.

Please update this thread when you will have more information on SQL
Server 2008.

Janez

[Hilary Cotter]

Here is the response I got from Microsoft.

- Functionality is the same as SQL 2005, the documentation is incomplete in
SQL 2008 and will change to match SQL 2005 in the next online BOL refresh for
SQL 2008