Transaction replication that needs an automated reinitialize

[Hoardling1 via SQLMonster.com]

Does anyone know how to automate a reinitialize for a transactional
replication. What I need to do is copy the tables with filters from the
publisher and paste into the subscriber on a nightly basis. I was
considering using Snapshot replication, but I think transactional should have
some way of doing this to keep the data in synchronization. Any suggestions
would be nice.

Thanks

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[Normajean]

To reinitialize a push subscription to a transactional publication
At the Publisher, execute sp_reinitsubscription (Transact-SQL).

sp_reinitsubscription [ [ @publication = ] 'publication' ]
[ , [ @article = ] 'article' ]
, [ @subscriber = ] 'subscriber'
[ , [ @destination_db = ] 'destination_db']
[ , [ @for_schema_change = ] 'for_schema_change']
[ , [ @publisher = ] 'publisher' ]
[ , [ @ignore_distributor_failure = ]
ignore_distributor_failure ]
[ , [ @invalidate_snapshot = ] invalidate_snapshot ]

Specify @publication, @subscriber, and @destination_db. This marks the
subscription for reinitialization the next time the Distribution Agent
runs.
@invalidate_snapshot is bit, with a default of 0. If 1, a new snapshot
is generated for the publication.

Start the Distribution Agent (Distrib.exe) at the Distributor to
synchronize the subscription.

How to start replication agents programmatically?

Replication agents (Snapshot, Distribution, Logreader and Merge
agents) run according to the schedules you have set while setting up
the replication scenario. But you can always override those schedules
and start the agents from your applications programmatically! Here I
will discuss a couple of ways to start the agents programmatically:

Method #1:
Use sp_start_job: In the Enterprise Manager of your Distributor,
select the Agent under 'Replication Monitor' -> Agents. In the right
hand side pane, right click on the agent and select 'Agent properties'
from the popup menu. From the Agent properties dialog box, copy the
name of the agent, as we need to pass it to sp_start_job. Now, open
ISQLW, connect to your Distributor, and execute the following command.
Replcae the with the one you copied from Agent properties dialog box.

EXEC msdb..sp_start_job <Agent Name>
GO

Note that sp_start_job results in an asynchronous operation, and the
control returns to the next statement of your code, as soon as the
agent starts.

Method #2
Run the agents from the command prompt as EXEs: In SQL Server 7.0 all
the replication agents are implemented as EXEs (Executable files). So,
you can run them directly from the command prompt, or schedule them
with the NT's AT command. Use logread.exe, distrib.exe, snapshot.exe
and replmerg.exe to run logreader agent, distribution agent, snapshot
agent and merge agent respectively.

Go to the same place in the Enterprise Manager. In the Agent
properties dialog box, go to Steps tab. Double click on 'Run Agent'
step. Copy the text available in the Command text box, as we need to
pass it to the EXE file. Open Command Prompt and run any of the
following commands, based on your requirement. Replace with the text
you copied from 'Run agent' step.

Distrib.exe <Parameters>
Logread.exe <Parameters>
Sanpshot.exe <Parameters>
Replmerg.exe <parameters>

Note that, these are ActiveX EXEs and they open up a new console
window whenever you run them. You have to press CTRL+C to close these
console windows.

Method #3
Use xp_cmdshell: Go to the same place in the Enterprise Manager. In
the Agent properties dialog box, go to Steps tab. Double click on 'Run
Agent' step. Copy the text available in the Command text box, as we
need to pass it to the xp_cmdshell command. Now, open ISQLW, connect
to your Distributor, and execute the following command. Replace the
with the text you copied from 'Run agent' step.

EXEC master..xp_cmdshell "distrib.exe <Command list>"

[Paul Ibison]

Probably need a bit more info on the business requirements here to be sure
to make the correct decision. Do you really need transactional replication
here? Are you really sending over transactions to the subscriber or just
using the initial data copy? If the latter then I'd say that snapshot would
be more suitable. If the data is read-only at the subscriber then even
log-shipping might be appropriate for your needs.
HTH,
Paul Ibison (www.replicationanswers.com)

[Hoardling1 via SQLMonster.com]

Well, the thought is that the subscriber data is read only. My subscriber is
for a website that needs to be up to date as soon as possible, preferably in
minutes, which is why I am using Transactional replication. I need a way to
make sure if someone hacks our web and decides to start writing bad data to
the subscriber database that our subscriber database will be updated with the
original production data and overwrite the bad data. Off subject just a
little bit, I am also trying to figure a way to log the SQL statement that
someone bad may have written to our subscriber and log it.

Thanks for the response.

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[Paul Ibison]

It sounds more like snapshot replication is the best fit here as you're
overwriting all the data each evening. Perhaps once the data is sent over,
you could change the database property to make it read_only?
HTH,
Paul Ibison (www.replicationanswers.com)