A replication environment includes replication objects such as Replication Servers, data servers, and Replication Agents. Before any replication activities can be performed, you must create and configure an environment.
Depending upon the scale and complexity of your replication environment, you can set up either a two-tier or a three-tier management solution for your environment.
In a two-tier management solution, Replication Manager (RM) connects directly to the servers in the environment without communicating through a management layer.
This lets you manage small, simple replication environments with fewer than 10 servers, and provides you the ability to create, alter, and delete components in the replication environment.
In a three-tier management solution, Replication Manager can monitor larger and complex replication environments with the help of Replication Monitoring Services (RMS). RM connects to the servers in the environment through RMS.
RMS provides the monitoring capabilities for the replication environment. In this solution, RMS monitors the status of the servers and other components in the replication environment, and RM provides the client interface that displays the information provided by the RMS.