This chapter explains how to use the check subscription command to display the status of a subscription and how to solve some common problems when using atomic, nonatomic, and bulk materialization. Use rs_helppub and rs_helppubsub to find the publications and articles that a subscription is using. For more information about rs_helppub and rs_helppubsub, see the Replication Server Administration Guide Volume 1. The general procedure for troubleshooting subscription problems is in “Troubleshooting subscription failures”.
The replication process begins with subscription materialization, which is the process by which data is first copied to the destination database. When you no longer want a subscription replicated to a destination database, you dematerialize the subscription at the destination database. Dematerialization is the process by which data is deleted from the destination database.
If you are using a Replication Agent, your subscription
materialization process may differ from the process described in
this chapter. See your Replication Agent documentation for the Replication
Agent-specific subscription materialization process.
Subscription failures occur when materialization or dematerialization fails. Usually, the person who is conducting the materialization or dematerialization monitors the operation and reports any problems.
Subscription problem symptoms are easily identified and include:
Materialization failure – no data in the subscription’s replicate table at the destination database, the status for subscriptions at the primary and replicate Replication Servers is not valid, or materialization is taking longer than is reasonable.
Dematerialization failure – data still exists in the subscription’s replicate table at the destination database, subscriptions still exist at the primary or replicate Replication Servers, or dematerialization is taking longer than is reasonable.
If a subscription problem caused the DSI thread for the replicate database to abnormally terminate, you can restart it using the resume connection command. For more information, see “DSI down or suspended”.
