The following primary database issues must be addressed in a successful heterogeneous replication system:
The requirements of the Replication Agent and the intrusions and impacts of the Replication Agent on the data server. For example, some Replication Agents create and use database objects in the primary database to support replication.
The access and permissions required in the data server for other replication system components. Both the primary Replication Server and the Replication Agent for a database must have user IDs and passwords defined in the database with appropriate permissions to access primary database objects.
The connectivity required to support communication between the data server and other replication system components. Replication Agents use the native communication protocol of the data server, ODBC protocols, or JDBC protocols to communicate with the primary database. Replication Server may require a database gateway to communicate with a data server.
The specific limitations on replication from the particular data server. For example, some Replication Agents restrict the configuration options of some data servers. Replication Server may impose size limitations on some native datatypes in some databases.
How replication definitions stored in the RSSD are used by the Replication Agent for the particular data server. For example, both Replication Server and Replication Agents are case-sensitive in identifying database object names, but some databases are not.
The datatype conversions that may be required when replicating transactions from one particular data server to another type of data server. For example, almost every type of data server has a unique way of representing temporal data. The TIMESTAMP datatype in one database may need to be “translated” to be stored as a datetime datatype in another database.
The replication system management issues specific to the particular data server. For example, different data servers allow different system management options.
For more information about specific primary database issues for specific databases, see the appropriate chapter for your database.
