Replicated Functions

Performance can be improved over normal data replication by encapsulating many changes in a single replicated function.

Because they are not associated with table replication definitions, replicated functions can execute stored procedures that may or may not modify data directly.

With some data servers, Replication Server allows you to replicate stored procedure invocations asynchronously between databases.

Note: Replication Server does not support stored procedure replication on all types of data servers. For more information about replicating stored procedures on a particular data server, refer to the appropriate Replication Agent documentation.

With replicated functions, you can execute a stored procedure in another database. A replicated function allows you to:

Replicate the execution of a stored procedure to subscribing sites
Improve performance by replicating only the name and parameters of the stored procedure rather than the actual database changes

Replication Server supports both applied functions and request functions:

An applied function is replicated from a primary to a replicate database. Create subscriptions at replicate sites for the function replication definition and mark the stored procedure for replication in the primary database.
A request function is replicated from a replicate to a primary database. There is no subscription for a request function. Mark the stored procedure for replication in the replicate database.