It is recommended that you use caution when working in passthrough mode. Using definition and other statements might cause your SQL Remote setup to fail. SQL Remote relies on each database in a setup having the same objects; if a table is altered at some sites but not at others, attempts to replicate the data changes fail.

The default passthrough mode setting executes statements on the local database. To send statements to a remote database without executing them locally you must supply the ONLY keyword. When a passthrough session contains calls to stored procedures, the procedures must exist in the server that is issuing the passthrough commands, even if they are not being executed locally at the server.

The following example drops a table at the remote database and the consolidated database.

-- Drop a table at the remote database
-- and at the local database
PASSTHROUGH TO Joe_Remote;
DROP TABLE CrucialData;
PASSTHROUGH STOP ;

The following example drops a table at the remote database only.

-- Drop a table at the remote database only
PASSTHROUGH ONLY TO Joe_Remote;
DROP TABLE CrucialData;
PASSTHROUGH STOP;

You can complete the following tasks on a running SQL Remote setup:

Additional schema changes executed on a running SQL Remote setup might cause problems.

Passthrough works on only one level of a hierarchy

In a multi-tier SQL Remote installation, it is important that passthrough statements work on the level of databases immediately beneath the current level. In a multi-tier installation, passthrough statements must be entered at each consolidated database, for the level beneath it.