Transaction retention and History retention

Question

SQL Server 2008 R2, Transactional replication

Hi guys,

I am new in replication and I am installing and configuring a transactional replication to learn and test how it works.

I have just finished the Distributor installation: on the Properties page I find:

1) Transaction retention

2) History retention

Please could you give some suggestions on how how to configure them, keeping in mind problems/constraints and ensuring the replica is well performed without problems.

Many thanks

Answer 1

Stick with the defaults.

Transaction retention controls how long the commands will be stored in the distribution database after they have been applied on the subscriber.

History retention controls the lenght the history of your replication sessions (the view details dialog in replication monitor) hangs around for.

I normally keep long histories in case I have to go back in time and figure out what happened when.

Some people keep the transaction retention higher as it is easy to recover from failed subscribers by having replication catch up after a database backup restore.

Keeping transaction retention may mean a large distribution database.

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