SQL Server Replication Made Fast & Reliable
We have quite a few customers using NitroAccelerator to improve SQL Server Replication performance. I have seen multiple uses for SQL Server Replication including:
- Moving data from a centralized publishing database to a remote database so that the data is closer to the application users
- Like above but using, for example, SQL Server Express, as a local cache on the end-user system to speed up the application
- Moving data from remote locations into a central database
Kendra Little has a good blog entry, Performance Tuning SQL Server Transactional Replication: A Checklist, that addresses several things to consider around replication, including the network. When the database servers are in physically separate locations – whether across town or across continents (as the case with our customer, Dynatrace – then the network will become the central issue. The farther apart the servers, the more likely latency will become a factor. Additionally, when the servers are in other countries or remote regions, you can’t always control the level of bandwidth, or it might be impractically expensive to upgrade it. Argenis Fernandez’ blog entry on Transactional Replication and WAN links is a good reference for the further tuning of replication across the WAN and the perils of using WAN accelerators.
Yet the network connection can still constrain performance and cause unacceptably high replication latency. That’s when NitroAccelerator comes into the picture. According to Pinal Dave, in SQL Server – When to Use a Sledgehammer and When to use a Screwdriver:
“A common issue when using replication over long distances is that it can fall hopelessly behind. I have seen many companies leverage NitroAccelerator from Nitrosphere to mitigate this issue by attaining near gigabit LAN speeds over these high-latency connections. As a result, they outperform the Always On feature at a fraction of the price.”
Real-time replication across even the slowest connections is a simple reality with NitroAccelerator. Maybe it’s time to start leveraging NitroAccelerator in your environment!
Dramatically accelerate and secure your end-to-end SQL Server network traffic for:
- SQL Server Tabular Data Stream (TDS)
- Windows SMB File Transfer
- Database Replication
- Thick Clients / Client-Server / 2-Tiered Applications