SQL Server 2008 R2 METADATA cleanup issue

Question

We use SQL Server 2008 R2 as our database and we use that to SYNC data in different locations. We can set the interval to expire the subscription. But this subscription is expiring before that expiring date. Can anyone give a solution for this?

Answer 1

The problem MAY be due to a failure to set the distribution database maximum transaction period. If a subscription is not synchronized within a specified period of time, there is a possibility the subscription may get deleted or it may be automatically marked deactivated and require reinitialization. Whether it expires and is deleted or gets marked deactivated and requires initialization depends upon whether it exceeds the subscription expiration property of the publication or the maximum transaction retention property of the distribution database as well as whether or not it is an anonymous subscription. Its a combination of the historical information and the transaction retention period that determines this. In addition, bugs have been logged with Microsoft in the past (Sql Server 2005) with similar issues with Merge Replication subscriptions. These MAY have been fixed in SQL Server 2008.