Replication Monitor

Replication Monitor is a component of SQL Server Enterprise Manager designed for viewing the status of replication agents and troubleshooting potential problems at the Distributor. Replication Monitor shows up as a node in SQL Server Enterprise Manager under the server that is enabled as a Distributor when the user is a member of the sysadmin fixed server role. Replication Monitor Group can also appear as a top-level node in Enterprise Manager for a central location where you can monitor and administer multiple Distributors.

Additionally, users that are not members of the sysadmin fixed server role can monitor replication if they are defined with the replmonitor role in the distribution database. A system administrator can add any user to the replmonitor role, which allows that user to view replication activity with the Replication Monitor node in SQL Server Enterprise Manager; however, the user will not be able to administer replication.

Users may only be part of the replmonitor role in only one distribution database. They will only be able to view agents in the distribution database in which they are part of the replmonitor role. However, the status shown on the Replication Monitor node reflects all agents. So there may be times when the user sees an error status (red X on the Replication Monitor node, Publishers or Agents folders), but none of the agents they can view show an error status. This indicates that an agent this user is not able to see is showing an error status.

For example, a user added as part of the replmonitor role can view agent history, errors, and analyze error details, but they would not be able to change agent profiles, agent schedules, and so on. Although this user would be able to view a list of publications, the user would only be able to view properties for the publications that include the user in the Publication Access List (PAL).

You can use Replication Monitor to:

• View a list of Publishers, publications, and subscriptions to the publications that are supported by the Distributor.
  
  
• View scheduled replication agents, and to monitor real-time status and history for each agent.
  
  
• Set up and monitor alerts related to replication events.
  
  
• Administer agents and subscriptions including starting and stopping agents and reinitializing subscriptions.

After replication has been configured, you can also use the Microsoft Windows NT® or Windows 2000 Event Viewer to view SQL Server™ messages. For information about Event Viewer, see Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Help or Windows® 2000 Help.

To Enable Replication Monitor Group

1. In Enterprise Manager, right-click on a SQL Server, and click Properties.
   
   
2. On the Replication tab, select Show Replication Monitor Group. Optionally, you can also select to add this server as a Distributor in the Replication Monitor Group.