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SQL Azure Data Sync - Create a Sync Group

A synchronization group is two or more databases that are logically grouped together for the purpose of synchronizing specified tables, columns and rows common to each.

The members of your synchronization groups are governed by your business needs and may contain only SQL Azure or a mix of SQL Server and SQL Azure databases. This article walks you through the steps to create a SQL Azure Data Sync synchronization group. The only requirement is that each sync group must have at least two databases, one of which is a SQL Azure database – which serves as the sync group hub.

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Prerequisites

The following are prerequisites that must be met before you can create a sync group. These are covered in more detail in the article, SQL Azure Data Sync: How to Get Started.

You must have:

  • A Windows Azure account, which requires a Windows Live ID.
  • An active Windows Azure subscription.

Before you proceed we suggest that you read the following articles:

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Overview

The following chart sets forth the sequence of steps to create a sync group of any topology. Each of the sub processes in the chart corresponds to a section below.  Go to the sections to read a summary and link to the article for that step. It is left to the reader to decide which steps they need to create a sync group that is appropriate for their business.


Figure 1: Flow Chart of the process to create a sync group

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Provision a Data Sync Server

Before you can begin the process to create a sync group you must first provision a Data Sync server on your Windows Azure subscription. For details on how to do this see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Provision a Data Sync Server.

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Name the Sync Group

The first step in the process to create a sync group is to give the sync group a unique and meaningful name. For a sync group that synchronizes all sales data from the regional offices to corporate headquarters you might want to name it SalesReportSG. For details on how to name your sync group see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Name a Sync Group.

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Add a SQL Azure Hub Database

Every sync group needs a SQL Azure database that acts as the sync group hub database through which all synchronization data passes. For the details on how to add a SQL Azure database as the sync group hub see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Add a SQL Azure Hub Database.

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Add a SQL Azure Member Database

Every sync group needs at least two databases, one of which must be the SQL Azure hub database. In addition to the SQL Azure hub database you may also have additional SQL Azure databases. If you want to add one or more SQL Azure databases as members of the sync group see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Add a SQL Azure Member Database.

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Add a SQL Server Member Database

Every sync group needs at least two databases, one of which must be the SQL Azure hub database. In addition to the the SQL Azure hub database you may add SQL Server databases. If you want to add one or more SQL Server databases as members of the sync group see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Add a SQL Server Member Database.

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Configure the Sync Group

After you have added the databases to the sync group you configure the sync group. To configure the sync group you:
  1. Select the sync group schema source.
  2. Select the tables to synchronize.
  3. Select the columns to synchronize.
  4. Optionally filter the rows to synchronize.
  5. Set the synchronization frequency.
For more detailed information on how to configure a sync group see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Configure a Sync Group.

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Deploy the Sync Group

Lastly you deploy the sync group. For additional information on how to deploy a sync group see the article SQL Azure Data Sync Deploy a Sync Group.

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Feedback

This release was provided in order to gather feedback from our customers. Now that you have previewed what the SQL Azure Data Sync team is doing, please let us know what you think of our direction, and tell us about your experiences. You can send us your thoughts in any of the following ways:

See Also

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