February 2007 - Posts
Q: What are the options for SyncDirection and what do they mean?
A: For each table that has been specified for synchronisation the SyncDirection needs to be defined. The options are Snapshot, DownloadOnly, UploadOnly and BiDirectional:
- DownloadOnly - This option only allows changes from the server to be propagated to the client
- UploadOnly - This option only allows changes from the client to be propagated back to the server (eg new sales orders)
- BiDirectional - This option allow changes from both the client and server to be propagated
- Snapshot - Similar to DownloadOnly, except that each time the client sync the full set of data (instead of incremental changes) will be transmitted to the client. This option is useful in scenarios where the server can't track changes.
Q: Is there any documentation available for the Microsoft Sync Services?
A: Yes, an early version of the documentation has been made available for download from here. If you would like to see any more documentation feel free to post a comment on this thread, or across at the MSDN Forum
Q: Is there a discussion forum for the Microsoft Sync Services?
A: Yes, you can either post discussion questions at this site, or you can head over to the official MSDN Forum here which contains lots of useful discussions. The MSDN Forum is the best way to get feedback to the product team and to get assistance with any issues you might be having.
Q: Are there any examples of how to implement a client or server sync provider?
A: Yes, a sample project has just been uploaded that has a very simple example of how you could implement both a client and a server sync provider. Although this sample doesn't use the full extent of the sync services framework it provides a simple set of providers that could be used to keep two datasets in sync. The sample can be downloaded from here
Q: Is there a way that I can work with the Microsoft Sync Services without having to write so much code
A: Yes, a Configuration Sample has been posted that will enable you to recreate the samples across at the Synchronizer blog without writing half the lines of code. Most of the information has been moved into configuration files that determine the client and server sync providers. It also provides mechanisms for handling the distributed scenario that is given in Demo III across a webservice.
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