Guru's Guide to SQL Server Architecture and Internals, The

Replication Cleanup

One of the tasks you have to provide for in an environment intended for long-term use is cleanup. An architecture that does not perform system cleanup and handle as much of its own system maintenance as possible can present administration headaches down the road. When replication is first enabled, SQL Server creates five canned SQL Server Agent jobs to help keep replication humming along and to aid it in cleaning up after itself. Table 21.2 summarizes these jobs.

Each of these maintenance tasks helps replication continue to run well over the long-term and reduces the administrative burden on those managing the replication installation. For example, the distribution cleanup job deletes the files associated with a snapshot once ...