Merge Metadata Cleanup

Hello Everyone,
I am running SQL2K with sp3, continuous merge replication, only one
subscriber.
My current setting for Subscription expiration is the default of 7, I
have just recently changed this from the default of 14 days, as our
Subscriber is basically always available.
I am still trying to figure out how to cleanup my merge metadata. From
what I have read and from what I understand ,
sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup is automatically run, if the agent
running Merge has the Parameter for MetadataRententionCleanup set to 1
I am under the assumption that if I have has the Parameter for
MetadataRententionCleanup set to 1 it should automatically be cleaning
up my metadata. Even though I have it set to 1 it does not appear
like it is actually cleaning out MSmerge_contents or MSmerge_tombstone.
These tables just keep growing.
Now if I had this parameter set to 0 then I would need to use
sp_mergecleanupmetadata to clean up MSmerge_contents or
MSmerge_tombstone.
Would there ever be a reason for running both?
I did go to BOL but I read the following about using
sp_mergecleanupmetadata:
If you want to run sp_mergecleanupmetadata without the subscriptions
being marked for reinitialization:
Stop all updates to the publication and subscription databases.
Unfortunately, I cannot stop all updates as our servers need to be
available 24/7.
Does anyone run this without stopping replication first? And if you do
run it do you have MetadataRententionCleanup set to 0?
If anyone can help I truly would appreciate it.
Thanks,
Barbara
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are you using anonymous subscribers? Merge replication does not clean
up the metadata as efficiently with anonymous subscrptions as opposed
to named subscriptions.
|||Thanks Hilary.
Unfortunately no, we do not have any anonymous subscriptions only one
named subscriptions.
Any other ideas?
Barbara
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|||I believe I have my answer:
1) sp_mergecleanupmetadata
2) sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup
The First should be used for topologies with SQL Server 2000 SP1 or less
(which is not my case)
The Second one is the one to control the process manually for SQL Server
> SP1 which is your case and when the MetadataretentionCleanup is set to
0 (not automatic)
There is also a catch though the second sp is executed automatically by
merge Agent at at startup! when MetadataretentionCleanup is set to 1
therefore when in continuous mode it will be called only once.
So I'll need to manually run sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup or setup a
job that will do it for me on a scheduled basis.
Thanks for your help Hilary.
Barbara
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Merge altering metadata

I have a column going into a merge DT_WSTR length 50 on both(left/right) sides, yet when viewing the resulting output metadata, the length is 16. (I am viewing the metadata by clicking on the arrows)

This is obviously wrong.

NB originally the length was not set to this. As an attempt to try and fix the problem, I have added a placeholder column before all of my conditional splits of str50 type.

Why is it doing this?

This is causing my 0xC02020C1 error, I am convinced of it.

One of the errors has now gone away but the other two merges still have the error.

SSIS seems to assume that you will make no mistakes and will never want to go back and change anything, woe betide you if you have to go back and alter it later.

I have also noticed that certain (other) errors go away merely by opening and closing the tasks. Shocking.In the merge transformation, delete the row corresponding to the bad metadata by right clicking on the column name and selecting delete.

Then close the merge transformation editor. Edit it again and then at the bottom select the column again for both inputs -- matching them up. This should clear the stale metadata.sql