FIX: Distribution Cleanup Agent Incorrectly Cleans Up Entries for Anonymous Subscribers

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BUG #: 469473 (SHILOH_BUGS)

SYMPTOMS

The Distribution Agent cleanup job (sp_MSdistribution_cleanup) incorrectly removes the snapshot entries that belong to anonymous Subscribers before the retention period expires. This leads to missing snapshots for anonymous subscribers.

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RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290211 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290211/ ) How to obtain the latest SQL Server 2000 service pack

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Hotfix information

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version         Size             File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------
   26-Feb-2003  03:41  2000.80.777.0      29,244 bytes  Dbmslpcn.dll     
   25-Apr-2003  02:12                    786,432 bytes  Distmdl.ldf
   25-Apr-2003  02:12                  2,359,296 bytes  Distmdl.mdf
   30-Jan-2003  01:55                        180 bytes  Drop_repl_hotfix.sql
   07-Apr-2003  19:15  2000.80.801.0   1,557,052 bytes  Dtsui.dll        
   24-Apr-2003  02:51                    747,927 bytes  Instdist.sql
   30-Jan-2003  01:55                      1,402 bytes  Inst_repl_hotfix.sql
   08-Feb-2003  06:40  2000.80.765.0      90,692 bytes  Msgprox.dll      
   19-Nov-2001  22:25  2000.80.194.0     275,004 bytes  Ntwdblib.dll     
   01-Apr-2003  02:07                      1,873 bytes  Odsole.sql
   05-Apr-2003  01:46  2000.80.800.0      62,024 bytes  Odsole70.dll     
   19-Nov-2001  22:25  2000.80.194.0      25,152 bytes  Opends60.dll     
   02-Apr-2003  21:48  2000.80.796.0      57,904 bytes  Osql.exe         
   02-Apr-2003  23:15  2000.80.797.0     279,104 bytes  Pfutil80.dll     
   04-Apr-2003  21:27                  1,083,467 bytes  Replmerg.sql
   04-Apr-2003  21:53  2000.80.798.0     221,768 bytes  Replprov.dll     
   08-Feb-2003  06:40  2000.80.765.0     307,784 bytes  Replrec.dll      
   01-Apr-2003  02:23                  1,084,828 bytes  Replsys.sql
   16-Apr-2003  22:39                    115,892 bytes  Sp3_serv_uni.sql
   25-Apr-2003  02:19  2000.80.760.0     815,676 bytes  Sqldata.dll      
   07-Apr-2003  17:44                     25,172 bytes  Sqldumper.exe    
   19-Mar-2003  18:20  2000.80.789.0      28,672 bytes  Sqlevn70.rll
   24-Apr-2003  05:39  2000.80.811.0     176,696 bytes  Sqlmap70.dll     
   08-Feb-2003  06:40  2000.80.765.0      57,920 bytes  Sqlrepss.dll     
   24-Apr-2003  04:05  2000.80.811.0   7,422,520 bytes  Sqlservr.exe     
   25-Apr-2003  02:19  2000.80.760.0     590,396 bytes  Sqlsort.dll      
   08-Feb-2003  06:40  2000.80.765.0      45,644 bytes  Sqlvdi.dll       
   26-Feb-2003  03:41  2000.80.777.0      29,244 bytes  Ssmslpcn.dll     
   19-Nov-2001  22:26  2000.80.194.0      33,344 bytes  Ssmssh70.dll     
   26-Feb-2003  03:41  2000.80.777.0      82,492 bytes  Ssnetlib.dll     
   25-Apr-2003  02:19  2000.80.760.0      53,808 bytes  Ums.dll          
   25-Apr-2003  02:19  2000.80.760.0     287,296 bytes  Xpstar.dll       
   28-Feb-2003  01:34  2000.80.778.0      98,872 bytes  Xpweb70.dll

Note: Because of file dependencies, the most recent hotfix or feature that contains the files may also contain additional files.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, you can use any one of the following methods:

Use PULL named subscriptions instead of anonymous subscriptions.
Pause the cleanup job during the administrative update.
Drop article Art_B (see step 5 in the "Steps to Reproduce the Behavior" section).
Add the article Art_B back in the publication. Generate the snapshot one time, and then apply the snapshot to all subscribers before you generate another snapshot.
Reinitialize the subscriber, and then regenerate snapshot. Apply the snapshot to all the subscribers before you generate another snapshot.

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MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

To reproduce the problem, follow these steps:

Set up a publication with the @allow_anonymous option set to TRUE, and then add an article. Name this article Art_A.
Add an anonymous subscription.
Generate a snapshot.
Run the Distribution Agent (this applies the snapshot to the subscription).
Add a new article and name it Art_B.
Generate a snapshot.
Generate the snapshot again.
Run the cleanup agent job.
Run the Distribution Agent. It does not apply the new article (Art_B).

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4.

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MORE INFORMATION

This hotfix is also available in the MS03-031 security patch. For additional information about the MS03-031 security patch, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

821277 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821277/ ) MS03-031: Security patch for SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3

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