SQL Server 2000 merge replication process

[svuribin]

Hi,
I am trying to replicate a production database server,on sql server 2000 at a particular geographic location to a new failover database server on sql server 2000 in a different geographic location via internet. The intention here is to use the failover database during times when the production server is down or busy and the synchronization needs to be sceduled for every 10 min.
It will be of huge help if any expert could give the detailed process involved and any precautions that need to be taken. I also need to keep inmind to use the ever/odd sequence number generator during the replication implementation.
Also, Whether to use row-level or column-level tracking?

thanks
SV

[MAK]

Did you consider

1. Geographically Distributed Clustering (windows 2003, double take, veritas replication) with high availabilty manager.

2. Log shipping (with FTP)

[Stephen]

I would not be considering replication as my first choice for a failover server. There are time lags that may cause loss of data and there are implications on the application that must be thought through and tested before you go too far.

As MAK suggests, have a think about other options first. SQL Server clustering would be my first choice for a failover environment but it does have a cost (hardware/software/training etc) . This should be weighed up against the cost to the business of an outage or loss of data.