How to validate subscribers in SQL Server Replication

    There have been many SQL Server DBAs who would like to compare the row count between tables in replication Publisher and Subscriber. SQL Server provides an easy way of doing this and is known as validation subscribers in replication which involves doing a row count between the table that is published and the ones that are subscribed to it.

    To Validate subscribers, you need to do the following.

1. Launch replication monitor.
   
2. Right click the publisher for which you want to validate the row count and click validate subscriptions.
   
3. Choose the subscribers that you want to validate, by default it chooses all subscribers for that publication.
   
4. You will be provided with the validation options.
   
5. Select the validation option that best suits you. It is advisable to choose, "Compute a fast row count: If differences are found, compute an actual row count"
   
6. Click ok.
   
7. Click ok.
   

   Now you will be able to see the row count match are mismatch between the publisher and the subscriber, when you double click the subscriber. The next article would be how to perform the same validation using TSQL.