I am trying to figure out why the subscriptions on my merge replicated SQL Server 2008R2 database got reinitialized without my telling them to.
Last week I created some new tables, added a couple keys, and did minor table column alterations on the publication database. I then generated a new snapshot so the new tables and keys would propagate. I did NOT tell SQL Server to reinitialize anyone's subscription, and even if I had done that, I would have certainly made sure to select "Upload Changes First".
I have generated new snapshots on this very database before, not reinitialized any subscriptions, and all changes were propagated without problem. This week, however, when users synched after I made my changes and generated the new snapshot, their subscriptions were reinitialized and their data was NOT uploaded first! So they lost everything since their last synch. An absolute nightmare going on right now.
How did this happen? Does generating a new snapshot automatically reinitialize existing subscriptions? And, further, does it do it without uploading changes first? I do not believe either of these things occur based on my experience and readings, but then how did this happen?
I don't think there's anything I can do now to save the lost data, but I want to understand what triggers a reinitialization, so I can prevent this from happening in the future.