Understanding the Microsoft Sync Framework

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Understanding the Microsoft Sync Framework

The Microsoft Sync Framework Can Integrate Applicationsinto Offline or Collaboration-based Networks

By Joydip Kanjilal

Microsoft s answer to a synchronization platform foroffline data accessibility is here. The Sync Framework, as it is called, is acomprehensive framework for synchronizing offline data with the onlinecounterpart. Using this framework, you can build applications that cansynchronize data from any data store using any protocol over the network.Hence, it is independent of the protocol used and the data store that containsthe data to be synchronized.

This is what Microsoft has to say: Microsoft SyncFramework is a comprehensive synchronization platform that enablescollaboration and offline access for applications, services, and devices. Itfeatures technologies and tools that enable roaming, sharing, and taking dataoffline. Using Microsoft Sync Framework, developers can build sync ecosystemsthat integrate any application, with any data from any store using any protocolover any network. This article outlines the features of this awesomesynchronization platform from Microsoft.

Why the Microsoft Sync Framework?

The ability for the synchronization to support offline andonline data is the greatest benefit that this framework offers. The major goalof the Microsoft Sync Framework is to enable any data source to be integratedin the data synchronization, irrespective of its type. Imagine a scenario wherethe sales data entered in offline mode by a sales person of a company needs tobe in sync with the data available online. The sales person might be using asmart phone or a PDA and might connect to the remote corporate network toretrieve the latest data and information. It is critical for the company toensure that the data and information that is available is consistent and insync, irrespective of the modes in which they are looked at. This is where theSync Framework comes into play.

These are some of the salient features of the MicrosoftSync Framework:

Core Components

The Sync Framework comes with support for ADO.NET, FileSystems, RSS, Atom Feeds, and even Custom Data Stores. Here is the list of thecomponents that comprise the Microsoft Sync Framework:

In the above list, the first three are synchronizationproviders. You can even create custom providers using the Microsoft SyncFramework Runtime to facilitate the support for data synchronization the wayyou want.

Who Are the Participants?

A discussion on the Sync Framework is incomplete withoutunderstanding the participants. A participant refers to the location from wherethe data to be synchronized is retrieved. Note that any one type of aparticipant can synchronize data from any other type of participant.Participants can be one of the following types:

Refer to http://msdn.microsoft.com/syncfor more information on the Microsoft Sync Framework.

Conclusion

The Microsoft Sync Framework documentation states, MicrosoftSync Services for ADO.NET lets you synchronize data from different sources overtwo-tier, N-tier, and service-based architectures. The Sync Services forADO.NET API for client and server synchronization provides a set of componentsto synchronize data between data services and a local store, instead of onlyreplicating a database and its schema.

This article has touched on some of the awesome featuresand benefits of the Microsoft Sync Framework. Please send me your comments.Happy reading!

Joydip Kanjilal isa Microsoft MVP in ASP.NET. He is the author of ASP.NETData Presentation Controls Essentials (Packt Publishing; http://www.packtpub.com/asp-net-data-presentation-controls/book).He has more than 12 years of industry experience in IT with more than six yearsin Microsoft .NET and its related technologies. He has authored articles forsome of the most reputable sites, like http://www.asptoday.com,http://www.devx.com, http://www.aspalliance.com, http://www.aspnetpro.com, http://www.sql-server-performance.com,http://www.sswug.com, etc. Many of thesearticles have been selected at http://www.asp.net(Microsoft s Official Site on ASP.NET). Joydip also was a community creditwinner at http://www.community-credit.coma number of times. He is currently working as a Senior Consultant in areputable company in Hyderabad, India.He has years of experience in designing and architecting solutions for variousdomains. His technical strengths include C, C++, VC++, Java, C#, Microsoft.NET, AJAX, Design Patterns, SQLServer, Operating Systems, and Computer Architecture. Joydip blogs at http://aspadvice.com/blogs/joydipand spends most of his time reading books, blogging, and writing books andarticles. His hobbies include watching cricket and soccer, and playing chess.Contact Joydip via e-mail at mailto:[email protected]and view his MVP profile at https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/profile/joydip.