merge pull subscription Output path change (Sql Express 2008R2)

Question

I have a single merge replication with pull subscribers (Sql Express 2008R2) and Sql Server 2008R2 as publisher. I want to turn logging on for specific subscribers only for occasional debugging. SSMS on subscriber machines is not an option.

I know I should use 'optional_command_line' and set '-Output' property when creating merge agent at the subscriber (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187722.aspx).

But I created the agent and scheduled in sync center already many months back and now want to edit the agent's properties- set its output path and verbosity level temporarily on some subscriber machines.

Is there a way to do this without having to redo the whole subscription? Something like this here (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312292) but only a non gui version of what they suggest.

What are my options? Without explicit -Output specified, output is sent 'to the console' as per this(http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms147839.aspx). If my merge schedule is through sync center, where can I find this logged info, if I haven't sepcified my log file specifically?

Answer 1

Agent output to file cannot be done through Sync Center. You will need to synchronize on-demand from the command line in order to enable verbose agent logging to file with SQL Server Express. To run the Merge Agent from the command line, execute replmerg.exe from the COM folder. It will look something like this:

This example outputs the verbose Merge Agent log to C:\TEMP\mergeagent.log. You will need to update the replmerg.exe parameter values according to your environment.