initialize-a-subscription.md

title	Initialize a Subscription
description	Initialize a Subscription
author	MashaMSFT
ms.author	mathoma
ms.date	09/25/2024
ms.service	sql
ms.subservice	replication
ms.topic	how-to
ms.custom	updatefrequency5
helpviewer_keywords	snapshot replication [SQL Server], initializing subscriptions transactional replication, initializing subscriptions initializing subscriptions [SQL Server replication] subscriptions [SQL Server replication], initializing initializing subscriptions [SQL Server replication], about initializing subscriptions merge replication [SQL Server replication], initializing subscriptions
monikerRange	=azuresqldb-mi-current||>=sql-server-2016

Initialize a Subscription

[!INCLUDE SQL Server SQL MI] Subscribers in a replication topology must be initialized, so that they have a copy of the schema from each article in the publication they have subscribed to and any replication objects that are required, such as stored procedures, triggers, and metadata tables. In addition, the Subscriber typically receives an initial dataset. The default initialization method uses a full snapshot that includes schema, replication objects, and data, but publications can also be initialized without a full snapshot.

For more information, see Initialize a Subscription with a Snapshot and Initialize a Transactional Subscription Without a Snapshot.