Sync Framework 2 CTP2 – no SqlExpressClientSyncProvider yet

Ok, I’ve finally gotten around to installing the CTP2 of the Sync framework. Let's see what new and interesting stuff I got with it:

1. A headache.
2. Erm... anything else?

All witticism aside, a lot of details have probably changed, but the main gripe I had still stands: there is no support for hub-and-spoke replication between two SQL servers etc. (Oh, and the designer is still unusable… Two gripes).

As for the first thing, I hoped I was finally going to get rid of my SqlExpressClientSyncProvider debugged demo but no such luck. It turns out that nothing of the sort is (yet?) included in the sync framework. Judging by a forum post, v2 is soon due to be released, but any questions regarding the Sql Express provider are met with a dead silence. It doesn’t seem it will be included this time (9200 downloads of the SqlExpressClientSyncProvider demo are obviously not significant for these guys). You almost literally have to read between the lines: regarding information about this CTP, there was a very sparse announcement, and a somewhat misleading one at that (and since this is the only information you get, any ambiguity can lead you in the wrong direction).

The CTP2 release announcement said:

# New database providers (SqlSyncProvider and SqlCeSyncProvider)
Enable hub-and-spoke and peer-to-peer synchronization for SQL Server, SQL Server Express, and SQL Server Compact.

So, does SqlSyncProvider work in hub-and-spoke scenario? I thought yes. How would you interpret the above sentence?

The truth is that SqlSyncProvider cannot be used as local sync provider in a SyncAgent (that is, in a hub-and-spoke scenario as I know it) because it is not derived from ClientSyncProvider. The SyncAgent explicitly denies it - and throws a very un-useful exception that says, essentially “ClientSyncProvider”… Translated, this means: “use the Reflector to see what has happened”, which I did. The code in the SyncAgent looks like this:

public SyncProvider LocalProvider 
{ 
    get 
    { 
        return this._localProvider; 
    } 
    set 
    { 
        ClientSyncProvider provider = value as ClientSyncProvider; 
        if ((value != null) && (provider == null)) 
        { 
            throw new InvalidCastException(typeof(ClientSyncProvider).ToString()); 
        } 
        this._localProvider = provider; 
    } 
}

(Someone was too lazy to write a meaningful error message… How much effort does it take? I know I wouldn’t tolerate this kind of behavior in my company.)

So there’s no chance for it to work (or I’m somehow using an old version of the SyncAgent). Is there any other way to do a hub-and-spoke sync, without a SyncAgent? I don’t know of it. But the docs for the CTP2 say:

SqlSyncProvider and SqlCeSyncProvider can be used for client-server, peer-to-peer, and mixed topologies, whereas DbServerSyncProvider and SqlCeClientSyncProvider are appropriate only for client-server topologies.

I thought that client-server is the same as hub-and-spoke, now I’m not so sure… At the end, after hours spent researching, I still don't know what to think.