4-Tier Merge Replication Archiecture

I'm happy to say the my rack of servers has been built, tested and shipped to Vegas for MEDC 2007.  So what am I trying to show with all this?  Well, Windows Mobile has supported synchronization with Exchange for years and we've provided lots of guidance and how to set that up and deploy it.  Now that Windows Mobile 6 supports out-of-the-box synchronization with SQL Server due to the inclusion of SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition in ROM, I need to show customers how to scale their infrastructure to take advantage of this great new feature.  The ability to sync the device with enterprise data is core to our mobile line of business strategy.  Below, you'll see a Visio diagram that represents my best guidance in building a scalable replication architecture that will allow you to support thousands of devices deployed to the field:

This architecture has been faithfully recreated in my 42U rack of servers that will be on display at MEDC 2007 next week in Vegas and later at Tech Ed in Orlando.  When combined with my stress-test software for both the server and device, attendees will learn how to build this themselves.  There's much more to come as I take you on deep dives of each tier of this powerful architecture.

 Rob