I could regurgitate a whole load of documentation here, but I won't: I'll just direct you to SQL Server Books Online[^] - note, this link is to a download, not online documentation. In the Contents tab, go to Replication. Snippet: When to Use Replication With organizations supporting diverse hardware and software applications in distributed environments, it becomes necessary to store data redundantly. Moreover, different applications have different needs for autonomy and data consistency. Replication is a solution for a distributed data environment when you need to:
Copy and distribute data to one or more sites.
Distribute copies of data on a scheduled basis.
Distribute data changes to other servers.
Allow multiple users and sites to make changes then merge the data modifications together, potentially identifying and resolving conflicts.
Build data applications that need to be used in online and offline environments.
Build Web applications where users can browse large volumes of data.
Optionally make changes at subscribing sites that are transparently under transactional control of the Publisher.
If you always want the latest data available to your client, and cannot stand any stale data, stick with linked servers. Otherwise replication should produce less traffic between servers.