Connected synchronization
This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.
For replicas in a connected environment, you connect to the replica geodatabases directly and choose the replica to synchronize. All the required message exchanges needed to complete a synchronization are executed by the system. You never have to be concerned with message exchange or which replica is the sender or receiver.
Direction
Connected synchronization allows you to choose the direction in which the changes will be sent in a two-way replica. For example, you can send changes from the parent replica to the child replica or from the child replica to the parent replica, or in both directions. If you choose both directions, changes are first sent in one direction and then sent in the opposite direction, all in one operation.
Error handling
If an error occurs during synchronization, the operation is rolled back. Any changes that have been applied are removed, and the system is put back as it was before the synchronization.
An exception to this rule can occur when you synchronize in both directions. Here, if an error occurs after the process of applying changes in one direction completes, these changes are committed. However, the system is still in a consistent state, and further synchronizations are not affected.