Distributing data between different locations in an organization is essential for scalability, availability, and distributed reporting. SQL Server 2005 uses a publishing model to describe its distribution process: The data being replicated is the article, the system that's the source of the data is the Publisher, and the systems that receive the replicated data are the Subscribers. The SQL Server system that transfers the data is the Distributor. One Publisher can have multiple Subscribers, and in many cases, the Publisher also acts as the Distributor. SQL Server 2005 supports several types of database replication to meet different needs.