James,
replication will require a connection between servers at some point. Where a
connection is not possible, you can use a derivative of log shipping or
database shipping as you are doing.
Rgds,
Paul Ibison SQL Server MVP, www.replicationanswers.com
(recommended sql server 2000 replication book:
http://www.nwsu.com/0974973602p.html)

Is it possible to set-up replication between two servers that are never
directly connected?
We have a production server that is not connected to our network for
security reasons. I am doing testing on a local server and then want to
periodically apply the updates to the production server via CD. I haven't
been able to do this with replication as it seems to require a connection to
the subscription db for the initial snapshot.
At the moment, the only way I have been able to do this is by creating a
backup and recreating the db on the remote server.
Thanks!

Thanks very much Paul.
James

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