Error message in SQL Server 2008 Replication Monitor: An error occurred while retrieving the publication data

This article helps you work around the problem that occurs when you try to view a publication in Replication Monitor.

Original product version:   SQL Server 2008
Original KB number:   2650553

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You start Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management Studio.
  • You start Replication Monitor.
  • You expand a publisher and then select a publication.

In this scenario, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

An error occurred while retrieving the publication data. Unable to case object of type 'System.DBNull' to type 'Microsoft.sqlserver.Replication.PublisherMonitor.

Cause

This issue occurs if you select the publication before the list of publishers is populated.

Workaround

To work around this issue, wait until the list of publishers is fully populated before you click a publication.

More information

Typically, the issue that is mentioned in the Symptoms section occurs when many servers are listed as publishers. The publisher list may also populate slowly if the servers are busy or are on slow network connections.

References

For more information about Replication Monitor, see: Overview of the Replication Monitor Interface

Applies to

  • SQL Server 2008 Developer
  • SQL Server 2008 Enterprise
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Express
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition for Small Business
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Web
  • SQL Server 2008 R2 Workgroup
  • SQL Server 2008 Standard
  • SQL Server 2008 Web