Sql-server – Best approch to replicate data from one db to other db on same server

Transactional Replication is typically used to off-load reporting to another server/instance and can be near real-time in a best case scenario. The benefit of Transactional Replication is that you can place different indexes on the subscriber(s) to optimize reporting. You can also choose to replicate only a portion of the data if only a subset is needed for reporting.

With Transactional Replication you will need Standard Edition or higher for the Publisher and Subscribers can be Express Edition or higher.

Have a look at Transactional Replication to get started.

If you have any questions, let me know. I hope this helps.

I think linked server and MERGE would be the best way to do it. Set it to run at the appropriate interval and go for it. Take care with the merge statement so that it properly detects when to do an update or not. But since they are on the same subnet, it should perform adequately.

But linked servers have their own share of risks as well, make sure you set them up correctly (pass through security, etc.).

If you already have SSIS configured in your environment, that may be the more manageable approach.