>>Once you start [if not already] using parameterized views [local and/or remote], you will be mighty grateful that you use meaningless, integer key fields.
>
>Using an Integer also makes incrementing painless on PKs anway

Especially if you migrate to Oracle. There you can take advantage of the SEQUENCE feature that will automatically return the next integer in a sequence for your PK [or whatever you need a next number/ID for]. No code, no table needed to track last used number, no fuss, no muss. I would bet SQL Server has something similar.