Chapter 8. Remote Repositories

Most projects involve a repository on a different machine than the client. This chapter discusses remote repositories, access methods, how to set up each access method, and security considerations for each type of access.

This chapter also discusses the two access methods for local repositories: local and fork. fork represents a way to access a local repository as if it were a remote repository.

CVS can operate equally well as a single program that handles both the sandbox and the repository or as a pair of programs — a client managing the sandbox and a server managing the repository.

CVS can run as a single program if both sandbox and repository are on the same computer or if the repository is on a file server and the computer the sandbox is on perceives the shared directories as local.

If your file server or networking filesystem caches directory listings, the cached listings invalidate CVS file locking. Do not use caching filesystems with CVS. If your file server or networking filesystem changes files in transit, the changes can corrupt the CVS data. This corruption can be subtle enough that it doesn't show up for weeks or months.

If you have a personal repository for private work, you may choose to keep the repository on the same computer as your sandbox. If you are sharing a mainframe with several other people, you may have a shared repository on the same mainframe as your sandboxes. In such situations, be particularly careful to back up the repository. When the repository and the sandbox are on different computers, each acts as a partial backup of the other. When they are on the same computer, that inherent backup is not available.