What is the CVSNT Project

The CVSNT Project was began by several developers in 1999 to resolve problems with the open source CVS system, in particular support for a CVS server on Windows, Case Insensitive Filenames, and usability issues.

What is CVS

This is the function at the heart of all Source Code Management,Document Management and Configuration Management Systems.

CVSNT Professional and CVS Suite include additional tools to assist with deploying files to test and production environments, tracking who or what processes initiated the changes and much more.

What is the difference between CVS and CVSNT

CVSNT has continued to add features to the original CVS that support modern version control and configuration management best practice as well as maintain feature parity with CVS.

Today CVSNT is the most widely deployed version of CVS and is distributed with TortoiseCVS and WinCVS.

Why not merge CVSNT and CVS?

Merging the projects and merging the repositories for the two projects has been discussed several times with different members of the CVS project team. The problem appears to be that the CVS project has an established charter that dictates that only some kinds of changes are suitable for inclusion in that project, see here and also here. This is considered the CVS Project Charter.

The organisation of the CVSNT project has been designed to not hinder development with such a charter. Not having such a limiting charter encourages creativity and adaptation. Specifically since the software is designed to manage changes we feel that the software itself should not hinder change. The CVSNT project accepts change and changes as a part of the basic concept of version management, including changes to expand the supported methodologies. This has allowed the CVSNT project to add features and make architectural changes that the CVS project has not and probably will not.

This difference in philosophy as to how to accept changes is the core problem in merging the project teams. Both teams feel that each philosophy produces a result that users of each product want. Generally that is:

• CVS users want a free version control tool that implements the unreserved distributed methodology for unix, linux and cygwin.
• CVSNT users want a free version control tool that implements latest "best practice" including unreserved distributed as well as reserved and centralised for windows, mac, unix, linux and os/400.

What sort of patches prevent the CVSNT project and the CVS project from merging?

However leaving that aside, a recent conversation between some of the developers from each team revealed that these kinds of patches would cause the most problems:

• Structural Changes.
  CVSNT has changed the structure of some of the source code to make it possible to reduce security risks through better memory management, and allow the dynamic removal of insecure protocols such as pserver.

• Support for alternative ideologies to the core "Unreserved Distributed" model
• Features which are not core version control fucntions but could be seen as extensions to version control
• Features that some porting developers would find it difficult to support on their platforms.

Why not merge CVSNT and OpenCVS?

Where can I find old versions ?

You may also use the CVSNT client to checkout the source code of any publically released version of CVSNT and compile it yourself. For instructions on getting the source using CVSNT please see http://www.cvsnt.org/wiki/Download.

Where is the open source project ?

How do I use CVSNT ?

A good place to start is the manual or purchase the CVS Suite which includes an excellent eBook on using CVSNT. Training is avilable to CVS Professional Support customers.

You will eventually want to determine a configuration management procedure that enables you or your organisation to meet its management objectives and works with your development culture or workflow. The eBook included in the CVS Suite is written to assist you in this process.

Can I use CVSNT to replace Visual SourceSafe, PVCS, ClearCase or Perforce?

CVSNT is not an emulator designed to replace any of them. However these tools solve problems generally defined by the phrases "version control" and "configuration management", and those are the same problems that CVSNT is designed to solve. Therefore in some situations it may be possible to switch one for the other and have very little impact on your business.

Several scripts are available for converting the core repositories of some versioning systems such as Visual SourceSafe to a CVSNT repository. March Hare Software can also provide consulting and training to assist with this.

Can I use CVSNT to replace CVS?

CVSNT Server and command line client are available for free download pre-compiled for the following platforms:

• Windows
• Mac OS X 10.3.7
• Solaris 9
• HPUX 11i
• Red Hat ES Linux v4

How can I support or contribute to the development of CVSNT?

• Financially by purchasing CVS Suite or CVS Professional Support.
• Contributing to the development - in particular by testing, producing test scripts and updating documentation.
• Advocating and publicising CVSNT

The first step to contributing to the development of CVSNT is to subscribe to the mailing list.

Newsgroup
news://news.cvsnt.org/support.cvsnt

E-mail list
http://www.cvsnt.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cvsnt

The project currently has a need for testers. To test CVSNT you will need to set up your Windows/Linux/Solaris or HPUX workstation with Python and checkout the source code from the CVSNT repository. There are many existing test scripts in the repository however we need many many more cases covered which are presently done by hand. CVSNT also benefits from all the tests being ran on as many different environments as possible. Contact the newsgroup for more information.

There is a lot of mis-information on the web about CVS/CVSNT and not a lot of clear information about benefits and ease of migration from CVS to CVSNT. If you are a good writer then you can contribute to CVSNT by writing an article about CVSNT and submitting it for publication to an e-zine, a newspaper or a magazine.

Where are the GPL sources for Graphical Front Ends

How can I add information to the Wiki

You are encouraged to contribute to this documentation. If you are modifying an existing entry, please make sure you also fill in the comment field explaining the change.

Due to spam problems the wiki is only editable by users who request edit rights. To request edit rights send an email to the mailing list with the subject "request for Wiki edit rights" and give a brief explanation of what you propose to contribute.

What are the minimum system requirements to run CVSNT?

Note: On PCs a Pentium III or higher processor is requried. (AMD K6 is not supported). If you require support for older processors then you may download the CVSNT Server source code and compile it with an alternative processor preference.

Where to send the Bug Reports for CVS Suite users?

Under the heading "Where to send the Bug Report" is the CVS Suite support e-mail address.

I have an urgent problem!

CVS Suite support (CVS Basic Support) does not provide solutions in a specified time period and therefore is probably unsuitable for an urgent problem.

Once an order is received for CVSNT Professional Support we can usually have urgent production problems resolved in a matter of hours (or at most a couple of days).

Our pre-sales support staff are software engineers and will be able to give you a solid understanding of how we will be able to solve your problem. In addition they can also alert our support engineers in advance about your problem so that the correct resources can be deployed to resolve the issue as soon as the order is received.

What Information should I provide with a bug report?

• Your customer name and/or order id
• Results of running cvsdiag on the server and also on the client.
• CVSNT server version number (eg: CVSNT 2.5.02.2048)
• Name and version of cvs client (eg: Eclispe 3.1)
• Name and version of Server operating system (eg: Windows XP Pro SP2, or Red Hat Linux ES v4)
• Name and version of Client operating system (eg: Windows NT 4 SP6, or Solaris 9)
• The CVSROOT used by client (eg: :pserver:host:/cvsrepo)
• Screenshot or exact wording of error message
• Your e-mail address

• Affected files (eg: the RCS file from the repository)
• Debug trace of CVSNT command which causes problem: Cvs –ttt or if the problem is with the lock server: cvslock -test
• If you are using the :ext: protocol, the extnt.ini from the CVSNT Installation Directory on the Windows client
• Dump of the client environment variables. On Windows type set > mh.log and send the file mh.log

Can I search for questions other people have asked and the answers they got?

Is there a list of current outstanding bugs?

Where can I download stable releases of CVSNT?

The download page for stable releases of the free CVSNT is: http://march-hare.com/cvspro.

At the far right of the page is a "download box", choose the download you want, choose an export server and accept the license terms by pressing the button.

Where can I download testing and unstable versions of CVSNT?

Support for these versions is only available from the open source CVSNT newsgroup and mailing list.

Is CVSNT available for VMS / OpenVMS ?

Is there free support?

Before contacting them carefully read the following guidelines about submitting a question:

• READ THE MANUAL. If you are looking at how to set up "locking", "access control", "permissions", "only user XYZ should be able to create/import" etc. etc. then this is the place to go looking, in particular the chacl, lsacl, setting permissions and config sections.
• Search this FAQ for an explanation
• Search for an answer using the mailing list archive at http://www.cvsnt.org/pipermail/cvsnt/. The easiest way is with Google Site Search. If someone asked the same question in the last 10 days or maybe even the last 30 days it is unlikely anyone will answer your question again.
• Search for an answer in the trouble ticket database at http://customer.march-hare.com/webtools/bugzilla/tt.htm. If your question is a "known issue" or "bug" then asking about it will not help get it fixed any quicker. The trouble ticket database may include instructions for a workaround.
• Be polite. Messages may be deleted if they are suitably impolite, and will certainly be ignored. If you have been impolite in the past any future messages may also be ignored or deleted.
• Do not use the word urgent. If your problem must be resolved in a fixed time period you should employ an experienced CVS implementor or use March Hare Software Professional Support. It is impolite to use the word "urgent" to people who are assisting you on a voluntary basis and the penalty for this is described in the above bullet point.
• Do not use a disclaimer, or if you do be aware of the following restrictions and advice.
• Make yourself aware of the CVSNT.ORG terms and conditions for posting to a public mailing list here: http://www.cvsnt.org/wiki/disclaimer .
• Use a subject on the e-mail that accurately describes the problem, these are not suitable:
  • Problem
  • Bug in CVSNT
  • Help
  These are suitable:
  • Problem logging in using Eclipse client and :extssh:
  • Why does CVSNT make files read-only on checkout?
  • PDF Document attached to Help first time users
• Provide a step by step sequence of how to reproduce the problem
• Include the name and version of cvs client (eg: Eclispe 3.1)
• Include the name and version of cvs server (eg: CVSNT 2.5.01.1976)
• Include the name and version of Server operating system (eg: Windows XP SP2, or Red Hat Linux ES v4)
• Include the name and version of Client operating system (eg: Windows NT 4 SP6, Windows XP Pro SP2, or Solaris 9)
• Include the CVSROOT used by client (eg: :pserver:host:/cvsrepo)
• Ensure that you quote the exact wording of error messages or attach a bitmap image of the screen showing the message
• Attach affected files (eg: the RCS file, CVSROOT directory from the repository)
• Attach the results of running cvsdiag on the server and also on the client.
• Attach a debug trace of CVSNT command which causes problem: Cvs –ttt or if the problem is with the lock server cvslock -test
• If you are using the :ext: protocol, the extnt.ini from the CVSNT Installation Directory on the Windows client
• Attach a dump of the client environment variables. On Windows type set > mh.log and send the file mh.log
• If it is an authentication or native file permissions issue - enable operating system auditing and post the resulting messages.

If you have anti-virus software installed on the server and/or the client ensure they are disabled during your tests. Scanning of Workspaces and the Repository or TEMP directories is a frequent cause of errors.

Do not ask questions about storing sandboxes or repositories on network shares. This is not supported for free. Contact March Hare Software regarding Professional Support options that may be available for you if you require this functionality.

To contact the newsgroup you can subscribe here: http://www.cvsnt.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cvsnt or if you have a news browser installed you can click here: news://news.cvsnt.org/support.cvsnt. If you are sending attachments please cc support@march-hare.com

CVSNT exists because people like you did not simply ask questions, but contributed as well. Consider contributing documentation, testing, patches or by purchasing the CVS Suite.

Noone answered my question on the newsgroup !

If you followed the posting guidelines and you did not receive any answers then these are the top explanations:

• The version you are using is old, and the problem is not relavent to anyone reading it. If you posted a question about CVSNT 2.0.6, CVSNT 1.11, or CVSNT 2.0.58d then this applies to you.
• The problem is fundamental and you should read the online manual or buy CVS Suite which includes a clear step by step administration and user guide (eBook).
• You have not waited long enough
• No one wants to answer your question.

To guarentee an answer purchase CVS Suite or CVS Professional Support.

On WinCVS I get "remote server does not support the ls command" errors

I have set up an ACL but non authorised users can still check out files

The cvsnt command chacl is used to create an access control list (ACL). It is documented in the manual here.

An access control list is defined on a directory and branch (or trunk) to restrict read, write, create, tag and control by users or groups. The access modes are documented in the manual here.

Users and groups are synonymous - you can either specify permissions for individuals or groups. The user and group names used will depend on the authentication mechanism being used. Most CVSNT users authenticate against an Active Directory (windows) in which case the user and group names are the same as your windows login.

You can also use the lsacl or rlsacl commands to list the current permissions.

Owners (creators) automatically have administrative rights on any object they create.

The ACL system has two basic modes of operation:

• Allow all access by default
• Deny all access by default

CVSNT access control (and all other access control systems) are designed to work primarily on directories. Do not store a file in a "public" directory and try and use ACLs to completely hide it from all non-authorised users, store it in a separate (or a sub) directory and set the access control on that directory.

Location of TortoiseCVS.org FAQ

Is Eclipse/WSAD supported by CVSNT?

CVS Suite 2.5.02 Server and the free CVSNT Server support Eclipse clients.

Configuring Eclipse Windows clients to use advanced CVSNT protocols such as SSPI is possible but too complex to explain in a FAQ. The CVS Suite eBook chapter on configuring client connections describes in detail how to configure Eclipse clients to use SSPI.

Versions of Eclipse prior to 3.1 may refuse to connect to a CVSNT server. CVSNT servers since 2.0.35 have a configuration flag which when set forces the CVSNT server to impersonate a Unix CVS 1.11 server. This impersonation allows earlier Eclipse versions to work with CVSNT (you must also use a repository prefix for this to work - Eclipse does not support drive letters).

Since Eclipse 3.0 M9, repository paths must match exactly the case of the repository paths set in the CVSNT control panel. If it is not done this way Eclipse will see the repository and the files, but will not see the branches or versions.

If you have a problem with the interoperability try to get a client/server trace from eclipse before reporting bugs as otherwise it is difficult for the developers to diagnose the cause of the problems.

The following limitations of Eclipse clients are known:

• Cannot restore deleted resources from within Eclipse. This makes it impossible to "undo" a delete from within Eclipse. The workaround is to use TortoiseCVS or CVSNT command line client to restore the deleted file. The topic is covered by bug 75912.

XP Home always logs in a "Guest" (Simple File Sharing)

On XP Home the only workaround is to explicitly specify the username in the CVSROOT string, which will override the default. On XP Pro it is strongly recommended to disable "Simple File Sharing" (commonly known as "Broken File Sharing").

Checking out to a remote samba share fails

• They have not downloaded and installed the CVSNT on the actual client and are using a remote share or a samba share as a workaround. This is typically done from a Unix server to checkout to a Windows PC or vice versa.
• The user wants to store the working files / sandbox on their "home drive". This is typically done from a Windows PC.
• Several users want to share a sandbox

Support for sandboxes on remote shares is available with Professional Support (not CVS Suite support).

If you do not have professional support then storing sandboxes on remote shares is not supported. Use a Unix client on the remote machine to checkout the sandbox, or use a local drive on the Windows machine.

Error reading from server <whatever>: -1: Unknown error

The usual cause for this is Antivirus and/or "Personal" firewalls, which can break Handle Inheritance. To verify the culprit uninstall all such programs from your machine and try again (simply disabling them is usually not enough). If it then works re-install the software until you find which one is causing the breakage (then file a bug with the vendor concerned).

If all else fails try WinsockXPFix which restores the TCP/IP stack to a working state after spyware/AV/firewalls cause problems.

In particular the Nod32 av exhibits this behaviour. The current workaround is to disable the "IMON" service and reboot. Eset have been contacted about this problem. Until it is fixed it is recommended that Nod32 is not used on a machine running cvsnt.

Also known to break the stack is Aventail AutoSocks. No known workaround other than to uninstall it.

Cant authenticate - server and client cannot agree on an authentication scheme (got "")

[80090311] No authority could be contacted for authentication.

The SSPI protocol authenticates the client against the Windows Domain Controller or Active Directory. Microsoft have various security strengths for performing this authentication including NTLM, NTLMv2 and Kerberos.

CVSNT 2.5.02 clients will use the highest possible authentication security strength with the SSPI protocol - this is usually Kerberos. However CVSNT clients released prior to 2.5.02 generally used NTLM to authenticate with the server. CVSNT Servers prior to 2.0.51d can incorrectly respond that they support Kerberos when they do not. In this case the newer client will insist on using Kerberos and the connection fails with the message [80090311] No authority could be contacted for authentication.

The solutions are:

• Upgrade CVSNT Server to a stable version more recent than 2.0.51d
• Downgrade the CVSNT Client to a version older than 2.5.02
• Change the CVSROOT to :sspi;force=NTLM:user@host:/repo . In this case you will have to re-create your sandboxes or use a WinCVS macro to change the CVSROOT embedded in the workspace.

Connect using SSH "Unable to authenticate Couldnt connect to remote server - plink errorcvs"

Access denied FATAL ERROR: Unable to authenticate Couldnt connect to remote server - plink errorcvs

This is caused by a password failure. Use cvs logout then cvs login to correct the problem. For a more secure solution use the CVSNT Password Agent to store your password in memory rather than in the Windows registry or .cvspass file (unix).

Cannot connect using SSH, password prompt does not include username

cvs -d :ssh:user@host:/reponame ls
@host’s password:
Access denied

This is caused by interaction between CVSNT and PUTTY and occurs when you have a saved PUTTY session with the same name as the HOST. Alter the name of the saved PUTTY session to resolve this error.

Rights required to run CVSNT Server (Pserver impersonation)

The default LocalSystem account has this privilege, so impersonation will work without problems after a standard installation. If you change the user that the service runs under you may have to explicitly grant this privilige to the user.

On Win2003 (also XP SP2?) the server will also need seImpersonationPrivilege enabled. This is also enabled by default on the LocalSystem account. If your administrator has removed this privilege then you may need to create a special user with it enabled.

Error "The :<whatever>: access method is not supported by this port of CVS"

You should also make sure the cvs client executable provided with CVSNT is being used. Type "cvs -v" on the command line to check this.

The command "cvs info" will list the protocols installed by the client or server.

Connection takes a long time (around 10 seconds)

• Misconfigured reverse DNS.
  • CVSNT does a reverse DNS lookup on startup to verify the client hostname. This will usually complete very quickly, however it is possible to misconfigure the reverse DNS in such a way that the lookup hangs and eventually times out after around 10 seconds. Your network administrator will usually be able to sort this out in a few minutes, as its usually a simple misconfiguration. On NT4 machines there is a setting "Use NetBIOS for DNS resolution" which may help. (Q: Is there an equivalent for W2K or do they always do it?)
• Very slow connection to PDC
  • CVSNT needs to contact the PDC to verify identities and check privileges. Normally across a LAN this will be quite quick, but over a saturated network or over a Dialup (in local mode) it can be very slow.
• See also http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q308512 for a possible solution.
• Another thing to try: Disable the virus checker on the machine that hosts the CVS server.

I get "Cannot open <path>/CVSROOT: Permission denied"

On windows all the directories above the repository directory require "Traverse Folder" access for LocalSystem, on Unix/Linux the execute bit must be set on all folders above the repository.

Note that LocalSystem is not a member of the "Everyone" group and has to be given specific priviliges.

(If you are running the server under a different user to the default then replace "LocalSystem" with the user that you are using).

I get "Cannot create directory <temp path>/cvs-servxxx: Permission denied"

On XP and Win2003 this can be a problem because the default global temporary directory is read only for normal users. The solution is to use a special CVS temporary directory and tell CVSNT to use it via the control panel (see the various installation guides for details on that). The temporary directory needs write access for everyone that will be using CVS remotely. (Q? Shouldnt have to give LocalSystem access here - need to check).

On a Win2003 server, Non administrator users cannot execute scripts

Unknown escape character \P ignored.

How do I upgrade from older versions of CVS or CVSNT?

The latest stable version of CVSNT Server and command line client is available at http://march-hare.com/cvspro/.

CVSNT crashed, but it couldnt write its crashdump file (error 5)

How to install Solaris, HPUX and Linux packages

If you are not going to enable the auditing then you can install the Linux CVSNT rpm with the "--nodeps" option.

CVSNT crashed and wrote a crashdump file

When you manage to get a crashdump, zip it up and send it to crashdumps@march-hare.com, along with an explanation of how you created the crash.

In particular your explanation should contain the exact commands, the CVSROOT and any error messages. If at all possible try and reproduce the command with a trace, eg: cvs -ttt commit -m "test" > test.txt 2> test-err.txt

CVSNT crashed and I dont want it to try and send a crashdump file.

To avoid sending it you can just select "no" on the dialog box. There is nothing in the crashdump of particular sensitivity, just the place it crashed. If it bothers you then firewall it out.

Crashes should not happen - experience shows they are pretty rare overall (given the statistics of downloads vs. crashdumps it is virtually background noise).

CVS Lock Server crashes on start up

• conflict with something else on your system
• using an unsupported OS (eg: XP Home)
• zeroconf conflict (can be worked around by disabling zeroconf)
• running with simple file sharing enabled

To configure cvslock to start in a reduced function mode - use the control panel to disable the publishing of repository information (disable zeroconf on the advanced tab of the cvsnt control panel).

If the above information does not help to resolve your problem then run the following commands from the command prompt (Start->All Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt) and send the results to the open source newsgroup:

cvsdiag

cvslock -v

cvslock -test

How to enable server side and client side debug logging

Versions and Operating System

If you are generating debug logs for March Hare Software support you also need to ensure that you send information about your environment such as the version of the server and the client and what operating systems are being used.

Enabling Server Side Tracing

For security purposes tracing of what is occuring on the server is disabled by default. Enabling Server Side Tracing using the Advanced tab in the “CVS for NT” Control Panel (Windows) or the /etc/cvsnt/PServer file AllowTrace=1 (Unix) will allow the server to be traced. Enabling tracing does not create any log files.

Debug Logging by Creating a Client and Server Trace from the Client

Any command that is ran on the client can create a debug log. This is the most common and generally the most useful type of logging. Use the -ttt switch with any CVSNT client command, for example:
cvs -ttt add fred.txt 2> addlog.err > addlog.log
cvs -ttt commit -m "commit this file" fred.txt 2> addlog.err > addlog.log

The log will appear on stderr.

Creating a Server Side Trace (Windows)

You can enable additional server side debug logging by setting the following registry variable to the name of a file to accept the log:
HLKM\Software\CVS\PServer\ServerTraceFile

The file and path must be writable by the CVS Suite Server.

Creating a Server Side Trace (Unix)

You can enable additional server side debug logging by setting the following variable in the /etc/cvsnt/PServer configuration file to the name of a file to accept the log:
ServerTraceFile=log20050622.log

The file and path must be writable by the CVS Suite Server.

Creating a Server Side Communications Log (Unix)

If the $CVS_SERVER_LOG variable is set in the servers environment to a name of a file that can be written then everything sent to the server is logged into $CVS_SERVER_LOG.in and everything sent from the server is logged into $CVS_SERVER_LOG.out.

Creating a Communications Trace Log (Windows or Unix Client)

If the $CVS_CLIENT_LOG variable is set in the client environment to a name of a file that can be written then everything received by the client is logged into $CVS_CLIENT_LOG.in and everything sent from the client is logged into $CVS_CLIENT_LOG.out.
Eg: set CVS_CLIENT_LOG=log20050622

Why does CVSNT attempt to contact 69.93.197.231

What is the CVSNT license?

What is the CVS Suite License?

The CVS Suite components WinCVS, WinMerge, TortoiseCVS and CVSNT (hereafter referred to as GPL-SOFTWARE) are licensed under the GNU General Public License, and copyright their respective authors.

All other CVS Suite components including but not limited to WorkspaceManager, ReleaseManager, Bugzilla Integration Plugin and Make Integration Plugin (hereafter referred to as SOFTWARE) are Copyright © March Hare Software Ltd (hereafter referred to as MARCH HARE) and may not be redistributed without permission.

The individual named at the time of purchase of the SOFTWARE is hereafter referred to as the LICENSEE. The LICENSEE may transfer their rights under this agreement to another individual.

The LICENSEE is granted permission to use the SOFTWARE and may install the SOFTWARE on multiple computers (e.g.: A windows server, a macintosh workstation and a windows laptop) for the use of the LICENSEE only.

If the LICENSEE is current in the payment of all license and maintenance fees: MARCH HARE will maintain unaltered GPL-SOFTWARE and SOFTWARE in an operable condition and in substantial accordance with the specifications set forth in the supplied electronic documentation "CVS Suite eBook" for the period of 120 days from date of purchase. MARCH HARE may also make available to the LICENSEE improvements and enhancements incorporated into the licensed version of the GPL-SOFTWARE and SOFTWARE. MARCH HARE will use its best efforts to make any correction, replacement or other service after the LICENSEE has identified an error and notified MARCH HARE in accordance with the reporting procedures outlined in the supplied electronic documentation "CVS Suite eBook".

Is CVSNT Free Software (or is it Open Source Software)

A very simplistic defintiion of the difference between Free Software and Open Source Software is that open source software is only useful when combined with proprietary software but that free software is useful without the need for any software that is not free software. Also see the GNU Definition.

A definition of free software that is perhaps more relavent to the CVSNT project is: software that you are encouraged (or at least not discouraged) to adapt and improve. This is important to CVSNT due to its history with CVS.

March Hare Software do produce commercial extensions to CVSNT and EVS- however the intention is that CVSNT and EVS are useful in themselves and that they can be extended with free software or proprietary software and there should be no artificial limits on how it can be extended. The proprietary extensions that March Hare provide for the CVSNT and EVS projects are designed for individuals and companies for whom the free software philosophy is not central to their choice of software.

Are discounts available on support for Educational Institutions?

Who are March Hare Software?

March Hare began in Sydney Australia in 1998 as a loose collective of expert database programmers and has grown into a worldwide firm based on our expertise in designing and building enterprise IT solutions.

March Hare Software development lab is based in Manchester UK, and iSeries development in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Why do all links to CVSNT go to March Hare Software ?

March Hare Software are the primary contributors to the CVSNT project. We co-ordinate the testing and release process as well as manage the source tree.

Where can I find March Hare Software annual reports?

March Hare Software Ltd (UK) and March Hare Pty Ltd (Australia) are not publicly traded companies and therefore do not publish annual reports.

Who are the Directors and Shareholders of March Hare?

March Hare Software Limited (UK) and March Hare Pty Ltd (Australia) are not public companies and the shareholder registry is not a matter of public record. The existing shareholders wish to remain anonymous and no additional equity is currently being sought. The share registry is closed.

The current board of directors for each company can be found through the relavent legislative authority for UK and Australian Company Registrations.

Are March Hare Software going to begin charging for CVSNT?

Component parts of CVSNT (CVSAPI, CVSTOOLS, CVSFS) are licensed under the GNU Library General Public License (LGPL) which allows 3rd party plugins to be created using any available license.

March Hare Software will produce such plugins under commercial license terms.

Why does March Hare charge for CVS Suite?

1.
There are many users of CVSNT who would like to contibute to the project but do not have the time to contribute to the code, documentation and testing and that for the price of the CVS Suite they can contribute and also get the benefit of some support and some great add on software for CVSNT.

2.
CVSNT and CVS Suite cost March Hare Software a lot of time and money to create. The enhanced TortoiseCVS, Workspace Manager, Release Manager and the Bugzilla and Build integrations make using CVSNT much easier which helps you be more productive.

3.
There are many people who would like to begin using version control and will benefit from the software however find it difficult to find all the information required to get started and if they do find it then it is difficult to understand or implement. CVS Suite solves this problem by matching a version of the documentation with versions of the software in a single package.

What payment methods are available for CVS Suite and CVS Professional Support

From our Online Store you can select any of our software products to purchase. All of our software is delivered by download from the customer area.

The Online Store accepts the following cards:

Can I use an American Express card to pay for CVS Suite and CVS Professional Support

Also see the following FAQs Payment Methods accepted via the online store and Tax and VAT

Tax and VAT charges when ordering online.

Can I use a Visa Purchasing card to pay for CVS Suite and CVS Professional Support

How is the TortoiseCVS included with CVS Suite different from the standard "free" version?

• Browse server for checkout of module or single file
• Edit dialog (must be enabled in preferences)
• Defect number integration on Edit, Commit and Merge
• Additional Preferences
  • Read only files on checkout regardless of watch state
  • Set ACL on edit for working with shared sandboxes
  • Edit dialog preferences
  • Disable looking for Modules file (not requried for CVSNT)
  • Eclusive editing options
  • CVS Server setting (for use with SSH)
• Improved context menu handling
• Show bug numbers in revision graph and log
• Support for CVSNT SSH secure authentication
• Is tested with the other components of CVS Suite
• Behaviour is consistent with the documentation included in CVS Suite
• Is supported by March Hare Software

Where is CVSNT for iSeries?

March Hare Software license the iSeries front end separately to the client and it is not available without a support contract.

What is the March Hare Software vision for CVS / CVSNT

Implementing version control effectively has a cost, but the benefits far outweighs that cost.

To see the vision come to pass we believe in making version control solutions widely available at minimum cost and tailored for use by the "average" computer user.

For version control to be effective it must ensure the integrity of all managed items in each stage of their lifecycle, make their evolution more manageable, and their interrelationship clear.

The effectiveness can be improved by implementing automated techniques for Insulation, Security and Access Control, Lifecycle Management, Communication and Detailed Reporting.

The result of using effective configuration management should include improved productivity, reduced cost of production, and shorter time to deliver completed work.

How do March Hare Software plan development of CVS Suite and CVSNT

• Q1: July -September
• Q2: October - December
• Q3: January - March
• Q4: April - June

This direction and these goals are always guided by our overall vision for CVS / CVSNT. Our planning is high level mostly conceptual, however usually includes some specific technical targets that we feel will provide a better platform for feature growth.

Issues such as reliability and performance are always considered but are not explicitly labelled or targetted at this level.

Each quarter the targets are further refined to include specific features or respond to market conditions and customer feedback.

How does the Open Source Community plan CVSNT development

The tree is equally open to all members of the community, both commercial and individual.

What releases of CVS / CVSNT have March Hare planned for 2008

• Q1: CVSNT 2.5.04 Stable
• Q1: EVS Windemere RC
• Q2: EVS Windemere Stable
• Q3: CVSNT 2.5.05 Stable
• Q4: CVSNT 2.5.06 Stable

This plan is provided only for information. By publication of this plan March Hare Software do not warrant or guarantee these features or dates or versions in any way.

What releases of CVS Suite have March Hare planned for 2007

Advocacy and marketing in 2005/2006/2007

March Hare Software are the primary contributors to the CVSNT development project and 2005 through to 2006 have been successful years for us with the development of the CVS Professional and CVS Suite products. Through these products we have been able to assist many commercial software developers in creating good CM systems based on CVSNT. In many cases they have told us they were on the verge of choosing other "closed" systems due to a percieved lack of commercial support for the "open" ones like CVSNT.

Our success is based on the quality of the CVSNT product, which is a reflection of the quality of the people who contribute including Tony Hoyle, Torsten, Jerzy, Bo, Oliver, Glen and many others. My personal thanks goes out to all the contributors: large and small.

The basic layout of development plans for 2007 are in the FAQ here.

CVS Suite 2.5.04 will be released soon including the new CVSNT Server and Client 2.5.04, and updated eBook, WorkspaceManager, ReleaseManager, VS.NET integration (SCCI) and updated integration for Bugzilla and Audit. CVS Suite 2.5.04 also includes improved large file support for slow wide area networks.

During the two years we have also had the fantastic opportunity to meet up with some of the project contributors who are not part of the official March Hare team, including Derek Price - longstanding contributor to CVS and editor of "Essential CVS", the CVS bible for many years. March Hare Software also purchased new development hardware for Torsten Martinsen to use with the 64 bit support of TortoiseCVS.

Looking ahead to 2007 and 2008 we have a major new product release EVS Windemere - a new open standards based engine for CM processes including support for many different clients (including CVSNT clients), a daabase backend for the server and much more. There are also some exciting new commercial products to make versioning in the corporate environment simple and effective. We will continue to make the server and command line client available without charge¹.

We have spent some of the past two years on advocating for CVSNT directly with other commercial organisations, as well as in public forums such as the GNU CVS newsgroup, Config Mgmnt Newsgroup, Wikipedia, CM Crossroads etc, much of this involves clearing up commonly held misconceptions and directing people to the correct newsgroups for support questions. Derek Price and others in the CVS team have been very supportive in this, helping people understand that the products are different, when CVSNT may be worth considering and where to go for the support.

CVSNT is a mature product with most of the features of commercial software packages that cost significantly more to implement. Platform support, IDE integrations, security, simple authentication, change sets, audit, mergepoints, and of course inexpensive commercial support.

CVS Suite provides a clear, easy to follow, step by step guide to using CVSNT in a commercial develpoment environment and the tools to do it with.

In 2005 and 2006 we have marketed these products through our new web site (including some pages in German, Japanese and Spanish), sales and support teams in Australia, Germany, Great Britain, North America and Spain and began or continued working with Microsoft, Sun, IBM and HP and advertised with Visual Studio 2005 and iSeries buyers guides.

In 2007 we plan to:

• translate the entire site to German, Japanese and Spanish
• open a sales and support office in the USA (we already have a toll free number in the USA for sales and support that is diverted to our other centres)
• publish regular press releases
• make it easier to have both CVSNT and CVS installed on one linux system and approach Linux vendors about including CVSNT in standard builds
• approach commercial CVS source code repository hosts about the commercial benefits of using CVSNT
• release a print version of the eBook - All About CVS, probably through Amazon, initially in English but with some luck before the close of 2007 in German, Japanese and Spanish too.

March Hare appreciates the Open Source Communities support in the success of these. A list of ways to contribute is in the FAQ here.

During the last audit period (the 12 months to August 2005) CVSNT was downloaded 1.4 million times, our aim is that more people find it, and more people implement it successfully.

What features are March Hare Software Planning for CVSNT 2.5.04

• Usability Enhancements
• Server performance statistics added to Audit Database
• Support for SuSE Enterprise 9 EMT64
• Improved performance with large files on slow wide area networks
• Built in repository caching / repository replicaction for use in slow wide area networks

This plan is provided only for information. By publication of this plan March Hare Software do not warrant or guarantee these features or dates or versions in any way.

What features are March Hare Software Planning for CVSNT 2.5.05

March Hare Software are currently planning to deliver the following features in CVSNT 2.5.05:

• To be advised

This plan is provided only for information. By publication of this plan March Hare Software do not warrant or guarantee these features or dates or versions in any way.

What features are March Hare Software Planning for CVSNT 2.5.06

March Hare Software are currently planning to deliver the following features in CVSNT 2.5.06:

• Merged features with CVSNT SJIS
• Localised Messages for German and Japanese

This plan is provided only for information. By publication of this plan March Hare Software do not warrant or guarantee these features or dates or versions in any way.

What features are March Hare Software Planning for CVSNT for Mac OS X

March Hare Software are looking to add another resource to our development team to assist in the delivery of enhancements to CVSNT for Mac OS X. Planned features include:

• Mac OS X System Preferences
• Mac OS X WorkspaceViewer
• Spotlight plugin (for repository server)
• Dashboard widget
• Sync integration

The timeframe of adding this resource will depend on growth of the CVSNT Mac community (both commercial and open source).

This plan is provided only for information. By publication of this plan March Hare Software do not warrant or guarantee these features or dates or versions in any way.

What features are March Hare Software Planning for EVS Windemere

March Hare Software are currently planning to deliver the following features in EVS Windemere (previously known as CVSNT 3.1.01):

• Atomic Commits
• Database backend (no more RCS files)
• RCS "interface" for legacy integrations

Additional features for EVS Windemere are planned to be announced in July 2007.

This plan is provided only for information. By publication of this plan March Hare Software do not warrant or guarantee these features or dates or versions in any way.

What priority do March Hare apply to support requests.

The severity levels are:

• Repository corruption
• Server Security
• Workspace corruption
• Server crash (core dump)
• Client crash (core dump)
• General Faults / Installation
• CVSNT client compatibility
• Non CVSNT client compatibility
• Enhancements
• Platform support

Can I move my version history from Visual SourceSafe, PVCS, ClearCase or Perforce to CVSNT?

Visual Source Safe, PVCS, ClearCase and Perforce are each excellent version control solutions each with many features, and each with unique features.

CVSNT is not an emulator designed to replace any of them. However these tools solve problems generally defined by the phrases version control and configuration management, and those are the same problems that CVSNT is designed to solve. Therefore in some situations it may be possible to switch one for the other and have very little impact on your business.

How many people use CVSNT?

Gartner research has published statistics in the past on Software Configuration Management Market Share based on license revenue, however we have been unable to find any research done based on use in the field.

Most other industry analysts use this same approach (eg: Worldwide Software Configuration Management Tools 2004 Vendor Shares", #204821, December 2006 [previously #33588, June 2005] by IDC). This research appears designed to assist vendors and investors in determining how much money is available in the marketplace for these tools and to which vendor the majority of the money is going. The research does not benefit the person who is choosing a tool based on popularity (in use by many people on a day to day basis) or effectiveness (has achieved productivity and reliability gains that software configuration management is designed to). In particular the studies:

• give a natural preference to software which is costly over software which is economical
• does not account at all for software implemented without a license cost
• provide a market share benefit to companies which sell software which is then later replaced due to implementation difficulties.

Gartner research have given us a quote for performing some study based on use in the field, however no budget has been allocated to fund this in 2005/2006. Furthermore it would not be possible to publish the results of this study since Gartner require a signed non-disclosure agreement from any person who views it or information distilled from it.

Built / executable copies of CVSNT are included in TortoiseCVS and WinCVS and also downloaded from the main March Hare web site. From these sites roughly 30,000 copies per week are downloaded. This does not include copies of CVSNT which are built from source in the "traditional open source" way or copies of any version which is in development or test (unstable).

The best research we have is incidental and that indicates that CVSNT is the most widely adopted versioning tool in use in the Software Development industry today.

Can I integrate CVSNT with some other software

March Hare Software can assist you in integrating your application with CVSNT by:

• Access to the CVSNT Development Manager, Product Manager and other technical staff
• Code samples of how to implement integration
• Features to make integrating easier
• Write the integration on your behalf

If your project is open source licensed (GPL or similar) then your best approach is to send a request for development assistance to the open source CVSNT newsgroup. To contact the newsgroup you can subscribe here or if you have a news browser installed you can click here.

If your project is commercially licensed or you wish for March Hare Software to provide some assistance then you will need to have a Professional Support contract. The correct level contract will depend on the amount of assistance you require, contact a sales representative for more information.

Can I create multiple synchronised repositories with CVSNT

March Hare Software have our own repository hosted in UK, Australia and the USA. A sales consultant will be able to assist you further.

Why do March Hare collect so much information when I download CVSNT?

The page http://march-hare.com/downloads/ is the only place you can download the evaluation version of UD6 - software for connecting Uniface Development Environment with version control such as CVSNT.

Are the commercial releases of CVSNT the same as the free ones?

March Hare Software provide two levels of commercial support. Professional customers receive patched versions of CVSNT as frequently as every fortnight (but not usually so - since there are many fortnights with no bugs reported). Professional support customers have access to the entire history of stable and patched versions.

CVS Suite (basic support) customers have access to the entire history of stable and patched versions for the release which they purchased a license for.

Additionally Professional and Basic level support customers also receive some plugins and client applications which are not licensed under the GPL and are not available for free. The source code for these is not available in the CVSNT repository.

Conversely not all versions of CVSNT are made available to professional and basic support customers. Releases of CVSNT made to these customers undergo additional quality assurance and release procedures.
  » Return to section list