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

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

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.

Why does CVSNT attempt to contact 69.93.197.231

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

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.
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