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

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.

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).

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/.

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

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.

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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