A few annoyances with VSS that have been building and building:

1. It relies on NetBIOS so it's too slow to use over the internet, and there's virtually no security or encryption.

2. It's ISAM, the "server" is not really a "server".

3. It uses a proprietary database format, so when (not if) problems come up on the back-end, and the VSS administrator can't get in, everything is gone.

4. The method of usage is "exclusive check out", "edit locally", " exclusive check in", which can be circumvented by users who are "too smart for their own good" if they fiddle with the Read-Only flags.

5. Anyone using VSS from VS.NET can make a change to a file and accidentally lock the solution .sln, making it impossible for folks to (re)build the solution until one hacks the Read-Only flag or gets the offendor to check back in.

6. The automation API is pretty stinky. I have gone around and around trying to script a "get latest" at a command prompt so I can compile deployment packages. It's very cumbersome and severely underdocumented.


With CVSNT:

1. I can choose any protocol I want. PSERVER, SSPI, SSH, or "ext" to hook any communication protocl. I am currently working with PSERVER to learn the ropes, but my ultimate goal is to use public-private key pairs for authentication so no passwords have to be used for authentication.

2. The server is really a server.

3. File are stored along with meta-info about changes, so when a problem comes up, an admin can get the whole directory tree if needed in order to get files back. All info files are text files, also easy to open/parse.

4. The method of usage is "get latest", "edit locally", "merge to server". There is no locking in CVS (stands for Concurrent Versioning System). If you are working on a multifile app, is more than one person really editing the same file at the same time? Probably not. When you do a CVS merge, if there are conflicts in a file (a result of developer miscommunication?), the diff tool pops up and you can decide what is what. I have been through a lot of BS with VSS on this, so I'm willing to try the CVS way.

5. That doesn't happen in CVS because there are no locks for files.

6. There are a ton of scripts out there (some good, some bad, I am currently getting the heat-to-light ratio straightened out) to do mass check-in/out/etc.


Like most things that came from the *nix world, CVS setup is not the easiest thing in the world, but I think the benefits will outweigh the initial BS.





Check out
http://ikon.as/wincvs-howto/
http://members.cox.net/preston.bannister/activecvs/cvsscc-old.html#Microsoft's%20SCC%20API




>Steve
>
>PMFJI
>
>We are trying to get Clear Case working and are not having much luck. We were looking a Source Safe and now I am wondering why you replacing it?
>
>Thanks
>
>>Is anyone out there actively using CVS? I started to take a second hard look at it to replace VSS. I'm doing an install of CVSNT on Win2K3. It looks promising, now if I can just get it installed.....