How big can a Sourcesafe DB be before "problems" arise?

Question

We use SourceSafe 6.0d and have a DB that is about 1.6GB. We haven't had any problems yet, and there is no plan to change source control programs right now, but how big can the SourceSafe database be before it becomes an issue?

Thanks

Answer 1

I've had VSS problems start as low as 1.5-2.0 gigs.

The meta-answer is, don't use it. VSS is far inferior to a half-dozen alternatives that you have at your fingertips. Part of source control is supposed to be ensuring the integrity of your repository. If one of the fundamental assumptions of your source control tool is that you never know when it will start degrading data integrity, then you have a tool that invalidates its own purpose.

I have not seen a professional software house using VSS in almost a decade.

Answer 2

1 byte!

:-)

Sorry, dude you set me up.

Answer 3

Do you run the built-in ssarchive utility to make backups? If so, 2GB is the maximum size that can be restored. (http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vssourcecontrol/thread/6e01e116-06fe-4621-abd9-ceb8e349f884/)

NOTE: the ssarchive program won't tell you this; it's just that if you try to restore a DB over 2GB, it will fail. Beware! All these guys who are telling you that they are running fine with larger DB are either using another archive program, or they haven't tested the restore feature.

Answer 4

I've actually run a vss db that was around 40 gig. I don't recommend it, but it is possible. Really the larger you let it go, the more you're playing with fire. I've heard instances where the db gets corrupted, and the items in source control were unrecoverable. I would definately back it up on a daily basis and start looking to change source control systems. Having been in the position of the guy who they call when it fails, I can tell you that it will really start to get stressful when you realize that it could just go down and never come back.

Answer 5

Considering the amount of problems SourceSafe can generate on its own, I would say the size has to be in the category "Present on disk" for it to develop problems.

Answer 6

I've administered a VSS DB over twice that size. As long as your are vigilant about running Analyze, you should be OK.

Answer 7

Sourcesafe recommends 3-5G with a "don't ever go over 13G".

In practice, however, ours is over 20G and seems to be running fine.

The larger you get, Analyze will find more and more problems including lost files, etc.

EDIT: Here is the official word: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb509342(VS.80).aspx