One repository per project or many projects in a repository?

Question

I have just started using visualsvn (SVN in general, rather) coming from TFS 2010 etc. With repositories, should these be used per project or could I check in a number of projects into a repository?

Thanks

Answer 1

Well, as long as you're maintaining correct structure for each project (default one with trunk/branches/tags is the most usable as for me) it is more a matter of taste.

One consideration though is if your projects are close to each other. Different repositories could be managed separately, so if you have not connected projects - I'd rather choose different repositories. On the other hand, if projects are (or possibly could in the future) using each other - they are candidates for single repository as you could easily make externals and maintain them all at once.

For single company it is probably the best idea to have single global repository as it is much easier to setup backup/mirroring/whatever on single piece than on hundred of small repositories.

For home developing I'd prefer separate repositories because it is easy to share one of them with somebody in the future - with simple xcopy or with opening network access to repo.

Answer 2

From my experience, it is still better and sane to keep all your projects in one repository. With multiple repositories, you will end up managing many dump files and different user permission settings. Most companies don't have the luxury of having a Subversion Administrator that looks after the administration and management of repositories. If you have only one repository, it's a one-time setup and configuration of your repository. If a new project comes along, you don't need a Subversion expert to setup a separate Subversion repository for you. The developers should know already how to setup new folders for the new project.