what I have read and done was create a dump, create a new svn, then load the file.
The dump was 600 megs.
Why do a dump/create/load instead of just zipping up the folder and placing where i need it to go?
It seems the zip would've been smaller and faster to move and migrate as opposed to the dump method. Let me know what is considered the right way, and the reasoning for zipping it up and placing it another directory, unzipping it and pointing visual svn at it. Thank you for your help
The dump method is because you want to save the version history, the zipping will only get the current version or X revision. A version control system is not of much use if you cant look up changes made 6 months ago, to a file.
The dump/load cycle is recommended to avoid problems with compatibility. If you have the same OS and svn version on the target server, you can of course just zip the repo folder. But if the target OS isn't the same (i.e., one is 32-bit and the other 64-bit) or you don't have the very same svn version there, just zipping can get you into big troubles down the road. You may not encounter the problems right away though.
That's why it's recommended to do a dump/load cycle.