Self-hosting an SVN repository for a personal project

Question

I'd like to self-host an SVN repository for a personal project (web game), but I'm unsure of where I should host it. It wouldn't receive a lot of traffic as I am the sole developer. These are the options I see:

• Use one of my personal computers
• Use the VPS running the web server for the project

Hosting it on the VPS makes the most sense to me. Is this the right choice or are there pitfalls to using what is essentially a production server for code hosting?

Answer 1

If you have a machine that's always accessible via ssh, that would be my first preference. I'd then fallback to a webdav implementation like Apache and mod_dav. This entails quite a bit more setup and makes it publicly accessible unless you secure it. I'd guess it's unlikely you're going to be committing sufficiently often to put any stress on your VPS but I'd probably choose a different machine if you have another available.

Answer 2

I used the host a SVN repo on a flash disk.

The trick is to keep the same drive letter on every PC you use it.

Worked like a charm, albeit a bit slow.

Answer 3

There are some things to think about: do you need web (or other remote) access? If all you want is to keep track of your changes then you can

1. Use a repo in your home directory (I have put them in a hidden directory, .svn_repo)
2. Use a distributed version control system like Mercurial. I use SVN for my large software projects where I want collaborators (haven't found any yet ;) or where directory structure is particularly important. Otherwise I use a Mercurial for a book that I'm writing and other small projects.

All VCSs worth a damn have remote access, but some are just better when you don't need it.