Microsoft has been aggresively pitching for usage of Team Foundation Server. The VSS population in our organization is pretty huge. I am trying to find the absolute must reasons for the transition. And nothing scares more from the fact that VSS 6.0/ 2005 would go bust in 20XX. THe MSDN site still runs the 2004 update on the roadmap (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa302175.aspx)
Can anyone share any pointers on the out of support date for VSS?
Thanks Paritosh
Better than the out of support date - how about the lack of features and the chance of corrupted databases?
Have you ever used VSS remotely, over a VPN? I've had horrible data corruption problems with VSS in those circumstances, and I was only 15 miles away! I shudder to think of anyone still using it in remote settings.
At the very least, you want a source control system that uses a reliable data store, preferably a database. Switch to SourceGear Vault if you don't want to switch to TFS. Vault is very similar to VSS as a migration path.
On the other hand, there's a lot more to TFS than just source control. Source control is only the beginning of its features. It also handles bug tracking and other work item tracking; permits Continuous Integration and tracking of all builds, including tracking the success of automated unit tests; performs code coverage analysis and static analysis (and keeps track of the results).
It's really an apples to oranges comparison: they are both fruits, and grow on trees. That's about the end of the similarity.
Oh, and they both use the same path syntax, starting with dollar sign.
Don't quote me on it, but I think that I've read that the standard Microsoft policy is to continue to support a product for 10 years after it is no longer sold.
That said, I still suggest that you upgrade to something a little more robust than VSS. There are plenty of free options available.
EDIT
From http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy :
Microsoft will offer a minimum of 10 years of support for Business and Developer products. Mainstream Support for Business and Developer products will be provided for 5 years or for 2 years after the successor product (N+1) is released, whichever is longer. Microsoft will also provide Extended Support for the 5 years following Mainstream support or for 2 years after the second successor product (N+2) is released, whichever is longer. Finally, most Business and Developer products will receive at least 10 years of online self-help support.
I don't know if there is any roadmap for VSS (i.e. new versions). But this page says that VSS2005 will be supported until 2016.
BTW: The last update for VSS 2005 that I'm aware of seems to be the 2005 GDR package, which was released in 2007. Although I stopped using SourceSafe at around that time and switched to subversion (never looked back since then).