TFS and Forms Authentication

Question

I don't know squat about TFS, other than as a user who has performed simple check in/outs.

I just installed it locally and would like to do joint development with a friend.

I was having trouble making my TFS web site on port 8080 visible (the whole scoop is here if your interested) and I wonder if it could be related to the fact that TFS is probably using Windows Authentication to identify the user.

Can TFS be set up to use forms authentication?

We probably need to set up a VPN, though that's a learning curve too.

To use TFS, do our machines have to belong to a domain?

We're not admin types, though he is better than me, though I would be interested in any feedback or advice on which path is likely to pan out the best. I already got AxoSoft OneTime working in this type of an environment and it suits us well, but I am tempted at all the bells & whistles with TFS and the ability to tie tracked bug items to code changes.

As far as finding a good way to share code, do sites like SourceForge allow one to keep code secure among members only?

Answer 1

It does not need to be installed in a domain. I'm running TFS at home within a workgroup on a virtual machine.

Create a user on the machine that hosts TFS. Let's assume this machine is named TFS-MACHINE. Grant that user appropriate Team and Project rights.

When connecting to TFS from the remote machine, the user should be prompted for a user ID and password. They should use a User ID of TFS-MACHINE\username and the appropriate password.

Regarding external spots to host code. If you're looking for cheap/free, you can look at something like Unfuddle, which supports SVN and Git.

If you're looking for hosted TFS, the only place I've been able to find thus far is SaaS Made Easy, but they can start getting a bit expensive, depending on the number of users you have.

Keep in mind if you're going to host locally that you'll still need to do things like periodic backups, etc.