Go to Microsoft Visual Studio team system and Microsoft Visual sourcesafe

Release date: 11/18/2005 | Updated on: 11/18/2005

Microsoft Corporation

Applicable:
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation Server
Microsoft Visual sourcesafe 2005

Abstract:This overview helps developers decide whether to choose Microsoft Visual sourcesafe 2005 or Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation server to manage software changes.

Introduction

Selecting a software change management solution is an important decision for any developer, whether they work alone or for the enterprise.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 provides two options for software change management: Microsoft Visual sourcesafe 2005 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation server.

Visual sourcesafe is a long-term product of the Visual Studio series. In version 2005, it was modified in time, including remote access through HTTP, improved reliability and Unicode support. Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation server belongs to the new Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 team system. Team Foundation Server is a complete Software Configuration Management solution that provides version management, version control, Work Item tracking, and report functions.

Both visual sourcesafe and team Foundation server apply to both teams of all sizes and individuals. It is understandable that such overlap may cause some doubts.

There are some key differences between these products, making decisions relatively simple. The first difference is the architecture of each product.

Server-based or desktop-based

Visual sourcesafe 2005 and team Foundation server have different architectures. The difference is a key factor in determining which product to use.

Visual sourcesafe 2005 is a completely independent system that does not require any other software. Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation Server is a server-based system that utilizes multiple Microsoft technologies. Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 6.0 is used to host the XML Web Service required for communication by team Foundation server; Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services is used to publish portals for each project hosted by team Foundation server; microsoft SQL Server 2005 is a powerful and secure storage engine.

Generally, visual sourcesafe 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 are installed on the same machine, while Team Foundation server is installed on a separate server for remote access. (Visual sourcesafe can be installed on a dedicated machine or the development environment of team Foundation server and Visual Studio 2005 can be installed on the same machine, but it is generally not considered .)

Many customers will find that the dedicated server for setting team Foundation server exceeds the complexity they need. Visual sourcesafe 2005 is preferred for these customers. On the other hand, some customers will find it unrealistic to maintain Software Configuration Management in their development environments. For these customers, it is best to select team Foundation server.

Architecture complexity is a key point that helps users make decisions between visual sourcesafe and team Foundation server. Project complexity is another key point.

Project complexity

Even a very small team or individual may handle a project that requires detailed level of requirement management, review, and project management. Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation server supports the complete Software Configuration Management function, so it is very suitable for such customers.

On the other hand, some small teams or individuals only needSource codeControl. Visual sourcesafe 2005 is simple, lightweight, and easy to use, so it is ideal for such customers.

For customers, choosing visual sourcesafe 2005 means security because it has a migration path that supports migration and can be migrated to the team Foundation server when the customer needs to grow.

Visual sourcesafe 2005 and team Foundation server support both teams and individuals. However, the position and dynamics of a team may affect the selection of products.

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Team location and Dynamics

The location of team members and the way they work together will affect the use of visual sourcesafe or team Foundation server.

The desktop-based feature of visual sourcesafe 2005 is ideal for occasional Remote File Access by team members. However, it is not suitable for the daily use of geographically distributed teams. This is also true for the parallel development feature of visual sourcesafe. The basic file sharing supported by OSS is suitable for teams that occasionally need to collaborate, and is not suitable for scenarios that require highly parallel environments.

The team Foundation server makes up for the shortcomings of visual sourcesafe 2005 in these aspects. Its server-based features are ideal for geographically distributed teams. Team Foundation Server CommunicationAlgorithmUsed to calculate the lag time between distributed sites. It also provides a cache proxy to minimize network traffic between these sites. To support highly concurrent development, Team Foundation server provides SQL Server 2005 with powerful data storage, atomic operations, and complex branch and merge functions.

For teams that perform daily work remotely and teams that collaborate to complete many components in the project, it is best to select team Foundation server. Visual sourcesafe 2005 is preferred for teams that normally work together and teams that process individual components of a project.

A good way to understand how team members work collaboratively is to determine which product is more appropriate. This information also affects the cost of using Visual sourcesafe 2005 or team Foundation server.

Cost

Visual sourcesafe 2005 and team Foundation server have different authorization methods.

Visual sourcesafe is separately authorized, while Team Foundation server is on a server and authorized using the Cal (Client Access License) model. Figure 1 compares the cost of authorizing visual sourcesafe 2005 with Team Foundation server. [Use the "select D" authorized by the three-year Software Assurance (SA) protocol as a reference for Team Foundation server authorization costs.]

Figure1.AuthorizationVisual sourcesafe 2005AndTeam Foundation ServerCost

The first column of data in the chart shows the cost of authorizing visual source safe 2005. As expected, the authorization cost increases along with the increase of users.

The second column of data in the chart shows the cost of using Visual Studio team system as the team Foundation Server Client. The client of Visual Studio team system consists of four products: Visual Studio team edition for software testers1/javass2/javasts3 and Visual Studio team suite4. Each client includes a team Foundation server five-person license so that the Team (up to five members) has no additional costs. For teams with more than five members, the cost of team Foundation server is only the server authorization cost, because each client already includes Cal.

The third column of data in the chart shows the cost of using the team Foundation server and client (not the Visual Studio team system client. This client may be Visual Studio. NET/2003/2005 or another applicationProgram.

Note that figure 1 only compares the cost of authorizing visual sourcesafe 2005 or team Foundation server. It does not include the cost of obtaining the client.

For customers who use a Visual Studio team system client component, from the perspective of cost, it is obvious that they should choose to use team Foundation server. For a team with a maximum of five members, there is no other authorization cost; for a team with more than five members, the authorization cost remains unchanged. Each team Foundation server can be installed with up to 500 users.

Of course, the cost should be only one factor in deciding between team Foundation server and visual sourcesafe 2005. The cost description here is only a small part of the various customer authorization situations.

Conclusion

Visual Studio 2005 team Foundation and visual sourcesafe 2005 are both great options for version control. Both support various customer situations.

The product selection depends on the basic structure you are willing to support, the team structure, the interaction mode of the team, and which product is more suitable for your budget.