The SourceOffSite Server is written in C# and requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5.
The SourceOffSite Server does not necessarily need to be installed on the machine where the Visual SourceSafe database resides. It can be installed on a different machine from the one hosting the VSS database, as long as they are both on the same LAN. However, the SourceOffSite Server does use the VSS Automation component (APIs), so the VSS Client component must be installed on the server machine hosting the SourceOffSite Server. Installing the VSS Client also installs the VSS APIs.
The SourceOffSite 5 server can run side by side with previous versions of SourceOffSite. Users who wish to uninstall SourceOffSite 4.2 should do so as a separate activity after installing SourceOffSite 5.0. It is recommended that you back the sossvr.prp file which contains configuration information unique to your server setup and the sossvr.kys file, which contains the list of encryption keys. The first time the Server Manager is run, it will ask you to transfer setup informatin from the SourceOffSite 4.2 installation.
Also, please note that while both SourceOffSite 4.2 and SourceOffSite 5.0 can run simultaneously, they cannot do so on the same ports. Therefore, if you choose to run both servers, each server will need to run on its own unique set of ports. Each server can use any port, as long is it does not conflict with any other application, inclduing older versions of SourceOffSite.
Check firewall configuration
SourceOffSite operates using a TCP/IP-based networking protocol. This protocol can be operated on any port. The ports are configured in the General Settings tab of the Server Manager utility. If a firewall or proxy server is in place, the firewall or proxy server may need to be configured to allow connections on that port to pass.
Please note: Since SourceOffSite 5 installs to a different location than previous versions of SourceOffSite, you may need to adjust your firewall settings. The server installaion will provide the option to allow an exception automatically. If you do not choose to do so, but want to reconfigure the firewall manually at a later time, add an exception by sepecifying the path to the executable from within the Windows Firewall section of the security control panel.
Check that Microsoft Visual SourceSafe is installed
The Server must be installed on a machine where Visual SourceSafe has already been installed. Installing the VSS Explorer Client from the CD will ensure that all of the VSS APIs are installed on the server machine. SourceOffSite requires the SourceSafe APIs to be version 6.0.9848 or higher. This version of the VSS APIs is installed with Microsoft VSS 6.0d.
Check that the Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 is installed
The SourceOffSite Server is written in C# and requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5. You can check to see if the Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 is installed on your server machine by looking in the Microsoft.NET\Framework folder located in your Windows directory.
Run the setup program
SosServerProfessional.msi (with encryption)
SosServerStandard.msi (without encryption)
Follow the instructions given by the setup program.
Verify files are in selected folder
After the installation is completed, assuming that default installation location was accepted, the SourceOffSite Server should be found in C:\Program Files\SourceGear\SourceOffSite 5 Server or C:\Program Files(x86)\SourceGear\SourceOffSite 5 Server\\ on 64-bit machines. The notable files installed in that folder are:
SosService.exe -- The actual Server executable that runs as a service
sossvr.prp -- The Server configuration file.
ServerMgr.exe -- The GUI tool for managing the server
The Server Manager is a GUI tool for configuring the SourceOffSite server. A VSS database must be configured in the SourceOffSite Server Manager for SourceOffSite to work. Please refer to the Server Manager section of this documentation for step-by-step instructions on configuring the following aspects of the Server:
System Info
General Settings
Serial Numbers
Databases
Users
User Keys
Web Projects
Excluded File Types
The SourceOffSite Server runs as a service. The SourceOffSite Server Service will be listed in the Services Control Panel. Configure the SourceOffSite Server service as follows:
Windows XP, from Start Menu > Control Panel, select Administrative Tools, then Services. Right-click the SourceOffSite 5 Server and select Properties.
Windows Vista, from Start Menu -> Control Panel, select System and Maintenance. Then select Administrative Tools, and double click Services. Right-click the SourceOffSite Server and select Properties.
Windows 2003, from Start Menu > Control Panel, select Administrative Tools, then Services. Right-click the SourceOffSite 5 Server and select Properties.
We recommend configuring the following:
Set the Startup Type option. We suggest setting this to Automatic.
Set the Log On As option. This sets the user name under which the SourceOffSite Server service will execute. If the Visual SourceSafe database is located on a different drive or machine, we recommend changing the account of the SourceOffSite Server service to a Windows Domain account. Examine the Log On As option and make sure it is set to a valid network user name. For example: domainname\username. By default, the SourceOffSite Server service runs as the local system account which may not have access to the VSS installation on another machine or drive.
Please note: When the SourceOffSite Server service is run as a user and VSS is set to automatically log in users using their network names, users will be able to log in to the VSS database using that user's ID without entering a password. There are two ways to avoid this: (1) Run the SourceOffSite Server service as a user that does not have a corresponding Visual SourceSafe log in (2) Turn off the automatic log in option under the Visual SourceSafe Administrator options.
After the Server service is configured, start the service.
The SourceOffSite server can log information about connections as well as operations performed. While many customers will choose the default settings for server logging, SourceOffSite does provide a mechanism to change these settings. Details about the name of the log file, the level of logging, and whether or not to create a new log file upon starting the server are all stored in the sosserver.exe.config file, located in the installation directory.
The file name for the SourceOffSite server log is located in the line that reads <param name="File" value="log.txt" />. Changing this filename will cause the SourceOffSite server to log information to the name specified.
SourceOffSite can either continue to log ot the same file, or can overwrite the log file with a fresh copy each time the SourceOffSite server service is started. By default, the log file will be appended to. If you wish to change this setting, find the line in the sosservice.exe.congif file that reads "<param name="AppendToFile" value="true" />, and change the value of "true" to "false."
Normally, SourceOffSite only logs errors to the log file in order to keep it from growing to an excessively large size. However, if you wish to gleen more information about the server's operations to troubleshoot a specific problem, you can set the logging level to a much higher level of output. To change the logging level, find the line in the sosserver.exe.config file that reads " <priority value="ERROR" />. You can change the value, in increasing order of verbosity, to INFO, WARN, or DEBUG. Please note that setting this value to DEBUG will provide an excessive amount of information for troubleshooting, but due to the size of the log file that would be created, it is not recommended to run indefinitely at this logging level.