ServerSourceOffSite consists of a Server and a Client. They can communicate over any standard TCP/IP connection, including a PPP connection over a modem, an ISDN line, or an Ethernet connection on the same LAN as the Server. SourceOffSite does not require Windows Remote Access Service (RAS).
SourceOffSite is designed with a client-server architecture to facilitate remote version control. It is up to 12 times faster than SourceSafe over RAS.
The Server is installed on the machine with access to the file system on which the SourceSafe (VSS) database resides. Once installed there, the Server provides access to SourceSafe operations to Clients that connect using any standard TCP/IP connection.
The Server can be installed on Windows NT, 2000, or 2003. It runs in the background with no user interface of any kind. Configuration of the Server is accomplished through the Server Manager utility.
The SourceOffSite Server does not necessarily need to be
installed on the machine where the VSS 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 SourceSafe Automation component
(APIs). Thus, the SourceSafe Client component must be installed on the server
machine hosting the SourceOffSite Server.
Installing the SourceSafe Client also installs the SourceSafe APIs.
The SourceOffSite Client is a GUI application that closely resembles the SourceSafe Explorer user interface. SourceSafe users should find the SourceOffSite Client to be familiar and easy to use. Users can perform most SourceSafe operations in a similar fashion. These operations include:
The SourceOffSite Client can connect to any SourceOffSite Server by simply specifying the location of that server (a host name or IP address, and a port number). SourceOffSite Clients are available for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/2003/XP, Linux and Solaris platforms.