Bare Minimum HW Reqs

[jhs]

Hi,

I'm planning on using Vault in the future (provided I like it after the trial, which I am yet to begin).
We're a reasonably small software dev shop. Initially, it will only be me accessing the Vault server, most likely on 2 PCs.
Here are two questions that I have:
First, and most importantly, what is the absolute minimum HW requirement to install and use Vault server? I am planning on using a dedicated machine for it, but would like the machine to be as quiet and energy efficient as possible. Add on top of that, that it should be as small as possible (since it will live in my office, where I already have a few computers and a 5-screen setup), and obviously I also want to spend as little money as possible.

I have a full MSDN subscription, so I am pretty easy in terms if operating system and version of SQL to use (i.e., whatever works best). The source tree is not huge.

In an ideal world, I would have used something with an Atom processor, but that dream was pretty much shattered after having a look at the system requirements.

Can anyone comment on the bare minimum hardware that they have successfully used for the server with satisfactory performance?

If we choose to deploy to more than 3 developers, we would certainly upgrade the server, so please do not build in "room for user growth".

I have a second unrelated questions, but perhaps someone is able to answer it without me having to open a seperate topic. Everybody around here uses both a laptop and a desktop. Will we need to purchase one license per machine, or one license per user. My understanding is that the 1 user license is free. In that case, can I use the free version to access Vault both from my laptop and my desktop, or do I need to purchase a seperate license.

I hope nobody is too offended by the cheapo questions

Thanks,
Jan

[lbauer]

Thanks for your interest in Vault!

Vault hardware requirements are here:

http://www.sourcegear.com/vault/sysreq.html

If you are a single user or very small shop, you might also get by with Vault server on an XP or Vista machine.

Vault licensing is per user, not per machine. A licensed user can access Vault Server from any machine(s).

One note: Vault has a single user version, not a free license. If you only configure the Vault server with one username, you don't need a license. As soon as you add another name, you have two users, and you need two licenses.

Let me know if you have additional questions.

[jhs]

Linda,

Thanks for your reply. I had seen the hardware requirements - they prompted me to pose the minimum specs question, since I thought they are rather high. They seem to be the highest spec of any SCM server product that I have come across.

Having said that, the hardware specs simply specify 2.4 Ghz or above. Is that based on a single core, or dual (or even quad core) processing? I am guessing single core, since the SQL Express edition only utilizes one core anyways. So a 1.8 Ghz Dual core might do just fine?

My specifc question is, with how little can I get by for 1-3 users. I was initially hoping to just get an Intel Atom based desktop PC. The Vault machine will sit in my office with me, so I want the machine to be as quiet as somehow possible. My very first thought was a Mac Mini, which I use under Mac OS and find to be a wondefully quiet machine, but after reading through various users experiences running Windows on a Mac, I gave up on that idea. In an ideal world, I would like to thus use an Atom based machine, since they appear to be equally quiet. Any other suggestions are welcome though. I am sure there are many other users out there, who use Vauly in a startup ISV environment, and have similar restrictions to me -- has anyone got any comments regarding what kind of hardware setup they are running Vault on?

Thanks and best regards,
Jan

[lbauer]

We haven't tested specific hardware configurations that you've mentioned with multiple users, but perhaps others can chime in on this post and let us know what minimums they were able to get by with when using Vault.