Setting up authentication with svnserve running under svnservices

[he...@myob.com]

Wise ones:

I am fooling around with Subversion v. 1.4 and TortoiseSVN v. 1.4 with a 
view to using them for version management of user documentation, 
consisting of XML, SVG, and PNG source files for text and graphic content. 
 Because I want my colleagues to access the source files over the LAN, the 
svn server is set up on //localhost so I can enjoy the same 
client-experience as my colleagues.

The svn repository is on a USB memory stick, at G:\repos\svn-repos at home 
and at E:\repos\svn-repos at work.


The svnserve.exe server is successfully started as a Windows service 
(daemon) as follows:

        C:\Program Files\Subversion\bin\SVNService.exe -install 
"C:\Program Files\Subversion\bin\svnserve.exe" "-d -r \"G:\repos\" 
--listen-port 3690"  // At home
        C:\Program Files\Subversion\bin\SVNService.exe -install 
"C:\Program Files\Subversion\bin\svnserve.exe" "-d -r \"E:\repos\" 
--listen-port 3690"  // At work

The config files are set up as follows:


        *** svnserve.conf ***

        [general]
        anon-access = read
        auth-access = write
        password-db = passwd
        authz-db = authz
        # realm = My First Repository  ### Do I need this?


        *** passwd ***

        [users]
        fotini = fotinistricky
        hedley = hedleystricky
        kellie = kelliestricky
        neil   = neilstricky


        *** authz ***
        [groups]
        training = fotini,hedley,kellie,neil

        [repository://localhost/svn-repos]  ### Sheer guess!  It sure 
doesn't work!
        training = rw
        * = r

        [E:/repos/svn-repos]  ### Aaargh! Drive letters not allowed in 
authz file!
        training = rw
        * = r

        [G:/repos/svn-repos]  ### Aaargh! Drive letters not allowed in 
authz file!
        training = rw
        * = r

With the above set-up, when I right-click, choose TortoiseSVN > Repo 
Browser, and type svn://localhost/svn-repos the browser cannot open the 
repository.  Not unexpected, since according to the documentation, authz 
doesn't permit drive letters.  The TortoiseSVN Help and the Subversion 
book are not enlightening on configuration.

But, if the passwd and authz files are completely commented out and the 
only entry in svnserve.conf is

        [general]
        anon-access = write

The Repo Browser connects fine and all Subversion operations avaiable from 
the TSVN context menu work as advertised.

(By the way, where is the Login dialogue to allow me to enter my username 
and password?)

How can you use a [pathname] section if the lcoation of root / is 
ambiguous on a computer with multiple drive letters (A to E on one, A to G 
on the other)?  Other cross-platform Linux/UNIX/Windows apps and browsers 
get around the drive-letter problem on Windows with strategems such as

        file:///C|myFolder/myFile.xml   /* drive letters are below root / 
, and pipe | substitutes for colon :  */
        file:///C/myFolder/myFile.xml /* C is just another 'folder' below 
root /                              */
        file:///myFolder/myFile.xml     /* C: IS the root / ; too bad 
about the other drives!                   */

How do you correctly identify the repository on a USB stick in a 
[repository:] section?

I look forward to the wisdom of the elders of the tribe.

Regards,
Hedley

--
Hedley Finger
Training Content Developer and Tools Specialist
MYOB Australia Pty Ltd <http://myob.com/au>
P.O. box 371   Blackburn VIC 3130   Australia
12 Wesley Court   Tally Ho Business Park   East Burwood VIC 3151 Australia
<mailto:hedleyDOTfingerATmyobDOTcom>
Tel. +61 3 9222 9992 x 7421,   Mob. (cell) +61 412 461 558

© MYOB Technology Pty Ltd 2006

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Re: Setting up authentication with svnserve running under svnservices

[Erik Huelsmann <eh...@gmail.com>]

> With the above set-up, when I right-click, choose TortoiseSVN > Repo
> Browser, and type svn://localhost/svn-repos the browser cannot open the
> repository.  Not unexpected, since according to the documentation, authz
> doesn't permit drive letters.  The TortoiseSVN Help and the Subversion
> book are not enlightening on configuration.

It's not that 'authz doesn't permit drive letters': rather, authz
refers to repository-internal-paths, so it has no *relation* with
drive letters.

The above means that your authz file should probably have looked like:

       *** authz ***
       [groups]
       training = fotini,hedley,kellie,neil

       [/]       training = rw
       * = r


> But, if the passwd and authz files are completely commented out and the
> only entry in svnserve.conf is
>
>        [general]
>        anon-access = write
>
> The Repo Browser connects fine and all Subversion operations avaiable from
> the TSVN context menu work as advertised.

Sure. That means svnserve is correctly working and doing what it's told to do.

> How can you use a [pathname] section if the lcoation of root / is
> ambiguous on a computer with multiple drive letters (A to E on one, A to G
> on the other)?

No need, as said above: it's a repository-internal pathname, not a
physical filesystem one.

HTH,

Erik.

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