clearcase escape plan

© Perforce Software Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ClearCase Escape PlanningFollow A Well Trodden Path

Doc Version 1.5November 7, 2016

2© Perforce Software Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Presenter: C. Thomas Tyler

Tom Tyler, Principal Solutions ConsultantTom has consulted as a software developer and

development environment architect in many software development organizations. Once known as “The ClearCase Guy” before discovering Perforce in 1999, he has been rescuing users from ClearCase ever since.


Escape Plan Overview

Evaluation, Exec Decision

Migration TeamEarly Training

Data MigrationTips/BBI/DHI

PDS & Branch Strategy Map Cutover Strategy

Verification &Acceptance Criteria

Defect Tracking Integration

Systems Integrations

Desktop Tools, Utilities, IDEs ClearMake?

Helix Topology Admin Training User Training Access Controls, Threat Detection Go Live


• We’ve Done our Due Diligence, and …• We’re Going to Perforce!

Evaluation, Executive Decision


• Select the Migration Team• Include CM/Release Engineering• Include Development Management• Include Developers/Architects from various teams• Include QA• Travel With a Guide (Consultant?)

• Provide Training for the Migration Planning Team

Migration Planning Team, Early Training


Tips• Start new projects in

Perforce• Copy Mainline of

current projects and start over• No History

Detailed History Import (DHI)• Get as much history

as you can.• Beware: CC and P4

are sophisticated systems that think very differently!• Sparse vs. Fully

Populated Transforms

Baseline & Branch Import (BBI)• Pragmatic Approach• Select key baselines• Select key branches• Import distilled form

of your history.

Data Migration


Data Migration: Baseline and Branch Import

R2

main

R1

R1.1

Team A

Team B


• Pragmatic Alternative between Tips and DHI• Handcrafted Definition of “Interesting” History• Each Baseline a changelist by a p4import user, no history• “Just Enough” Branching History by Recording Merges.

• Simplified/Normalized View of History• Zip Files: Agnostic about legacy version control system.• Renaming Trails Lost (Or not?)

Data Migration: Baseline and Branch Import

AB

C

D

E

F


• Attempt to get as much history as you can:• File contents at each change, userid, date, time• Grouped into Perforce changelists (heuristic guessing)• ClearCase Merge Hyperlinks Perforce Integration Records• Optional (and expensive) Label Conversion

• We have relevant tools, experience, and successes• We have become connoisseurs of CC2P4 migration tools

Data Migration – Detailed History Import (DHI)


• Be Warned: You’ll never get it all!• Some sequences of user actions just don’t map.• Some concepts don’t map• Some file types don’t map• Tool Limitations – Older history has lower accuracy



• Phase 1 – Mechanical Import• Trial: Point and Shoot at a VOB.• Tools may work “as is” or require updating if your data is gnarly.• Selective based on file paths (lost+found excluded).• Sparse Import Only:

• Mainline fully populated.

• Branches sparsely populated, not buildable.

• Useful for history research, code and merge forensics.



• Phase 2 – Transforms• Requires completed Perforce Directory Standard (PDS)

• Defines the vision of ”Life in Perforce”

• Requires Custom Work (effort depending on how gnarly config specs are)• Manually Intensive• Creates Perforce-style fully populated branches.• Branches can be built at tips.



• Blend BBI and DHI Strategies• Experimental Strategy• End point of DHI is start point for BBI (per-branch).• Get going faster with BBI.• Bring in details over time in a separate server.• Eventual perfmerge to combine servers DHI & BBI servers.

• Then ‘journal injection’ to combine start & end points.

Data Migration – “BBI Now, DHI Later”


Component Based Development• Dependencies:

Config Specs to Stream Specs

• Modeling of Products, Components.

DHI Early Planning• ”I Need More Power,

Scotty!” – DHI migration is 1000x more taxing than daily use• Must use copy of

Prod ClearCase, Backup/Restore or spare MultiSite Region for dry runs

Technical Snags• VOB Hard Links• Old Win Symlinks• “Slow Renames”• Evil Twins• Missing Users• ClearMake

Replacement• File type mapping• UCM Quirks

Migration Challenges


• Map your Branching Strategy to Perforce Streams• Branch Tags are part of fully qualified file path in Perforce

Perforce Directory Standard (PDS)

See: https://swarm.workshop.perforce.com/projects/tom-tyler-pds

https://swarm.workshop.perforce.com/projects/tom-tyler-pds







Pilots Projects• Ideal for small

teams with minimal dependencies

Grand Opening• Do it Once!• Do it Right!

Phased Transition• Move teams as they are

ready.• May need a Bridge (BBI

or DHI)• Sounds safer? Risk

calculation can be complex. Consider Dependencies!• Requires multiple

concurrent live systems.

Cutover Strategy


Testing may include:• Test file lists and contents• Test builds• QA test build results• DHI testing is a challenge

Verification and Acceptance Criteria


Common Options:• Connect JIRA to Perforce instead of ClearCase• Replace ClearCase first, then Defect Tracking/Workflow Management• Replace ClearCase and Defect Tracking at the same time• To Consider: Migrate Issue Tracking Data?

Defect Tracking Integration


Common Systems Integrations to Port:• Defect Tracking/Workflow Management• Requirements Management• Code Review (SmartBear Swarm)• Build Systems• Continuous Integration• Continuous Delivery and DevOps

Systems Integrations


Planning: Spend time with the Developer at the Desktop!• IDEs• Personal utilities and scripts• Teach Perforce scripting tricks, encourage users to help!

• Like formatted output with p4 -ztag –F users

Desktop Tools, Utilities, IDEs


Learn to build outside ClearMake:• Get builds working w/o clearmake, outside dynamic views.• Don’t use GNU compatibility mode, it’s not that compatible!• Use gmake.• Consider makedepends or Electric Accelerator, or jam for dependency

management.

ClearMake?


Define your Helix Global Topology• Define High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR) Goals• Plan for Globally Distributed Access

• Direct Connection to Master – Better than you think!• Proxies, Replicas, Edge Servers

• Better replication than MultiSite (more reliable, faster, simpler for users/admins, no extra license cost)

Helix Topology


Admin Training

Follow the Server Deployment Package (SDP) Project:• https://swarm.workshop.perforce.com/projects/perforce-software-sdp

https://swarm.workshop.perforce.com/projects/perforce-software-sdp





User Training

• On Site, Instructor Lead• Online, Instructor Lead• Recorded Training• Tutorials and Docs• The Workshop


• Define and implement security model in Perforce.• Consider Threat Detection.

Access Controls, Threat Detection


3 … 2… 1… LAUNCH!

Go Live


• Survey URL: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CC2P4SampleSurvey• Useful Migration Planning• Plan Scope of Consulting Services Engagement

Your Next Step: Migration Planning Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CC2P4SampleSurvey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CC2P4SampleSurvey


Q & AQuestions?


Thank YouThe End