how to setup subversion

7/31/2019 How to Setup Subversion

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How to Setup Subversion + Apache + WebSVN onWindowsLast Updated: May 15, 2011

We develop websites and online applications for banks, credit unions, e-commerce sites

and corporate credit unions using theMemberProtect security framework for ASP.NET.

It's imperative that we have a reliable source code control system that allows a team of

developers, often working from different physical locations, to work together on a single

project. Subversion is an easy to learn and use version control system that suits our

needs almost perfectly. Subversion runs equally well on Windows and Unix, and it also

works over HTTP & HTTPS, which is great if your development team works offsite. But

setting up HTTPS access and web-based repository viewing via WebSVN can be tricky

on Windows, so Ive documented the steps I use to setup Subversion 1.4 + Apache 2.2

+ WebSVN 2.0 on Windows.

I used Windows 2000 Server in this tutorial, but I recommend Windows 2003 Server for

a production setup. I also recommend practicing this tutorial on a virtual machine that

allows you to take snapshots, such as VMWare. VMWare allows you to take snapshots

of your system after steps 9, 20 and 25; the snapshots allow you to easily roll back to

the last good working machine state should you encounter problems during any steps.

Step 1

Download the correct Subversion package for Apache 2.2

NOTE: Some of the download links referenced in this guide are now dead. If you'd like

to download all of the software packages I use in this guide, you candownload a single

ZIP file here.

I use the binary package rather than the self-installer, which I've included in

thedownload package.Make sure youre downloading the version compiled for Apache

2.2

Step 2 - Unzip the package you downloaded and place in c:\subversion (or anypath that you prefer)

This is self-explanatory.

Step 3 - Set PATH and SVN_EDITOR system variables

To make your life a little easier, add the path to your Subversion bin folder to your

system PATH variable. In this instance, youll add: c:\subversion\bin
http://www.inetsolution.com/turnleft/post/How-to-Setup-Subversion-2b-Apache-2b-WebSVN-on-Windows.aspxhttp://www.inetsolution.com/turnleft/post/How-to-Setup-Subversion-2b-Apache-2b-WebSVN-on-Windows.aspxhttp://www.inetsolution.com/turnleft/post/How-to-Setup-Subversion-2b-Apache-2b-WebSVN-on-Windows.aspxhttp://www.memberprotect.net/http://www.memberprotect.net/http://www.memberprotect.net/http://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.memberprotect.net/http://www.inetsolution.com/turnleft/post/How-to-Setup-Subversion-2b-Apache-2b-WebSVN-on-Windows.aspxhttp://www.inetsolution.com/turnleft/post/How-to-Setup-Subversion-2b-Apache-2b-WebSVN-on-Windows.aspx


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Next, create a new variable called SVN_EDITOR and set it to c:\winnt\notepad.exe (or

wherever your notepad.exe file resides)

Step 4- Create a path for your repositories

You should create your repositories on a large partition if you plan to maintain multiple

large projects for a long period of time. For this guide, well assume youre creating a

folder called SVNRepos on your C: drive. Your path to your Subversion repositories

would then be C:\svnrepos

Step 5- Create a test repository

Now assuming that your path is configured properly and the update is active, youshould be able to create your first test repository. Open a command prompt and type

the following commands:

svnadmin create c:\svnrepos\test1

svnadmin create c:\svnrepos\test2

If the commands complete successfully, your folder structure should now look like this:


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If your svnadmin command did not fire, then try rebooting your system to ensure that

the new path has been loaded successfully.

Step 6 Setup basic security for your repository

Open the c:\svnrepos\test1\conf\svnserve.conf file and make the following changes:

1. Uncomment anon-access = read and change to anon-access = none2. Uncomment auth-access = write3. Uncomment password-db = passwd

Save your changes

Step 7 Create usernames and passwords

Open the c:\svnrepos\test1\conf\passwd file with Notepad and uncomment the two

username/password pair lines


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Save your changes

Step 8 Download SVNService and install

Now we need to install the Subversion Service to run as a Windows service. An easy

way to do this is to download the SVNService installer package

fromhttp://svnservice.tigris.org/files/documents/2717/36986/SVNServiceSetup-0.5.2.msi

After youve installed the package, open the SVNService Administration console (Start >

Programs > SVNService) and set the following parameters:

SVN Binary Path = c:\subversion\bin

Repository Path = c:\subversion

Listen Host = 0.0.0.0 (yes, really set this to 0.0.0.0)

Listen Port = 3690

Step 9 Reboot your server

While not 100% necessary, go ahead and reboot your server just to make sure that

everything is in working order. After your server restarts, you should now have a new

service in your Windows Services panel named SVNService and it should be started.

If it is not started, make sure to start it and also to set it to start Automatically.

You could stop here and useTortoiseSVN or any other Subversion clients to access

your new Subversion repository using the standard port and client access methods. But

its nice to be able to access Subversion via HTTP and HTTPS, especially if you or your
http://svnservice.tigris.org/files/documents/2717/36986/SVNServiceSetup-0.5.2.msihttp://svnservice.tigris.org/files/documents/2717/36986/SVNServiceSetup-0.5.2.msihttp://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/http://svnservice.tigris.org/files/documents/2717/36986/SVNServiceSetup-0.5.2.msi


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users may need to access the Subversion server through a firewall. So now lets install

Apache to open that option.Step 10 Download the appropriate Apache 2.2 package

Use Apache 2.2.4 with OpenSSL 0.9.8d I've included it in thedownload package.

Step 11- Install ApacheI like short, clean paths for tutorials like this, so rather than using the default install path,

I recommend changing it to c:\apache2. You may choose whichever path youd like, just

remember to adjust the instructions accordingly as you proceed through the tutorial.

Step 12 Copy modules and DLLs for Subversion to Apache

Copy

c:\subversion\bin\mod_dav_svn.so

and

c:\subversion\bin\mod_authz_svn.so

to c:\apach2\modules

Copy

c:\subversion\bin\libdb44.dll

and

c:\subversion\bin\intl3_svn.dll

to c:\apache2\bin

Step 13 Modify httpd.conf to load the SVN modules

Add the following two lines to your c:\apache2\conf\httpd.conf file in the DSO section

(just look for all of the lines that start with LoadModule):

LoadModule dav_svn_module modules/mod_dav_svn.so

LoadModule authz_svn_module modules/mod_authz_svn.so

Now remove the comment in front of this line in httpd.conf:

LoadModule dav_module modules/mod_dav.so

Step 14 Add /svn location info to httpd.conf

At the very bottom of your httpd.conf file after the tag, add these lines:
http://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4lhttp://www.simplefileexchange.com/gs1g1g4l


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DAV svn

SVNParentPath c:/svnrepos

AuthType Basic

AuthName "Subversion Repository"

AuthUserFile conf/svn-password.pass

#AuthzSVNAccessFile conf/svn-authz.conf

Require valid-user

Step 15 Create an Apache password file

To allow Apache to handle authentication for you, youll need to create a password file.

Open a command prompt, change to the c:\apache2\bin folder and type the following

command:

htpasswd cm c:\apache2\conf\svn-password.pass harry

The system will prompt you to then enter and confirm a password for harry. For the

purpose of this tutorial, set Harrys password to:harryssecretStep 16 Start the Apache Service

Open the Windows Services control and start the Apache Service. If everything is setup

correctly, the service will start without any errors. If you do encounter errors when trying

to start the service, then open a command window, go to c:\apache2\bin and runhttpd.exe in the command window so that you can see what errors occur.

Step 17 Access your repository via HTTP

Assuming that Apache started successfully, you should now be able to use your

Subversion client (I use TortoiseSVN) to access your test repository via HTTP. Using

TortoiseSVN, just right click on your workstation desktop, select TortoiseSVN > Repo

Browser and enter: http:///svn/test1

Subversion should prompt you for your username and password and if you enter itcorrectly, you should now be browsing your empty repository.

Step 18 Create your svn-authz.conf file

You may now create your svn-authz.conf file to assign group or team permissions to

your repository. David Winter has a good example


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herehttp://davidwinter.me.uk/articles/2006/03/03/access-control-for-subversion-with-

apache2-and-authzshowing the format of this file and explaining it more clearly.

Yours will reside in c:\apache2\conf and youll use Notepad to create it. Yours will look

like this:

Step 19 - Uncomment the AuthzSVNAccessFile line in your param

Your entry in httpd.conf will now look like this:

DAV svn

SVNParentPath c:/svnrepos

AuthType Basic



AuthzSVNAccessFile conf/svn-authz.conf

Require valid-user

Step 20 Restart the Apache service

If youve done everything correctly, your Apache service will restart without errors

Step 21

Enable SSLIm not going to go into extensive detail on how to configure Apaches SSL functions

using mod_ssl because it is extensively documentedelsewhere on the internet.

Basically, you first need to uncomment:

LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so
http://davidwinter.me.uk/articles/2006/03/03/access-control-for-subversion-with-apache2-and-authzhttp://davidwinter.me.uk/articles/2006/03/03/access-control-for-subversion-with-apache2-and-authzhttp://davidwinter.me.uk/articles/2006/03/03/access-control-for-subversion-with-apache2-and-authzhttp://raibledesigns.com/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=ApacheSSLhttp://raibledesigns.com/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=ApacheSSLhttp://raibledesigns.com/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=ApacheSSLhttp://davidwinter.me.uk/articles/2006/03/03/access-control-for-subversion-with-apache2-and-authzhttp://davidwinter.me.uk/articles/2006/03/03/access-control-for-subversion-with-apache2-and-authz


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in httpd.conf. After that, youll need to generate a CSR and key, and then either create a

self-signed certificate or purchase a certificate from Verisign,www.instantssl.com,

Godaddy or a similar vendor.

After youve generated your key & received your certificate, copy the appropriate files to

your c:\apache2\conf\ssl folder.

Step 22 Add new virtual host entry to your httpd.conf file

Paste the following code into your httpd.conf file, just above the entry that we created

earlier.

SSLRandomSeed startup builtin

SSLRandomSeed connect builtin

SSLMutex default

SSLSessionCache none

ErrorLog logs/sslerrors.log

LogLevel info

NameVirtualHost *:443

SSLEngine On

SSLCertificateFile conf/ssl/host_yourdomain_com.crt

SSLCertificateKeyFile conf/ssl/host.yourdomain.com.key

SSLCertificateChainFile conf/ssl/host_yourdomain_com.ca

Note that youll have to change the references to host and yourdomain to match the

names you used. Also, you may or may not have an SSLCertificateChainFile entry,

depending on your certificate vendor.

Step 23

Update listen port in httpd.confOpen your c:\apache2\conf\httpd.conf file and update your listen port from 80 to 443.

Search for this line Listen 80 in your file and just change the 80 to 443.

Step 24 Restart Apache Service

If everything is configured correctly, your Apache service should restart. It is common to

encounter problems at this stage, so if Apache service does not start, I recommend
http://www.instantssl.com/http://www.instantssl.com/http://www.instantssl.com/http://www.instantssl.com/


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starting httpd.exe from the command prompt so that you can see the errors it generates.

Often the errors are related to files not found in relation to your certificate and key

paths.

Step 25 Install PHP to support WebSVN

I recommend downloading this packagehttp://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-

installer.msi/from/a/mirror running the Windows installer.

During install, be sure to select Apache 2.2.x Module and allow the installer to update

your httpd.conf file with the appropriate settings. Choose c:\php as your install path.

Step 26 Download and unpack WebSVN 2.0

Download the most recent package

fromhttp://websvn.tigris.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentList (for this tutorial, I used 2.0

RC4). Unpack the files into c:\apache2\htdocs\websvnStep 27

Configure WebSVN

You will need to configure WebSVN to your environment by first renaming

c:\apache2\htdocs\websvn\include\distconfig.inc to config.inc and then modifying the file

appropriately following the directions in the file. Be sure to pay attention to these lines:

$config->setServerIsWindows();

$config->parentPath("c:\\svnrepos");

Step 28 Add WebSVN entry to httpd.conf

Finally, add this new entry to your c:\apache2\conf\httpd.conf file, immediately below the

closing tag of your SVN entry that we added earlier:

Options FollowSymLinks

order allow,deny

allow from all

AuthType Basic

http://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-installer.msi/from/a/mirrorhttp://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-installer.msi/from/a/mirrorhttp://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-installer.msi/from/a/mirrorhttp://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-installer.msi/from/a/mirrorhttp://websvn.tigris.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentListhttp://websvn.tigris.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentListhttp://websvn.tigris.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentListhttp://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-installer.msi/from/a/mirrorhttp://www.php.net/get/php-5.2.3-win32-installer.msi/from/a/mirror


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Require valid-user


Step 29 Restart Apache and try it out

After you restart Apache, you should now be able to access https:///websvn/index.php

Additional steps I perform in a production setup and recommend that you consider:

Lock down your Apache configuration. There are numerous helpful references online to

help you secure Apache. Two good articles to start with are:

http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1786

http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1818

WebSVN allows a number of customizations to enhance its usability and usefulness. I

recommend that you read the notes in config.inc and enable the colorization, at a

minimum.
http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1786http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1786http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1818http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1818http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1818http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1786

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