VisualSVN 2.5 Release Notes

We're delighted to announce VisualSVN 2.5, the newest version of the professional Subversion integration plug-in for Visual Studio. This release provides an upgrade to the newest Apache Subversion 1.7 that brings a major infrastructure upgrade, including a completely redesigned working copy storage model.

We encourage all users to upgrade to VisualSVN 2.5. Download the latest version of VisualSVN at the download page.

Subversion 1.7: WC-NG, HTTPv2 and improved merge tracking

The key feature of Subversion 1.7 is the new generation working copy storage model known as WC-NG. Instead of the infamous .svn folder stored in every working copy directory, WC-NG working copies have just one centralized metadata storage in their root. This centralized storage includes a SQLite-backed database which contains all the metadata needed for a given working copy. This brings better usability and dramatically improves working copy performance. According to our measurements, the overall performance of some frequently used Subversion operations has increased by 2x-10x times.

The other significant enhancement in Subversion 1.7 is the improved HTTP protocol usage known as HTTPv2. The HTTPv2 reduces the number of round trips between the client and the server that accelerates Subversion performance over the wide area networks.

Also, there are tens of bugfixes and improvements related to merge tracking. For the complete list of changes please consider the Apache Subversion 1.7 Release Notes.

Out-of-process unmanaged code execution

We are committed to delivering products with the highest level of stability and robustness: since the very first release of VisualSVN, you can trust that Visual Studio will never hang or crash because of integration with Subversion. Following these objectives, VisualSVN 2.5 executes unmanaged code in a special background process. This out-of-process model provides additional proof that Visual Studio will not crash even in case of the access violation error in the unmanaged codebase.

For the complete list of VisualSVN 2.5 changes, please consider the changelog.

Upgrade and compatibility concerns

While upgrading to VisualSVN 2.5, you will be requested to upgrade your working copies to the latest WC-NG format. It's recommended to upgrade using the VisualSVN | Upgrade Working Copy main menu command. Note that this operation cannot be easily undone and older Subversion clients will be unable to work with the upgraded working copy.

VisualSVN 2.5 will be able to work with older Subversion servers, but HTTPv2 protocol will be used with Subversion 1.7 (or greater) servers only. So please upgrade your Subversion server in order to benefit from the HTTPv2 protocol performance enhancements.

Free upgrade from VisualSVN 2.0

Upgrade to VisualSVN 2.5 free for all registered VisualSVN 2.0 users. This range includes customers who have purchased VisualSVN license starting from October 15st, 2009.

Other customers are required to purchase an upgrade. Note that upgrading to VisualSVN 2.5 now you get a free upgrade to the VisualSVN 3.0 which will be compatible with the upcoming Visual Studio 11 (also known as Visual Studio vNext). To place your order, please complete our online upgrade form