Understanding VisualSVN Server storage settings

This article describes VisualSVN Server storage settings and gives recommendations that can improve storage performance. You can find these settings on the Storage tab in the VisualSVN Server Properties dialog.

Repositories Root

Repositories Root path determines the directory where all your repositories are stored. The default value for this path is C:\Repositories.

See below for general recommendations on setting the Repositories Root.

Use local disks rather than remote disks

Local disks are the best option to store repositories in terms of performance and server response time. Avoid using remote disks when possible.

If you do need to store your repositories on a remote disk for some specific reason, it is strongly recommended to use either iSCSI storage or a block-level virtual drive disk. If neither of these options is available, the repositories may be stored on a network share. See the KB22: Storing repositories on a network share article for further details.

Use solid state drives

It is highly recommended to use solid state drives (SSD) instead of hard disk drives (HDD). SSD drives have significantly higher random read speeds, allowing for better Subversion performance. Although HDD drives may work fine for small teams, using them may result in a performance bottleneck for larger teams.

Use a non-system volume

It is recommended to change the default Repositories Root path (C:\Repositories) and store your repositories on a non-system volume. A non-system volume is the volume that does not have the operating system installed. Usually, the operating system attaches additional filters to its system volume. Because these filters intercept requests and add latency to the I/O stack, the system volume is generally expected to have worse performance, and should be avoided if possible.

Allow sufficient disk space

Make sure Repositories Root is located on a volume which has sufficient free space or can be easily expanded. This is necessary because repositories are stored all together within that single directory. Storing repositories on different volumes is not supported.

Automatically adjust permissions

When the Automatically adjust permissions check box is selected, the required NTFS permissions are automatically granted to the specified repository root directory. In case you need to set permissions manually, see the KB37: Permissions required to run VisualSVN Server article for the full list of required permissions.

Automatic permissions adjustment is not available if repositories are stored on a network share. See the KB22: Storing repositories on a network share article for manual setup instructions.