Perforce obsolete
Contents
Gentle introduction to Perforce
If you are unfamiliar with Perforce and especially with source control systems, there is a gentle introduction on the perforce website.
Setting up
Download clients
Both visual and command-line clients can be downloaded for Mac, Linux, and Windows on the perforce website:
http://www.perforce.com/downloads/helix#clients
Direct links to the most common clients are found below. The links point to R15.2 of the command line clients, and R15.1 of the visual clients. Links are last updated 2015.11.28
Linux Clients
Mac Clients
Windows Clients
Basic setup
The basic setup procedure is different for the gui and for the command line. Common for both of them is the server address and establishment of trust.
The perforce server has the address
ssl:perforce.compute.dtu.dk:1666
Authentication happens using the portalen username and password. Access to this server is administrated by Henning Christensen who can be reached at the email address at hench at dtu.dk.
Upon initial connection you are asked to approve the fingerprint of the perforce server. The fingerprint should be
#F6:7A:7A:9C:15:33:CE:16:DB:EA:6E:A9:24:05:FB:E8:63:B7:0D:2A
If another fingerprint is displayed, you are connecting to the wrong server - contact IT support.
Using the graphical interface
The graphical interface is called P4V. At first connection, you are asked to trust the server. If the fingerprint corresponds to the fingerprint above check the trust button.
As workspace, the workspace called <username>_default should be used.
Using the command line
The command line is configured using environmental variables. These variables are set using the perforce command line. Set the following options
# p4 set P4PORT=ssl:perforce.compute.dtu.dk:1666 # p4 set P4USER=<username> # p4 set P4CLIENT=<username>_default # p4 set P4CONFIG=.p4config
The current loaded settings can always be seen by typing p4 set in command line. Verify your installation by typing
# p4 set P4CLIENT=tsal_pc (enviro) P4CONFIG=.p4config (enviro) (config '/home/tsal/.p4config' ) P4EDITOR=vi (enviro) P4IGNORE=.p4ignore (config '/home/tsal/.p4config') P4PORT=ssl:perforce.compute.dtu.dk:1666 (enviro) P4USER=tsal (config '/home/tsal/.p4config')
On linux/mac, these settings are stored in the file ~/.p4enviro. On Windows the settings are stored in the registry. The command line has many configurables, to see most of them, type
# p4 help environment
The documentation for perforce is built into the program. You can get help by typing
# p4 help # p4 help <command>
Setting up a tunnel to connect outside DTU
At this moment, the perforce server is only reachable from DTU networks - but this is subject to change soon. The easiest way to get around this is to use the OpenVPN provided by DTU compute. Alternatively you can setup a ssh tunnel. On Windows/Linux/Mac, use the following command
# ssh -L 1666:perforce.compute.dtu.dk:1666 <user>@thinlinc.compute.dtu.dk
Alternatively, use autossh with ssh keys - this will automatically restablish lost connections - e.g. on sleep/resume when using a laptop the connection is automatically established.
# autossh -i .ssh/ -L 1666:perforce.compute.dtu.dk:1666 <user>@thinlinc.compute.dtu.dk
On windows, the the two best options are putty and bitvise ssh. Bitvise supports automatic reconnections which is very useful for laptop users. This program can be downloaded here:
http://www.bitvise.com/ssh-client-download
Get the template file and insert your username and password. The bitvise client can be setup to start automatically, by inserting the following link in the startup folder
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Bitvise SSH Client\BvSsh.exe" -loginOnStartup -profile="<path to bscp file>"
If you opt for using a tunnel, you have to use ssl:localhost:1666 as P4PORT instead.
