Which source control system to use with Red Gate SQL Source Control

Question

We are planning on using Red Gate SQL Source Control, but have not yet decided which source control system to use yet: you can use Subversion (SVN) or Team Foundation Server (TFS).

Which one should we choose and how does that affect the way Red Gate SQL Source Control?

Here are some factors that might affect our choice:

• We use SQL Server 2008 R2
• We do not currently use SVN or TFS
• We will not be using either SVN or TFS to source control our non-database code
• We get TFS with our MSDN license, so cost is not a factor
• We work both in the same office and remotely

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

EDIT: For non-database code we use VSS, which we are going to replace with Mercurial (with Kiln) later this week.

EDIT: Since posting this question, I have found out that Red Gate SQL Source Control will work with any source control system that has a suitable command line. So, we could get it to work with our implementation of Mercurial/Kiln and would definitely consider that. Any advice on that would be very helpful.

Answer 1

I have only worked with SVN with Redgate Sql Source Control, though I have worked with TFS outside of the context of database source control.

My take is this: barring deep integration with the methodology templates in TFS, there's no advantage to using TFS in this situation. The integration with SSMS is very common-sense and intuitive for SVN, so it's worked very well for my team.

I personally found TFS pretty heavy, administration-wise, and have found SVN server very light and easy to work with. If you've got someone who already has TFS Administration experience, that might be an argument for TFS, but barring that, I'd recommend SVN.

I keep coming back to one factor: I could have SVN up and running with this system inside of an hour, and God knows how long with TFS.

As per your update - if it's possible, I strongly recommend getting it integrated with your existing repository, but if it's a choice between waiting for the perfect integration and getting your db's under version control today, there's no choice in my mind.

Answer 2

SQL Source Control has an Early Access Release that works with Mercurial. It would be great if you could try it out. You can find out more information at http://www.red-gate.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=12786. Like Chris said, it's probably best to have one source control system for both your application and db code if possible.