Set a depot location

You can set the location of a depot both when you first create it, and later on, if you want to move it to a different location.

If you want all the depot data to be moved to a single new file system, see Single new file system.

If you want the depot data to be spread over multiple file systems or multiple directory paths, see Multiple file systems or directory paths.

If you want to use cloud storage, consider S3 storage.

In any case, Consider symlinks.

Single new file system

This section assumes that you want all the depot data to be located on a single new file system.

By default, the base directory for depot file storage for depots with relative Map fields is the server root directory (P4ROOT). For example, if the P4ROOT is /p4/1/root, the depot files for the eng depot are located at /p4/1/root/eng/...

p4 -ztag depot -o eng
... Depot eng
... Date 2022/11/16 15:03:40
... Description Default depot
... Type local
... Map eng/...

Depot Map fields can also be specified as an absolute path:

p4 -ztag depot -o system
... Depot system
... Owner sysop
... Date 2023/04/13 14:34:30
... Description Created by sysop.
... Type local
... Map /p4/depot_data/system/...

The server.depot.root configurable

The server.depot.root configurable is an alternative to the default of depot directory paths being relative to the P4ROOT directory. You can set this configurable to assign an absolute path, with respect to which a relative address given in the Map field of a depot form is evaluated. Setting the configurable takes effect immediately.

Absolute paths in the depot Map field are unaffected by the server.depot.root setting. Check all depot Map field settings by running p4 -ztag depots before reconfiguring.

In multi-server environment with replica and Edge Servers, set server.depot.root so it only applies to those servers you want it to.

Any backup process must take the server.depot.root location into account and not assume depot files exist in the default P4ROOT location.

Changing the depot file directories

To change the depot file directories by using the server.depot.root configurable:

(1) Make a backup all depot directories.

(2) Prevent users from accessing the depots while moving them. Set protections to prevent write access by entering the p4 protect command: Add the following mappings at the end of the Protections field: list user * * -//... list group * * -//... super user usernameOfSuperUser * //...

(3) Get a list of all existing depots: p4 -ztag depots

(4) For each depot reported with a relative Map path, copy the depot directory from its existing location under P4ROOT to its new location under the chosen server.depot.root directory.

(5) Set the server.depot.root configurable. Isolate the server.depot.root setting to a specific server. To do that, the server must have a configured serverName. See p4 serverid in the Helix Core Server Administrator Guide.

(6) Run the p4 verify -q //... command.

Multiple file systems or directory paths

If you want the depot data to be spread over multiple file systems or multiple directory paths, be aware that this involved more work because:

• each depot must have the Map field changed

• file system management is more complex and there is risk of one or more file systems not being mounted

• replica, edge and standby servers must have the directory structures denoted in the depot's Map field

The filesystem path where a depot's versioned files are stored is specified by the Map field in that depot's specification.

$ p4 -ztag depot -o depot
... Depot depot
... Date 2011/05/16 15:03:40
... Description Default depot
... Type local
... Map depot/...

By default, the depot directory location is given as a path relative to the P4ROOT directory and is named the same as the depot. However, this location can be changed and mapped to either a different path relative to P4ROOT, or to an absolute path outside of P4ROOT.

Changing a depot directory

(1) Make a backup all depot directories.

(2) Prevent users from accessing the depots while moving them. Set protections to prevent write access by entering the p4 protect command: Add the following mappings at the end of the Protections field: list user * * -//... list group * * -//... super user usernameOfSuperUser * //...

(3) Get a list of all existing depots: p4 -ztag depots

(4) For each depot reported, the map field gives the current location of the depot directory.

(5) Copy each depot directory from its existing location to its new location.

(6) Update the map field of each depot specification by running the p4 depot depotName command. Replace the value of the Map field depotName/... by path/depotName/... (where path is the full path of the new location where the depotName directory is located. For example: Map: depot1/... To: Map: E:\Users\perforce\depot1\... If Helix Core Server is being run under WIndows, include the drive letter as a part of the path and make sure that the path ends in with a forward or backslash (/) and the Perforce ellipses wildcard (...) of three dots.

(7) Run the command p4 verify -q //depot1/... where depot1 is replaced by the depot moved.

(8) Use p4 protect to remove the mapping protections you added in Step (2).

(9) Restart Helix Core Server.

S3 storage

Your organization might find it economical to store archive depots by using:

• Amazon S3, the Simple Storage Service of Amazon Web Services

• An S3-compatible API, such as that of MinIO

• A cloud provider's storage offering, such as DigitalOcean's Space Object Storage, Tencent Cloud Object Storage, Google Cloud Storage, or S3Proxy for Microsoft Azure Blob Storage

You can create an S3 data source as a place to store files for a Helix Core Server depot. Create a depot specification that sets the Address field to map to the S3 datasource. The location of the S3 bucket and the credentials are stored in the depot spec on a per-depot basis using the Address field in the following format:

Address: s3,region:us-east-1,bucket:p4d-depot,accessKey:,secretKey:******

where:

• s3 must be at the start of the address

• The settings are comma-separated, with a colon to separate the key and value.

The S3 data source requires the following AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) permissions of the Amazon S3 API Reference: s3:GetObject, s3:PutObject, and s3:DeleteObject.

Supported keys are:

Key	Note
url	https://bucketname.s3.amazonaws.com Some S3 implementations might not require this key.
region	Some S3 implementations might not require this key.
bucket	Required
accessKey	Required
secretKey	Required
token	Depending on bucket security, this key might be optional.

Create an S3-backed depot

1. Create a new depot by using the p4 depot command, and set the depot’s Type. For example,

   p4 depot -t stream s3DepotName

2. In the depot specification,
   
   

   • Do not change the value of the Map field because it will not be used.

   • Create a new field for the address, and enter the s3 information and credentials as a comma-separated list of key:value pairs according to the requirements of your S3 storage provider.

Examples

Different storage providers might have different requirements. For the most complete, correct, and current requirements, check with your storage provider.

AWS:

Address: s3,region:us-west-2,bucket:my-s3bucket,accessKey:******,secretKey:******

Digital Ocean:

Address: s3,url:https://my-s3bucket.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com,bucket:my-s3bucket,accessKey:******,secretKey:******

MinIO:

Address: s3,url:https://server:port/my-s3bucket,bucket:my-s3bucket,accessKey:******,secretKey:******

Google Cloud Storage:

Address: s3,url:https://storage.googleapis.com/my-s3bucket,bucket:my-s3bucket,accessKey:******,secretKey:******

Consider symlinks

Make sure all file systems are mounted correctly on source and target, and take into account any depots referenced using symlinks. Symlinks are outside the control of Helix Core Server and need to be considered when changing the location and copying of depots.

If using tiny.db

If the lightweight document-oriented database, tiny.db, is being used to store any file revisions, take a checkpoint of the tiny.db file, correct the content to match the changes to the depot spec's Map field or server.depot.root, and restore using this manually-updated tiny.db checkpoint.