Setting up a development environment with multiple workstations and Visual Studio 2008
I currently have a small laptop and desktop (+ game console) that I use for development. I prefer to use the workstation at home due to the many large displays and performance and laptop for portability. When I need to work with Visual Studio 2008 web projects, I RDP to my desktop over the Internet. I would like to make this work locally on my desktop, but transferring files back and forth is cumbersome.
I am using Beyond Compare to keep source files in sync and Redgate SQL compare to keep databases in sync. My development server is an Ubuntu server running VMWare with Windows Server 2003 instances with IIS and SQL Server for each project. This server is accessible via FTP through a central FTP hub. I don't work in a team, so Subversion (or similar) is not required ... although I don't mind it. I don't compile until it's time for production, which I do from the desktop.
Does anyone have any suggestions for improvement that would simplify this multi-workstation environment?
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Using a source of control available to both will almost certainly make life a lot easier. I would also say that there is a lot more to version control than just teamwork. This allows you to experiment without the risk of losing existing work, maintain stable releases and development branches, etc.
There are many solutions for source source management - I recently started using git and github was very easy to use. (I only use git from the command line - it's not as smooth as using VisualSvn or something similar in Visual Studio, but if you're happy with the command line, this shouldn't be a problem.)
Whichever you choose, a version control system would certainly be my recommended multi-workstation solution.
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I gave up using my two development workstations and moved on to using my mobile laptop as my main developer / business machine.
Using an HP workstation docking station, I get a dual screen setup. then I have a desktop computer as my local server and a backup machine.
get SSD flash memory for your laptop and it will be faster than your stationary ones!
Andy
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I would highly recommend using source control to develop multiple systems (or develop a single system). As well as making it easy to sync changes across multiple systems, you can also track changes and back up your work. I find it invaluable to be able to implement risky changes knowing that with a few clicks I can get my work back to an earlier stage.
Subversion can be enjoyable and I usually recommend free open source software, but I would recommend giving perforce a shot.It has a free 2 user / 5 workstation license, so it is still free, like in beer for most home needs. The interface is easy to use, it has a lot of nice features, and if you remember to install the perforce SCC plugin, it integrates directly and transparently with Visual Studio (including automatic checkout when editing).
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