Local Subversion Repository

A local subversion repository is being setup, when ready this page will describe how to access it.

Setting up access

Access to the ppe subversion repository is via grid certificate. Only users who have registered their certificate with the SystemAdministrators can access the repository. To register your certificate for access to the repository email ppesysman@physics.gla.ac.uk with your certificate distinguished name (DN). This can be found with the openssl command (the example assumes your certificate is in ~/.globus/usercert.pem):

Once your certificate this registered for access subversion needs to be setup. If you do not have a .subversion directory in your home directory run svn --version to create one.

Inside the .subversion directory is the file servers this file requires editing to access the repository. Edit the groups section of the file adding the line:

ppe = *.physics.gla.ac.uk

to create a ppe group. It should look something like:

[groups]
# group1 = *.collab.net
# othergroup = repository.blarggitywhoomph.com
# thirdgroup = *.example.com
ppe = *.physics.gla.ac.uk

then add the following to the end of the servers file:

[ppe]
ssl-client-cert-file = /home/user_name/.globus/usercred.p12
ssl-authority-files = /home/user_name/.globus/usercert.pem

Replacing user_name as appropriate. This assumes who have the pkcs12 version of your certificate in /home/user_name/.globus/usercred.p12 and a x509 format copy of your certificate in /home/user_name/.globus/usercert.pem. Access to the subversion repository requires both.

To convert a pkcs12 certificate into a pem format certificate/key file pair, use openssl:

The userkey.pem should then be made readable and writable only by the user by doing a chmod 600 userkey.pem. Note the password used to encrypt the userkey.pem file should be a strong one, this file is the private key for your grid certificate.

Then place userkey.pem and usercert.pem and usercred.p12 in ~/.globus/

Access to the repository can be tested using:

Testing repository access by listing the contents of the test repository

$ svn list https://ppesvn.physics.gla.ac.uk/svn/test

you will be asked for your grid certificate password each time you access the repository.

Using a proxy certificate to access the repository

To avoid having to type a password in each time the repository is accessed a proxy certificate can be used. In order to do this the certificate pointed to in the ~/.subversion/servers file must be changed from:

ssl-client-cert-file = /home/user_name/.globus/usercred.p12

to:

ssl-client-cert-file = /tmp/pkcs12up_uXXXX

replacing XXXX with the output of the command id -u.

Then to create a proxy certificate first source grid-env.sh (or grid-env.csh, see GridServices) and then create the proxy using svn-grid-proxy-init

After typing in your grid certificate password the script will generate a proxy valid for 12 hours. This works on both Scientific Linux 4 and Scientific Linux 5 ppe machines. On external machines the https://twiki.ppe.gla.ac.uk/pub/IT/SubversionRepository/svn-grid-proxy-init script should work on any system where the EGEE gLite tools are installed.

-- AndrewPickford - 12 Dec 2008