Re: GIT smart http vs GIT over ssh

[Michael J Gruber <git@drmicha.warpmail.net>]

vishwajeet singh venit, vidit, dixit 31.07.2012 11:04:
> On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 2:17 PM, Michael J Gruber
> <git@drmicha.warpmail.net> wrote:
>> vishwajeet singh venit, vidit, dixit 31.07.2012 05:19:
>>> On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 8:40 AM, Konstantin Khomoutov
>>> <kostix+git@007spb.ru> wrote:
>>>> On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 08:36:07AM +0530, vishwajeet singh wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Just wanted to know the difference between smart http and ssh and in
>>>>> what scenarios we need them
>>>>> I am setting up a git server,  can I just do with smart http support
>>>>> or I need to enable the ssh support to use git effectively.
>>>>> As I understand github provides both the protocols, what's the reason
>>>>> for supporting both protocols.
>>>> http://git-scm.com/book/en/Git-on-the-Server-The-Protocols
>>>> http://git-scm.com/2010/03/04/smart-http.html
>>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for the links, I have already gone through those links, was
>>> looking from implementation perspective do I really need to support
>>> both protocols on my server or I can just do with smart http and
>>> what's the preferred way of doing it smart http or ssh
>>>
>>>
>>
>> You need to provide what your users demand ;)
>>
>> Seriously, this is why GitHub and other providers offer both. Not only
>> are some users more comfortable with one protocol or the other (Win
>> users don't prefer ssh generally) but some might be able to use only one
>> because of firewalls or corporate rules.
>>
>> From the server perspective, the setup is completely different, of
>> course. Do you have shell accounts already which you want to reuse for
>> ssh+git? Do you prefer setting up a special purpose shell account
>> (gitosis/gitolite) or setting up a web server with authentication?
>>
> I already have server setup with smart http backend, was just
> wondering if my users would really need ssh support or not and I agree
> to your point it should be based on user demand.
> 
> While going through the git book I encountered a very tall claim about
> smart http
> " I think this will become the standard Git protocol in the very near
> future. I believe this because it's both efficient and can be run
> either secure and authenticated (https) or open and unauthenticated
> (http). It also has the huge advantage that most firewalls have those
> ports (80 and 443) open already and normal users don't have to deal
> with ssh-keygen and the like. Once most clients have updated to at
> least v1.6.6, http will have a big place in the Git world."
> 
> http://git-scm.com/2010/03/04/smart-http.html
> 
> Just based on above comment in book I thought if smart http is way to
> go for future why to take hassle of setting up ssh.

There is no need to set up ssh if smart http does the job for you. I
don't think it makes a difference performance-wise on the server
(upload-pack vs. http-backend) but others are more proficient in this area.

I'm sure ssh+git is there to stay, it is just ordinary anonymous git
protocol tunneled through ssh. So, it's as future-proof as git is.

> I was planning to use gitosis as I have python background and code
> looks not being maintained from quite sometime, which worries me a
> bit, I stumbled upon gitomatic
> https://github.com/jorgeecardona/gitomatic, has anyone any prior
> experience

No idea about gitomatic. It looks a bit like "gitolite in python"
(alpha) but doesn't say much about it's ancestry.

There's also gitolite which is actively maintained and used. Basically,
it's "gitosis in perl". Sitaram, forgive me ;)

Michael