For teams handling large volumes of files or particularly large assets—like VFX or game studios—distributed version control systems like Git often fall short, even with Git LFS. Helix Core, on the other hand, is a purpose-built solution, designed to scale across multiple dimensions, from file size and volume to supporting large, distributed teams and concurrent workflows. Once you’ve selected Helix Core as your version control system the next key decision is how to manage your Perforce hosting.
Traditionally, many organizations have opted for self-hosted, on-premises environments to host Helix Core. However, with the rise of cloud adoption and the increasing need for flexible, distributed work setups, more users are now transitioning to cloud-based solutions.
There are various hosting options, each with its own pros and cons. This guide will help you navigate the Perforce hosting landscape, comparing the most popular on-premise and cloud-native architectures.
Contents
On-Premises
An on-premises setup is the way to go for organizations wishing to deploy Helix Core on their managed servers. On-prem is also the default method for hosting Helix Core. Users can host Helix Core on Linux, Windows, and macOS, and Perforce has extensive documentation available for those options. For Linux users, the installation involves downloading and verifying the Perforce public key, adding the Perforce repository, and configuring the service.
Pros
- Assume complete control over the underlying hardware backing the Helix Core deployment.
- On-prem is the most commonly used deployment of Helix Core. It’s well-documented, well-supported, and fine-tuned to work out of the box.
- On-prem installations make it easy for on-site technicians to quickly diagnose problems with the installation, including issues caused by hardware malfunctions or failures.
- Using cloud infrastructure is like “renting” infrastructure. On-prem setups allow customers to recoup infrastructure spending by reselling their infrastructure in the future.
Cons
- The end user assumes responsibility for administering the underlying hardware and its cybersecurity.
- The network supporting the deployment depends on the networking capabilities available to the company site.
- There is a sizable upfront time and cost associated with purchasing and installing the on-prem hardware to support this configuration. You’ll need to designate someone or hire a Perforce administrator (and for large deployments, possibly more than one) to handle configuration and ongoing management. This can become costly and may deter companies looking to avoid significant upfront capital expenditure (capex) and get set up quickly.
- Ensuring proper disaster recovery and backup for an on-prem Perforce deployment is critical. Most organizations will require additional investment in backup infrastructure and streamlined maintenance practices for disaster recovery.
Key takeaway
In on-prem, organizations have complete ownership and control over their server infrastructure. However, they encounter substantial initial expenses and ongoing costs related to infrastructure upgrades and administration.
Unsure if on-prem is a good fit? Check out our article on on-prem vs cloud hosting.
Self-Managed Private Cloud
Another popular deployment option is Private Cloud. Under the Private Cloud method, companies deploy Helix Core on AWS or onto another major cloud infrastructure provider. This option appeals to users who want direct control over the administration and customization of their cloud environments.
However, managing a private cloud requires in-house experience and personnel to maintain the Perforce hosting cloud infrastructure. Typically, this involves having a DevOps professional on hand to assist with provisioning and maintaining the environment.
Pros
- A more hands-on cloud deployment solution for those with some in-house expertise to leverage.
- Users can manage their underlying infrastructure without the upfront cost and hassle of setting up an on-prem deployment.
- Many of the benefits of on-prem setups are retained while complemented by the advantages of cloud computing. Managing a private cloud-hosted environment combines the best of both worlds.
Cons
- Requires some in-house support for routine and ongoing maintenance of the cloud environment. The work needed increases substantially as teams grow or become more dispersed.
- A DevOps professional with direct experience in maintaining Perforce Helix Core installations is required. There aren’t many professionals with the specific knowledge necessary to maintain the unique cloud instance for a Perforce hosting environment.
Key takeaway
On a self-managed private cloud, organizations can quickly launch a Perforce instance with the help of an in-house DevOps engineer. However, professionals with expertise in running Perforce Helix Core in a cloud environment come at a cost, as such specialized knowledge is essential for optimizing and maintaining the system in a cloud setup.
Perforce HRA & Cloud Tools
Perforce currently offers two cloud deployment options: Perforce Helix Remote Administration (HRA) and Perforce Enhanced Studio Pack (ESP). These are ideal solutions for teams who want to retain some control over their cloud infrastructure while benefiting from tools that simplify management. Both options offer a balance between autonomy and ease of use, making cloud-based Perforce hosting more accessible to teams without the need for extensive internal expertise.
Perforce Helix Remote Administration
In this model, Perforce hosting experts handle the deployment and management of Helix Core and Helix Swarm in the cloud. This option offers active management, with Perforce’s team focusing on cost-effective scaling and minimizing downtime.
Key features include ongoing infrastructure maintenance, daily monitoring of checkpoints and backups, and automatic upgrades and patch installations. The HRA model involves a close collaboration between clients and Perforce to optimize success. After an initial consultation, Perforce provides recommendations for the best cloud infrastructure setup. The customer then purchases the recommended cloud infrastructure and works alongside Perforce experts to configure and launch their Helix Core instance.
Pros
- Service level agreements (SLAs) give managers confidence that Perforce Helix Core Experts will secure their cloud environment promptly.
- HRA offers remote Helix Core and Helix Swarm management, alleviating most of the management burden for Perforce users looking to host in the cloud.
- For organizations aiming to develop greater in-house technical expertise, collaborating with Perforce hosting experts can be a valuable learning experience. This makes a future transition to a more self-managed approach easier and more straightforward.
Cons
- Customers must still administer and pay for their cloud infrastructure.
- While the HRA team manages most aspects of the infrastructure, some application settings (such as adding users or creating depots) still need to be handled by the customer, requiring knowledge of Perforce Helix Core.
Key takeaway
HRA utilizes the in-house expertise of Perforce to assist customers with unlocking the highest performance and security configurations possible in the cloud. While Perforce’s team will perform many Helix Core and Helix Swarm administrative tasks on behalf of their customer, this solution still requires the user to pay for their infrastructure and handle certain administration tasks associated with their infrastructure.
Perforce Enhanced Studio Pack (ESP)
Under this model, users can deploy Perforce on a couple of preconfigured environments, namely those based on Azure and AWS. A VM image is also available for Google Cloud Platform and DigitalOcean. ESP also includes Infrastructure as Code (IaC), which allows for easy scaling of the underlying environment, and is set up with smart default settings. However, users still need to maintain these environments. The hardware offered is optimized for Perforce hosting but is unmanaged.
ESP Includes:
- Helix Core Version Control
- Helix Swarm Code Review
- Hansoft Project Management
Pros
- ESP is pre-optimized for businesses that do not usually have dedicated IT teams to call on for support.
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) makes it easy for users to dynamically pass updates across the entire stack, saving time and effort.
- This is a lower-cost option for customers who want to for cloud based Perforce hosting.
Cons
- Companies that purchase and deploy their infrastructure would likely prefer a more customizable solution.
- Customers will need in-house cloud infrastructure expertise, especially when working with Perforce hosting environments.
- Depending on the customer’s storage and computing needs, it may require much more processing power and storage space, which would lead to more expensive cloud environments.
Key takeaway
While this is a cost-effective Helix Core cloud hosting solution for teams with limited IT resources, it’s important to note that Perforce ESP still requires in-house cloud expertise. Additionally, teams may face extra costs for processing power and storage as their needs scale.
Assembla
Assembla is a merged source code and project management platform that has been an official hosting provider of Helix Core in the cloud since 2012. The Perforce hosting service on Assembla is a flexible, cloud-based solution that is available in two formats: multi-tenant (formerly known as Perforce Cloud) and managed single-tenant (formerly Perforce Cloud Enterprise), tailored to fit your team’s specific needs.
On Assembla, you can purchase Helix Core licenses as an add-on to a suite of other built-in tools. These include a robust project management and ticketing system, Git and SVN repository hosting, collaboration tools for merge requests and code reviews, message boards, security scanning, a Wiki tool for knowledge sharing, granular user management, integration with CI/CD tools that automatically trigger builds based on commits—and other essentials for proficient product release management.
Assembla Helix Core Add-on – Multi-Tenant Perforce Hosting
Turnkey Perforce hosting solution that requires zero infrastructure maintenance.
- Up to 100 users and 250GB of storage.
- Free Git and SVN repositories.
- Includes a robust project management and ticketing system.
- Includes a Wiki tool for knowledge sharing.
- Secure multi-tenant cloud hosting.
Pros
- Easy setup – be up and running in the cloud in minutes.
- Affordable and predictable bills.
- Easy-to-navigate UI interface.
- Access to Assembla’s Code Scanning tool, which analyzes the codebase for vulnerabilities and scans each commit instantly.
- Access to Assembla’s Project Management tool. This tool seamlessly integrates software versioning with task management and issue tracking.
- Integration with Travis CI’s CI/CD Tool. Users can sign into Travis CI with Assembla credentials and seamlessly run Perforce Helix Core builds in a cloud environment.
Cons
- Resources backed by shared cloud instances can suffer from throttling and slowdowns, such as when multiple customers simultaneously access the resource, creating a bandwidth problem.
- Limitations on the number of users, storage capacity, and hosting locations.
- Customers cannot customize their infrastructure.
Key takeaway
Assembla’s Helix Core Add-on is the fastest way to move Helix Core workloads into the cloud and provides many additional collaboration features. However, it is not highly customizable. Plus, for teams of up to 50 users, it’s the second most affordable cloud Perforce hosting solution.
Assembla Helix Core Add-on – Managed Perforce Hosting
The customizable, fully-managed version of the same solution designed to host Perforce securely—and powerfully—in the cloud.
- Unlimited users.
- Unlimited storage.
- Possible managed migration.
- Parallel sync, and other Perforce optimization strategies are available.
- Custom triggers, configurations, and scripts.
- Custom geographic deployment and replication.
- Up to 24×5 Perforce expert support.
- The most secure single-tenant, private cloud hosting.
Pros
- The advantages of the cloud and hosted managed infrastructure meet the total customizations made possible with owned on-premises installations.
- Customers only need to pay one bill, covering all associated costs with hosting Helix Core, including infrastructure and Helix Core licenses.
- Various infrastructure configurations are available, including cold storage and replicas. Assembla’s DevOps team consults on server networks before deployment.
- Enterprise-grade support is available 24×5 and 24×7, backed by SLAs.
- DevOps engineers manage infrastructure and have extensive, specific experience deploying and optimizing environments for Perforce Helix Core.
Cons
- Assembla’s managed Perforce hosting offers the highest level of customization, and thus comes at the highest price point. For customers who don’t need all the advanced features, this might not be the right fit.
- Setup times vary depending on migration requirements, so users won’t be up and running as quickly as they would with Assembla’s Helix Core turnkey solution.
Key takeaway
While the most expensive Helix Core cloud hosting solution, this is the only option that enables users to fully offload all management of Perforce Helix Core (including Infrastructure) while retaining the ample customization, performance, and security offered by a private cloud setup.
Helix Core Cloud
Helix Core Cloud is the newest fully managed cloud solution for Helix Core. It’s built for teams of up to 50 users looking to shift from on-prem setups to the cloud. Easy to set up and scalable to 32TB, it lets you store and manage code without worrying about infrastructure or maintenance.
Pros
- Zero infrastructure management: Helix Core Cloud allows teams to focus on development without the need to manage hardware or infrastructure.
- High scalability: This Perforce hosting solution provides easy scalability options, enabling teams to scale their storage and performance needs dynamically as the team grows.
- Ease of setup: Since it’s fully managed, teams can get up and running quickly without having to set up complex configurations.
- Global availability: Helix Core Cloud leverages the Azure infrastructure, making it accessible across multiple geographic locations with generally low latency.
- Cost-effective: Ideal for teams that don’t want to deal with the upfront costs of infrastructure and would prefer predictable, subscription-based pricing.
Cons
- Less customizable: Unlike on-prem or private cloud options, teams will have limited control over the underlying infrastructure and configuration settings.
- 50 user limit: Helix Core Cloud is designed for teams of up to 50 users. Larger teams may need to consider other options, like self-hosted or Assembla.
- Additional costs for storage and egress: Although 64 GB of storage is included, additional storage incurs extra costs. Similarly, network egress overages are charged separately, and there are no proactive notifications for these overages
- Does not scale down: storage cannot be decreased once increased.
- Potential latency for large files: Though global availability is a benefit, you may still experience some delays depending on your cloud region and connection when dealing with very large codebases.
Key takeaway
While it provides cost-effective scalability and global availability, it comes with limitations on customization, user count, and potential additional costs for storage and egress. It’s best suited for small to mid-sized teams that prioritize simplicity and predictability over deep customization.
TLDR; Which Perforce Hosting Solution is Right for Your Team?
When deciding on the right Perforce hosting solution for your team, start by considering the following factors: team size, the need for customization, technical expertise, and budget.
- Helix Core on Assembla (Multi-Tenant cloud hosting) is a great choice for small to medium-sized teams needing a quick, all-in-one setup that fosters collaboration. Beyond just repositories and builds, it includes merge requests, code review workflows, and project management features, making it a powerful tool for streamlined teamwork.
- Helix Core on Assembla Managed Hosting service provides unlimited users and storage with full customization, making it suitable for larger teams or those needing a more tailored setup. This fully managed service includes advanced performance optimizations like parallel sync and replication. It’s ideal for teams that need maximum power and flexibility and are willing to invest more for those features.
- Helix Core Cloud offers a fully managed, cloud-native solution with easy scalability and no infrastructure management, supporting up to 50 users and storage scaling up to 32TB. It’s perfect for teams that don’t require complex customizations. However, it might not be the best fit for teams that exceed the user limits or need deeper infrastructure control.
- Self-Managed Private Cloud and On-Prem Perforce Hosting are best for teams that require complete control over their infrastructure. These options provide the highest level of customization but come with the trade-off of needing in-house expertise to manage the cloud environment or on-prem hardware.