Handling Large Database Files

Support for database files larger than 2GB

Info & Tags

Article #:
53
Created:
12/15/06
Modified:
03/15/10
Tags:
database, file size, limitations

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SUMMARY

Earlier versions of the Perforce Server, and some operating systems, limit Perforce database files (the db.* files in the P4ROOT directory) to 2GB in size.


DETAILS

The following combinations of operating system and Perforce Server support database files larger than 2GB:

  • Linux x86 :
    • Large file support is only available for Linux kernels 2.4.0 and higher.
    • Use Perforce 2000.2/21749 or higher.
  • Windows NT/2000/XP:
    • All versions support large files.
    • Use Perforce 98.2/8127 or higher.
  • Solaris:
    • Large file support is only available for Solaris 2.6 and higher.
    • Use Perforce 98.2/7488 or higher, compiled for Solaris 2.6 or higher.
  • FreeBSD:
    • All versions support large files.
    • Use Perforce 98.2/5713 or higher.
  • HP-UX:
    • Large file support is only available for HP-UX 11.11 and higher.
    • Use Perforce 2001.1/26433 or higher.
  • SGI:
    • Irix 6.2 and higher support large files.
    • Irix 5.3 only supports large files with an SGI-supplied upgrade for xfs.
    • Use Perforce 98.2/5713 or higher.
  • Tru64 Unix (aka Digital Unix, aka OSF/1):
    • All versions support large files.
    • Use Perforce 98.2/5713 or higher.

If any of your database files are approaching the 2GB file size limit imposed by your current installation, consider migrating your server to a system which supports large files.

Notes

The db.have file is most likely to hit this limit first. It stores the client "have" lists. If necessary, you can trim the size of this file by deleting unnecessary clients.