Chapter 1 Introduction to MultiSite

Rational ClearCase MultiSite adds a powerful capability to Rational ClearCase. With MultiSite, developers at different locations can use the same versioned object base (VOB). Each location (site) has a copy (replica) of the VOB. At any time, a site can propagate the changes made in its particular replica to other sites, by sending update packets. The update process can be automatic or can be started manually with a command.

An organization can use MultiSite to distribute independent, but related development efforts across multiple cities, nations, or continents. For example, a company in the United States has development and testing sites in India, Argentina, Japan, and Australia. Because it is impractical for all engineers to access the ClearCase VOBs in the United States, the company uses MultiSite to distribute the development.

MultiSite can also be used at a single geographical location to allow independent groups to work with the same development data, to enable interoperation in a mixed environment, or to be a backup mechanism. For example, a company that is moving some development to Windows from UNIX can create replicas on Windows instead of accessing UNIX VOBs from Windows.