Servage Magazine

Previously we have put more emphasis of presenting source code version control and tools you can use to do that. One the most popular choices today is Git, used for example with the increasingly popular code portal GitHub. However, this is not the only place you can do so, and for example Beanstalk is a real player in the market, which may prove a worthy alternative. They have a somewhat different approach, but the essentials are the same: Version control.

The biggest advantages for Beanstalk over GitHub are support for Subversion and Mercurial and a pretty good deployment tool. So, check it out.

Setup and manage repositories
No server administration necessary. Import or create Subversion, Git and Mercurial repositories that are instantly available to your team. We do all of the complicated configuration for you, and work to keep your code safe, secure, backed up, and available.

Deploy from source code
Deploy changes directly from your repositories to (S)FTP, SSH and Amazon S3 in one step. Avoid manually editing live servers and never mess with an FTP client again. Play in development, test in staging, and deploy proven code to production. Beanstalk allows you to easily isolate and organize multiple environments. Once environments and servers are setup the entire team deploys using the same process. Less mistakes, more progress.

Issue tracking
Insert a ticket number in your commit messages to link to your Fogbugz, Lighthouse, Zendesk, or Sifter projects [#15 assign:eugene state:resolved]. Update ticket details automatically, like changing the ticket status or assignee.

Activity feeds
The pulse of your team’s work and progress. Know what work has been done, when, and by who by browsing to your repository and deployment activity pages. Subscribe to real-time and daily digest email notifications in your inbox.

Trusted and proven physical security
The Rackspace data center where Beanstalk is hosted is SAS70 Type II certified, contains keycard protocols, biometric scanning protocols and round-the-clock surveillance. Only authorized data center personnel are granted access and undergo multiple and thorough background security checks.