Source control for sites on different servers

[pdxi]

Hello,

I've been looking into options for source control. However, I'm not quite sure how I can implement something like Subversion considering my particular situation.

I have a number of different clients and projects, all of which are located on several different servers. Some clients have their own servers, and some only have a shared hosting account.

Typically, if I am making a few quick changes, I will make them on the production server without any issues. If I need to make major changes, I replicate the production environment as best as I can either on my workstation or in my reseller account, make the changes, and then upload the changed files in one batch.

I have used versioning systems in jobs at software companies, where we were building an actual software product (versus managing live websites). I'm not sure how a versioning system can be successfully implemented in my situation.

My impression is that I will need to commit files to version control and then upload the changed files to the production site. Does this mean that I need to make the changes in a separate environment, commit them to svn, download the changed files (again), and then upload them to the live site? What if a particular website's production environment is impossible to recreate on my desktop or in my reseller account, thus requiring the changes to be made on the production site?

OR, is there a simpler process that I'm unaware of? What experiences have other people had in this situation?

Forgive me if my post is messy or if my questions aren't too clear... I just finished a seven-hour stretch of work and my brain is a littly fuzzy

Thanks,
Jeff

[wwb_99]

You should never be making changes to code in a production environment to begin with. Nor should you ever have an application where you cannot recreate the environment, or at least enough of the environment to test against. What happens when a meteor hits the hosting facility?

As for using source control, you did add an extra step or three. It works more like:

1) Make changes
2) Test changes
3) Commit to SVN
4) Upload patch files

Finally, if your SVN setup is publicly accessible, you could probably have the site download directly from SVN.