{"id":5489,"date":"2018-10-14T01:17:17","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T01:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/?p=5489"},"modified":"2025-02-01T22:39:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T22:39:31","slug":"perforce-broker-aka-helix-broker-defined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/perforce-broker-aka-helix-broker-defined\/","title":{"rendered":"Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker defined!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Perforce Broker (P4Broker) enables you to restrict the commands that can be executed, or redirect specific commands to alternate (replica or edge) Perforce servers.<\/p>\n

The Perforce Broker is a server process that mediates between Perforce client applications and Perforce servers, including proxy servers.<\/p>\n

Use Case Of Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Separate Helix Server aks Perforce server replica for Read and Write operations –
    Perforce client applications can connect to a proxy server that connects to the broker, which then connects to a Perforce server. Or, Perforce client applications can connect to a broker configured to redirect reporting-related commands to a read-only replica server, while passing other commands through to a master server.<\/li>\n
  2. Load-balancing – You can use a Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker to solve load-balancing as well<\/li>\n
  3. To implement Security – You can use a Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker to solve security related issues as well. To reject the some of the p4 command request which is not allowed.<\/li>\n
  4. To Resrict the size of the Changelist – You can use a Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker to reject the changelist if size is huge.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How to Install the Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Download the p4broker executable from the Perforce website,
    Copy it to a suitable directory on the host (such as \/usr\/local\/bin), and ensure that the binary is executable:<\/p>\n

    [code]$ chmod +x p4broker[\/code]<\/p>\n

    How to run the Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker<\/strong><\/p>\n

    [code]$ p4broker -c config_file(p4broker.conf)[\/code]<\/p>\n

    [code]<\/pre>
    <strong>How to verify the Perforce Broker aka Helix Broker<\/strong>
    <pre>[code]$ p4 info
    $ p4 broker[\/code]<\/p>\n

    The general syntax of a command handler specification is outlined in the sample broker.conf:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    [code]command: commandpattern
    {
    # Conditions for the command to meet; (optional)
    flags = required flags;
    user = required user;
    workspace = required client workspace;
    prog = required Perforce client application;
    version = required version of client application;
    # What to do with matching commands (required)
    action = pass | reject | redirect | filter | respond ;
    # How to go about it
    destination = altserver; # Required for action = redirect
    execute = filter program; # Required for action = filter
    message = message; # Required for action = reject and
    # action = respond. Otherwise optional
    }[\/code]<\/p>\n

    For example, if you’d like to prevent users from using the 2018.2 P4V to access the server, you can use the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    [code]command: .*
    {
    prog = P4V\\\/.*\\\/2018\\.2\\\/.*;
    version = v77;<\/p>\n

    action = reject;
    message = “The 2018.2 P4V is not allowed to connect to this server.”;
    }[\/code]<\/p>\n

    Using P4Broker to redirect read-only commands.<\/strong>
    https:\/\/community.perforce.com\/s\/article\/1253<\/p>\n

    Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.perforce.com\/perforce\/r16.2\/manuals\/p4dist\/chapter.broker.html
    https:\/\/www.perforce.com\/perforce\/doc.current\/manuals\/p4dist\/Content\/P4Dist\/chapter.broker.html<\/p>\n\n\n