Apache Archiva, an excellent artifact repository manager
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Apache Archiva is a maven artifact repository manager. We use it to store artifacts (libraries) used by the maven/java build for different projects. It helps with storing the entire organization's libraries at a centralized location and acts as a proxy for all the open-source repositories. We have hundreds of builds running almost every hour. Using Apache Archiva has helped with preserving valuable bandwidth for the organization. It also allows us to do security audits on the artifacts in use. Different teams are able to share the libraries (components) with each other thus speeding up the software development.
Pros
- It's an open source project and therefore saves cost.
- It allows exchange of artifacts/libraries between different teams.
- It allows managing internal and external repositories with ease.
Cons
- Muti-tenancy was hard to achieve.
- UI can be improved. Its seems bit dated.
- It is a bit tricky to setup.
Most Important Features
- Managing proxies to remote/external repositories.
- Storing artifacts produced by different teams.
- Searching different artifacts.
- Uploading artifacts to the repo.
Return on Investment
- The impact of Apache Archiva on ROI has been positive. Since it is open source. It is free.
- It has allowed teams to store artifacts centrally, thus leading to a reduced need for multiple servers
- Security audits can be easily performed on the artifacts.
Alternatives Considered
JFrog Artifactory and Sonatype Nexus Platform
Other Software Used
IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, Webex Meetings