Move SVN repository without svnadmin dump/load

Question

I have a huge server Subversion repository which I should move to an external mounted partition. Of course there are possibility to make svnadmin load / dump or svnadmin hotcopy, but in my situation it could take a lot of time, because of the size of the repository.

Could I avoid this stage and just to move the whole folder to new partition without to break any internal relations to the system location ?

I would like to do something like :

mv /path/repository /other_path/repository

I like this possibility with local client's repository, and it will help a lot, if such operation could be done with server repository also.

Answer 1

Yes, you can move it if you make sure that nobody accesses the repository while you're moving it.

Keep in mind: this might render existing working copies invalid, users might need to do a svn switch --relocate so that their working copies point to the new location.

Answer 2

In theory yes, everything related to your SVN repository is contained within the hidden .svn folders.