We would like to give VFSforGIT (formerly known as GVFS) a try, but currently this only works with VSTS and GitHUB. So we can't run a local VFSforGIT server, since no open source server implementation exists yet.
However, we expect our repository to become hundreds of gigabytes large, since we store assets for 3D movie production. Not a lot of assets, just large ones.
What is current status on the maximum allowed repository size (with a paid plan)?
According to the Azure devops documentation, there currently is no hard limit, only a recommendation:
In uncommon circumstances, repositories may be larger than 10GB. For instance, the Windows repository is at least 300GB. For that reason, we do not have a hard block in place. If your repository grows beyond 10GB, consider using Git-LFS, GVFS, or Azure Artifacts to refactor your development artifacts.
What is meant with refactor your development artifacts? How would using GVFS make a repository smaller (if that is meant with refactor)? Maybe it can use another server for storing large files?
Another problem is the push size limit, this is currently 5GB, which might be too small for say video files or some Substance Painter files, but for most cases, this will work.
GVFS, currently being renamed to VFS, is a system through which only it interacts (downloads) with the files that are opened, keeping the other files unused as empty (in local) and maintained in the repository.
(source: vfsforgit.org)
Regarding refactoring refers to the action of re-indexing the repository files but with programs (LFS, etc) that reduce the size to be uploaded to the repository.
Regarding the use, it is recommended that you take into account that:
Finally, the repository has no limit (currently I have it in 1TB) for now