In the FSA development environment, developers who use configuration management have full visibility of projects. Users communicate with a proxy that in turn communicates with the host server. The proxy stores necessary project information on a disk and/or in a cache, and uses TCP/IP to communicate with the host server for updates.

When a file is checked out, it is checked out from the master repository, though source data may be provided by the proxy. The status of the checked out file is visible to all users regardless of location. When that file is checked in, it is checked in to the master repository so that the most current information is always available.

In the replication/synchronization model, users typically work on separate branches of the same project owned by their respective local server. Periodic synchronization or merge processes are then required to incorporate work on all the branches, involving manual effort for conflict resolution.

In the FSA development environment, users at local and remote sites can work on the same branch of the same project concurrently. The project information available to a remote user is the same as that available to a local user eliminating the need for branching and merging as part of distributed development.

For all known projects, the proxy also automatically downloads bulk data for newly checked-in revisions or added members.