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P4 Server Administration Documentation | 2025.2

# Install the Perforce service on a network drive

By default, the Perforce service runs under the local `System` account. Because the `System` account has no network access, a real userid and password are required in order to make the Perforce service work if the metadata and depot files are stored on a network drive. The Perforce service is then configured with the supplied data and run as the specified user instead of `System`.

If you are installing your server root on a network drive, the P4 Server installer requests a valid combination of userid and password at the time of installation. This user must have administrator privileges.

Although the Perforce service runs reliably using a network drive as the server root, there is still a marked performance penalty due to increased network traffic and slower file access. Consequently, Perforce recommends that the depot files and P4 Server database reside on a drive local to the machine on which the Perforce service is running.

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