1.3.3 Catalog Versions and Partition Support

This document specifies three catalog versions, which correspond to changes in the configuration state model. Version 3.00 is the initial catalog version. Version 4.00 supports new types of configurable objects, and adds configuration properties to existing types of objects. Version 5.00 is a minor update that adds a configuration property to enable multiple-partition support to the machine settings object. To ensure interoperability, the client and server perform version negotiation (section 1.7) and use the same catalog version.

One of the biggest differences between catalog version 3.00 and version 4.00 is the addition of explicit support for partitions. In catalog version 3.00, all conglomerations are implicitly contained in the global partition, and the catalog does not represent partitions or support their configuration. In catalog version 4.00, partitions are represented in the catalog and can be configured, and optionally new partitions can be created.

A server might support catalog version 4.00 or catalog version 5.00 but not support multiple partitions.  COMA provides a mechanism for a client to determine whether a server allows multiple-partition support to be enabled. However, for historical reasons, catalog version 4.00 does not provide a reliable mechanism to determine whether multiple-partition support is actually enabled on the server. Catalog version 5.00 adds a configuration property to the machine settings object that indicates to the client whether multiple-partition support is enabled and optionally enables the client to change this configuration.