OK, let's get terminology straight first. 4321/1 is a handle, where 4321 is the handle prefix and 1 is the handle postfix. In DSpace handles are assigned to communities, collections and items. Then there are also IDs of communities, collections, items etc. in the database - but I believe you didn't speak of these - anyway, these IDs do not matter at all, they're not visible for the user.
The reason why you want to use handles is to have persistent identifiers of digital objects (see details here <http://www.handle.net/overviews/system_fundamentals.html#persistence>). Therefore, you want to ensure that you do NOT generate a handle in the new system that was already assigned in the old system. DSpace currently uses a simplified handle postfix - it's a number that increases every time you assign a new handle. This is implemented by the handle_seq sequence in the database (more about sequences here <http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/functions-sequence.html>). After a fresh installation of DSpace, when you request a new value from handle_seq you get 1. But in your new installation you want to avoid giving a value that was already assigned in the old installation. So you should raise the value of handle_seq beyond the last value assigned so far in the old instance - see the setval() function in Postgres. If you want to recreate the same community/collection structure from the old DSpace, it's easier to use AIP or dump/restore the whole database. Alternatively, if you use item-import and have to recreate them by hand, there is still a way to assign the new collections and communities their old handles from the old installation, but it involves manual changes by SQL. If you do not care about the old community/collection structure, just raise handle_seq, create your new communities and collections with new handles and import items to those. If you elaborate on your intentions, DSpace version (old and new installation) and whether you're free to choose the import method, I'll be glad to provide more details. Regards, ~~helix84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ DSpace-tech mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dspace-tech
