Sequential ID feature in FileNet Content Manager version 5.2.1

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In FileNet Content Manager releases prior to version 5.2.1, the unique identifiers assigned to objects are generated using an algorithm that produces completely random values. In the FileNet Content Manager version 5.2.1 release, a new algorithm is available that produces sequential IDs. Sequential IDs have a time- and counter-based portion that is combined with a random portion in such a way that consecutively created IDs are sequential (monotonic) per the natural ordering applied by the underlying database.
 

There is a new UseSequentialIds property on the Object Store interface which specifies whether an object store should assign random or sequential IDs when a new object is created in that object store. An indexed database column or a table with a clustered index on the primary key containing sequential IDs might be able to store more compactly and managed more efficiently than completely random IDs, hence potentially providing a performance benefit and space savings.

The default value for the UseSequentialIds property is true (assign sequential IDs). If you do not want new objects in an object store to have sequential IDs, set the value of the UseSequentialIds property to false.
It is easy to identify whether the ID being generated for new documents is sequential or random. A sequential ID will have a "C" after the second dash in the guid. A random ID will have a "4" after the second dash in the guid.

Some FileNet Content Manager client applications may not respect the UseSequentialIds property and will always generate random IDs.

For example, IBM Content Navigator prior to version 2.0.3.6 will generate its own random ID to add a document, instead of relying on the FileNet Content Manager UseSequentialIds property setting.

This behavior can be changed by adding the following JVM argument to the application server where the client application is deployed.

-Dcom.filenet.api.util.Id.SequentialDBType=1

(1 for MSSQL, 2 for Oracle, 3 for DB2)

Also be sure that the Content Platform Engine client files are version 5.2.1 as older client libraries do not support sequential IDs.