Each registry object is identified by its own unique Universally Unique Identifier (UUID). CentraSite assigns a UUID to an object when it adds the object to the registry. After an object is created, its UUID cannot be changed.

You will sometimes see an object's UUID displayed in the user interface. When the UUID is shown for an object, it appears in the object's Key attribute, and it looks something like this: uddi:2d621948-89f3-11df-851c-a3fb7c9c098e.

During an import/export process the importer uses the UUID to determine whether an imported object already exists in the target registry. If an identical object (i.e., an object with an identical UUID) already exists in the target registry, the timestamps of both the existing object and that to be imported determine whether and in which way the importing process continues.