# Backwards compatibility

# immudb 1.1 proof compatibility

immudb 1.2 introduced KV metadata to support new features such as logical deletion or data expiration. This change required updates to the way a transaction hash is calculated. The downside of such change is that immudb clients using immudb 1.2+ needed an updated method of proof calculation in order to verify newly added data.

In some cases it is very hard or impossible to update the verification code on the client side. If this is the case, immudb offers a way to disable metadata to maintain compatibility with older clients.

# Enabling the 1.1 proof compatibility mode

Note: backwards compatibility mode is currently not available for the detaultdb database.

When creating new database, the mode can be specified with:

$ ./immuadmin database create <db-name> --write-tx-header-version 0

Enabling compatibility mode for existing databases can be done by:

$ ./immuadmin database update <db-name> --write-tx-header-version 0

Note: immudb restart is needed to make this change effective.

In order to re-enable metadata-enhanced proofs, update database settings with --write-tx-header-version 1 option.

# Limitations of 1.1 compatibility mode

Switching to 1.1-compatible proof mode will disable metadata support and thus will make the following operations unavailable:

  • For KV interface:
    • Logical deletion
    • Data expiration
    • Non-indexable entries
  • For SQL interface:
    • Logical deletion
    • Updates to indexed columns

Make sure to test your application before enabling the 1.1 compatibility mode.

# Working with database that already contains metadata-enhanced entries

Even though old clients can not validate proofs for metadata-enhanced records, those can still read the data without proofs as long as those don't use metadata. Operations such as Get, Scan or History will not cause errors in such workloads.

If proofs are needed, KV entries that were previously added with metadata should be re-added to the database after enabling immudb 1.1 compatibility mode.