VOB attributes

All VOBs have the same on-disk directory structure, and all have similar administrative requirements. However, certain VOBs might perform special functions, as determined by attributes attached to the VOB object when the VOB is created.

The following attributes distinguish VOBs that have special uses:

A VOB with the UCM VOB (sometimes displayed as sumvob) attribute holds components that are part of a UCM project.
A VOB with the Project VOB attribute holds metadata about UCM artifacts such as projects, baselines, folders, and components.

A VOB that has both attributes stores UCM project metadata and UCM components; a VOB that has neither attribute is an ordinary VOB. Ordinary VOBs and UCM component VOBs are permanent repositories for versioned artifacts. They account for the bulk of the VOBs in any Rational® ClearCase® community.

Any VOB can also be part of an administrative VOB hierarchy. For more information about administrative VOB hierarchies, see VOB datatypes and administrative VOB hierarchies.

In a small Rational ClearCase community, a single VOB can be an administrative VOB, a PVOB, and either an ordinary or a UCM component VOB. It is far more common for a community to require one or more administrative VOBs and a number of ordinary VOBs or, if UCM is in use, a PVOB and a number of component VOBs. Larger communities might require multiple administrative VOBs or PVOBs.