Metabase Settings

4/8/2010

The settings for Windows Mobile device system resources, such as registry keys and APIs, are contained in a database referred to as the metabase. The metabase maintains security permissions and user interface (UI) representation information for every setting on the device. Each metabase entry corresponds to a setting and is associated with an access role that indicates which security roles are required to configure the setting.

Security Note:
The Metabase configuration service provider is set to the Manager role by default. Changing this role could elevate privileges, making the metabase less secure.

You can create or change the metabase settings by modifying the provisioning XML document (*.provxml). Microsoft recommends that you append three-digit version numbers to the names of your .provxml files in ROM (for example, mxip_opr_100, mxip_opr_200, mxip_opr_300, and so on) so that there is an adequate number of ordinals to identify successive versions of the file.

Mobile operators should avoid using .provxml files to override (shadow) entries in Microsoft-owned .provxml files.

The following list shows the how the naming conventions affect when the file is imported:

• Mxip_<package name>_<version>.provxml is imported only at cold boot when the device is initially configured. In effect, mxip_<package name>_<version>.provxml and mxipcold_<package name>_<version>.provxml are handled the same way.
• Mxipupdate_<package name>_<version>.provxml files are imported after cold boot and when the package containing them is updated.

The following table shows the Unicode characters used in the .provxml file.

For more information about this encoding, see parm Element.

Code

The following sample .provxml file adds a single entry to the metabase.

<wap-provisioningdoc>
   <characteristic type="Metabase">
      <characteristic type="Registry\HKLM\Software\Microsoft\TestKey3">
         <parm name="datatype" value="integer"/>
         <parm name="maxvalue" value="30"/>
         <parm name="minvalue" value="0"/>
         <parm name="access-role" value="190"/>
         <parm name="rw-access" value="3"/>
         <characteristic type="label">
             <parm name="0409" value="Test Key"/>
             <parm name="0407" value="Test-Taste"/>
             <parm name="040c" value="Clé D'Essai"/>
         </characteristic>
         <characteristic type="options">
             <parm name="0409" value="Red=1;Green=2;Blue=3"/>
             <parm name="0407" value="Rot=1;Grün=2;Blau=3"/>
             <parm name="040c" value="Rouge=1;Vert=2;Bleu=3"/>
         </characteristic>
      </characteristic>
   </characteristic>
</wap-provisioningdoc>

Remarks

The Metabase characteristic directs the configuration engine to process the sub-characteristics using the Metabase configuration service provider. The general structure of a metabase entry specifies the location of the setting within the configuration service providers. For example, in the preceding sample .provxml file, the metabase entry specified is in the Registry configuration service provider, under the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\TestKey3 registry key.

When the setting has been specified, the UI and security information is provided. In the above example, the registry entry is an integer with a maximum value of 30 and a minimum value of 0. The access-role parameter determines who can access the setting. The rw-access parameter determines what can be done with the setting once access has been granted.

The stored UI information consists of a localized text label and specific options that should be presented to the user. In the previous example, the setting would be displayed to the user as a spin box.

For information about user interface elements that are supported by the metabase, see Metabase and the User Interface.

To see the supported values, such as access-role and rw-access, see Metabase Configuration Service Provider.

Security Note:
Configuration service providers that handle sensitive data should help protect that data from normal applications by encrypting the data and storing it in a protected region of the registry.

For information about the provisioning file syntax for different OMA Client Provisioning versions, see OMA Client Provisioning Files.

See Also

Reference

Metabase Configuration Service Provider

Concepts

Configuration Service Providers
Metabase and OMA DM

Other Resources

Security Roles
RAPI Restricted Mode Security