Comparison of Unique Identifiers: UUIDs, GUIDs, and OIDs
1 min
identifier definition format example standard(s) usage key differences uuid (universally unique identifier) a 128 bit number used to uniquely identify information in computer systems typically represented as 32 hexadecimal characters, displayed in five groups separated by hyphens (e g , 123e4567 e89b 12d3 a456 426614174000) 550e8400 e29b 41d4 a716 446655440000 defined by the rfc 4122 standard commonly used in databases, distributed systems, and applications where unique identifiers are needed universally unique, not tied to any specific platform guid (globally unique identifier) essentially the same as a uuid, but the term guid is primarily used in microsoft environments identical to uuids, as guids are a specific implementation of uuids 550e8400 e29b 41d4 a716 446655440000 also follows the rfc 4122 standard widely used in microsoft technologies, such as windows, net, and com (component object model) same as uuid, but specific to microsoft ecosystems oid (object identifier) a globally unique identifier used to name objects in a hierarchical namespace represented as a series of integers separated by dots (e g , 1 3 6 1 4 1 343) 1 3 6 1 4 1 1466 115 defined by the itu t x 660 and iso/iec 9834 1 standards commonly used in network management (snmp), ldap, and other systems that require a hierarchical naming structure hierarchical structure, different format, and used in specific protocols