Is it intended that SUSHI implementations support older Releases of the COUNTER reports?
Release 3 of the COUNTER Code of Practice now requires content providers to support the SUSHI standard and provide reports in XML format (adhering to COUNTER3_0.xsd). Given this, the expectation is that reports conforming to COUNTER 3.0 will form the baseline for SUSHI support. New implementations of both clients and servers should focus on support for this version of COUNTER reports — particularly since full compliance with COUNTER 3.0 is expected within the next 9 months. Going forward, when changes to the schema do occur (this is not expected to happen often), COUNTER recommends that the current release and one previous release of its Code of Practice be supported. The above does not prevent a SUSHI client service provider or content provider from supporting earlier versions of COUNTER reports if they feel there is customer demand; however, it should be clear that it is not an expectation nor a requirement.