diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 10841d743..9574600ad 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ include Makefile.global
 all: extension
 
 # build extension
-extension:
+extension: $(citus_abs_srcdir)/src/include/citus_version.h
 	$(MAKE) -C src/backend/distributed/ all
 install-extension: extension
 	$(MAKE) -C src/backend/distributed/ install
 install-headers: extension
 	$(MKDIR_P) '$(DESTDIR)$(includedir_server)/distributed/'
 # generated headers are located in the build directory
-	$(INSTALL_DATA) src/include/citus_config.h '$(DESTDIR)$(includedir_server)/'
+	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(citus_abs_srcdir)/src/include/citus_config.h '$(DESTDIR)$(includedir_server)/'
 # the rest in the source tree
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(citus_abs_srcdir)/src/include/distributed/*.h '$(DESTDIR)$(includedir_server)/distributed/'
 clean-extension:
diff --git a/Makefile.global.in b/Makefile.global.in
index 7cdbcd5d9..57678e137 100644
--- a/Makefile.global.in
+++ b/Makefile.global.in
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ $(citus_top_builddir)/Makefile.global: $(citus_abs_top_srcdir)/configure $(citus
 
 # Ensure configuration is generated by the most recent configure,
 # useful for longer existing build directories.
-$(citus_top_builddir)/config.status: $(citus_abs_top_srcdir)/configure
-	cd @abs_top_builddir@ && ./config.status --recheck
+$(citus_top_builddir)/config.status: $(citus_abs_top_srcdir)/configure $(citus_abs_top_srcdir)/src/backend/distributed/citus.control
+	cd @abs_top_builddir@ && ./config.status --recheck && ./config.status
 
 # Regenerate configure if configure.in changed
 $(citus_abs_top_srcdir)/configure: $(citus_abs_top_srcdir)/configure.in
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index c46b262b8..8ec14379c 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #! /bin/sh
 # Guess values for system-dependent variables and create Makefiles.
-# Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.69 for Citus 5.0.
+# Generated by GNU Autoconf 2.69 for Citus 6.2devel.
 #
 #
 # Copyright (C) 1992-1996, 1998-2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 # This configure script is free software; the Free Software Foundation
 # gives unlimited permission to copy, distribute and modify it.
 #
-# Copyright (c) 2012-2016, Citus Data, Inc.
+# Copyright (c) 2012-2017, Citus Data, Inc.
 ## -------------------- ##
 ## M4sh Initialization. ##
 ## -------------------- ##
@@ -579,8 +579,8 @@ MAKEFLAGS=
 # Identity of this package.
 PACKAGE_NAME='Citus'
 PACKAGE_TARNAME='citus'
-PACKAGE_VERSION='5.0'
-PACKAGE_STRING='Citus 5.0'
+PACKAGE_VERSION='6.2devel'
+PACKAGE_STRING='Citus 6.2devel'
 PACKAGE_BUGREPORT=''
 PACKAGE_URL=''
 
@@ -1194,7 +1194,7 @@ if test "$ac_init_help" = "long"; then
   # Omit some internal or obsolete options to make the list less imposing.
   # This message is too long to be a string in the A/UX 3.1 sh.
   cat <<_ACEOF
-\`configure' configures Citus 5.0 to adapt to many kinds of systems.
+\`configure' configures Citus 6.2devel to adapt to many kinds of systems.
 
 Usage: $0 [OPTION]... [VAR=VALUE]...
 
@@ -1255,7 +1255,7 @@ fi
 
 if test -n "$ac_init_help"; then
   case $ac_init_help in
-     short | recursive ) echo "Configuration of Citus 5.0:";;
+     short | recursive ) echo "Configuration of Citus 6.2devel:";;
    esac
   cat <<\_ACEOF
 
@@ -1343,14 +1343,14 @@ fi
 test -n "$ac_init_help" && exit $ac_status
 if $ac_init_version; then
   cat <<\_ACEOF
-Citus configure 5.0
+Citus configure 6.2devel
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.69
 
 Copyright (C) 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 This configure script is free software; the Free Software Foundation
 gives unlimited permission to copy, distribute and modify it.
 
-Copyright (c) 2012-2016, Citus Data, Inc.
+Copyright (c) 2012-2017, Citus Data, Inc.
 _ACEOF
   exit
 fi
@@ -1400,7 +1400,7 @@ cat >config.log <<_ACEOF
 This file contains any messages produced by compilers while
 running configure, to aid debugging if configure makes a mistake.
 
-It was created by Citus $as_me 5.0, which was
+It was created by Citus $as_me 6.2devel, which was
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.69.  Invocation command line was
 
   $ $0 $@
@@ -1750,6 +1750,39 @@ ac_compiler_gnu=$ac_cv_c_compiler_gnu
 
 
 
+# CITUS_MAJORVERSION definition
+CITUS_MAJORVERSION=`expr "$PACKAGE_VERSION" : '\([0-9][0-9]*\.[0-9][0-9]*\)'`
+
+cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
+#define CITUS_MAJORVERSION "$CITUS_MAJORVERSION"
+_ACEOF
+
+
+# CITUS_VERSION definition
+
+cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
+#define CITUS_VERSION "$PACKAGE_VERSION"
+_ACEOF
+
+
+# CITUS_VERSION_NUM definition
+CITUS_VERSION_NUM="`echo "$PACKAGE_VERSION" | sed 's/[A-Za-z].*$//' |
+tr '.' '	' |
+$AWK '{printf "%d%02d%02d", $1, $2, (NF >= 3) ? $3 : 0}'`"
+
+cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
+#define CITUS_VERSION_NUM $CITUS_VERSION_NUM
+_ACEOF
+
+
+# CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION definition
+citus_extensionversion=$(grep "^default_version" src/backend/distributed/citus.control | cut -d\' -f2)
+
+cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
+#define CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION "$citus_extensionversion"
+_ACEOF
+
+
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for a sed that does not truncate output" >&5
 $as_echo_n "checking for a sed that does not truncate output... " >&6; }
 if ${ac_cv_path_SED+:} false; then :
@@ -2974,7 +3007,7 @@ POSTGRES_BUILDDIR="$POSTGRES_BUILDDIR"
 
 ac_config_files="$ac_config_files Makefile.global"
 
-ac_config_headers="$ac_config_headers src/include/citus_config.h"
+ac_config_headers="$ac_config_headers src/include/citus_config.h src/include/citus_version.h"
 
 
 cat >confcache <<\_ACEOF
@@ -3483,7 +3516,7 @@ cat >>$CONFIG_STATUS <<\_ACEOF || ac_write_fail=1
 # report actual input values of CONFIG_FILES etc. instead of their
 # values after options handling.
 ac_log="
-This file was extended by Citus $as_me 5.0, which was
+This file was extended by Citus $as_me 6.2devel, which was
 generated by GNU Autoconf 2.69.  Invocation command line was
 
   CONFIG_FILES    = $CONFIG_FILES
@@ -3545,7 +3578,7 @@ _ACEOF
 cat >>$CONFIG_STATUS <<_ACEOF || ac_write_fail=1
 ac_cs_config="`$as_echo "$ac_configure_args" | sed 's/^ //; s/[\\""\`\$]/\\\\&/g'`"
 ac_cs_version="\\
-Citus config.status 5.0
+Citus config.status 6.2devel
 configured by $0, generated by GNU Autoconf 2.69,
   with options \\"\$ac_cs_config\\"
 
@@ -3668,6 +3701,7 @@ do
   case $ac_config_target in
     "Makefile.global") CONFIG_FILES="$CONFIG_FILES Makefile.global" ;;
     "src/include/citus_config.h") CONFIG_HEADERS="$CONFIG_HEADERS src/include/citus_config.h" ;;
+    "src/include/citus_version.h") CONFIG_HEADERS="$CONFIG_HEADERS src/include/citus_version.h" ;;
 
   *) as_fn_error $? "invalid argument: \`$ac_config_target'" "$LINENO" 5;;
   esac
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 25bcbe666..fb261d08b 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -5,8 +5,25 @@
 # everyone needing autoconf installed, the resulting files are checked
 # into the SCM.
 
-AC_INIT([Citus], [5.0], [], [citus], [])
-AC_COPYRIGHT([Copyright (c) 2012-2016, Citus Data, Inc.])
+AC_INIT([Citus], [6.2devel])
+AC_COPYRIGHT([Copyright (c) 2012-2017, Citus Data, Inc.])
+
+# CITUS_MAJORVERSION definition
+[CITUS_MAJORVERSION=`expr "$PACKAGE_VERSION" : '\([0-9][0-9]*\.[0-9][0-9]*\)'`]
+AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(CITUS_MAJORVERSION, "$CITUS_MAJORVERSION", [Citus major version as a string])
+
+# CITUS_VERSION definition
+AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(CITUS_VERSION, "$PACKAGE_VERSION", [Citus version as a string])
+
+# CITUS_VERSION_NUM definition
+[CITUS_VERSION_NUM="`echo "$PACKAGE_VERSION" | sed 's/[A-Za-z].*$//' |
+tr '.' '	' |
+$AWK '{printf "%d%02d%02d", $1, $2, (NF >= 3) ? $3 : 0}'`"]
+AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(CITUS_VERSION_NUM, $CITUS_VERSION_NUM, [Citus version as a number])
+
+# CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION definition
+citus_extensionversion=$(grep "^default_version" src/backend/distributed/citus.control | cut -d\' -f2)
+AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED([CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION], "$citus_extensionversion", [so the shared-library knows its own version])
 
 AC_PROG_SED
 
@@ -122,7 +139,7 @@ AC_SUBST(POSTGRES_SRCDIR, "$POSTGRES_SRCDIR")
 AC_SUBST(POSTGRES_BUILDDIR, "$POSTGRES_BUILDDIR")
 
 AC_CONFIG_FILES([Makefile.global])
-AC_CONFIG_HEADERS([src/include/citus_config.h])
+AC_CONFIG_HEADERS([src/include/citus_config.h] [src/include/citus_version.h])
 AH_TOP([
 /*
  * citus_config.h.in is generated by autoconf/autoheader and
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
index d70fd1930..2c40167db 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include "catalog/namespace.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_attribute.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_class.h"
+#include "citus_version.h"
 #include "commands/defrem.h"
 #include "commands/tablecmds.h"
 #include "commands/prepare.h"
@@ -120,6 +121,7 @@ static char * DeparseVacuumColumnNames(List *columnNameList);
 
 
 /* Local functions forward declarations for unsupported command checks */
+static void ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(Node *parsetree);
 static void ErrorIfUnsupportedIndexStmt(IndexStmt *createIndexStatement);
 static void ErrorIfUnsupportedDropIndexStmt(DropStmt *dropIndexStatement);
 static void ErrorIfUnsupportedAlterTableStmt(AlterTableStmt *alterTableStatement);
@@ -170,6 +172,7 @@ multi_ProcessUtility(Node *parsetree,
 	Oid savedUserId = InvalidOid;
 	int savedSecurityContext = 0;
 	List *ddlJobs = NIL;
+	bool extensionStatement = false;
 
 	if (IsA(parsetree, TransactionStmt))
 	{
@@ -185,6 +188,53 @@ multi_ProcessUtility(Node *parsetree,
 		return;
 	}
 
+	if (IsA(parsetree, CreateExtensionStmt))
+	{
+		CreateExtensionStmt *createExtensionStmt = (CreateExtensionStmt *) parsetree;
+		if (strcmp(createExtensionStmt->extname, "citus") == 0)
+		{
+			ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(parsetree);
+		}
+
+		extensionStatement = true;
+	}
+
+	if (IsA(parsetree, AlterExtensionStmt))
+	{
+		AlterExtensionStmt *alterExtensionStmt = (AlterExtensionStmt *) parsetree;
+		if (strcmp(alterExtensionStmt->extname, "citus") == 0)
+		{
+			ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(parsetree);
+		}
+
+		extensionStatement = true;
+	}
+
+	if (IsA(parsetree, DropStmt))
+	{
+		DropStmt *dropStatement = (DropStmt *) parsetree;
+
+		if (dropStatement->removeType == OBJECT_EXTENSION)
+		{
+			extensionStatement = true;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (extensionStatement)
+	{
+		/*
+		 * In CitusHasBeenLoaded check below, we compare binary Citus version,
+		 * extension version and available version. If they are different, we
+		 * force user to execute ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE. Therefore, if
+		 * user executes ALTER EXTENSION or DROP EXTENSION query we should drop
+		 * to the standart utility before CitusHasBeenLoaded check.
+		 */
+		standard_ProcessUtility(parsetree, queryString, context,
+								params, dest, completionTag);
+
+		return;
+	}
+
 	if (!CitusHasBeenLoaded())
 	{
 		/*
@@ -1256,6 +1306,62 @@ DeparseVacuumColumnNames(List *columnNameList)
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION
+ * and version given CREATE/ALTER EXTENSION statement will create/update to. If
+ * they are not same in major or minor version numbers, this function errors
+ * out. It ignores the catalog version.
+ */
+static void
+ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(Node *parsetree)
+{
+	List *optionsList = NIL;
+	ListCell *optionsCell = NULL;
+
+	if (IsA(parsetree, CreateExtensionStmt))
+	{
+		CreateExtensionStmt *createExtensionStmt = (CreateExtensionStmt *) parsetree;
+		optionsList = createExtensionStmt->options;
+	}
+	else if (IsA(parsetree, AlterExtensionStmt))
+	{
+		AlterExtensionStmt *alterExtensionStmt = (AlterExtensionStmt *) parsetree;
+		optionsList = alterExtensionStmt->options;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("unsupported node type, create or alter extension "
+							   "is expected")));
+	}
+
+	foreach(optionsCell, optionsList)
+	{
+		DefElem *defElement = (DefElem *) lfirst(optionsCell);
+
+		if (strcmp(defElement->defname, "new_version") == 0)
+		{
+			char *newVersion = strVal(defElement->arg);
+
+			if (!CompareVersions(newVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
+			{
+				ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("requested version is not compatible with "
+									   "loaded Citus binaries.")));
+			}
+
+			return;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * new_version is not specified in ALTER EXTENSION statement, PostgreSQL will use
+	 * default_version from citus.control file. We will flush availableMajorVersion to
+	 * re-check the available version from citus.control file.
+	 */
+	availableMajorVersion = NULL;
+	ErrorIfNewMajorVersionAvailable();
+}
+
+
 /*
  * ErrorIfUnsupportedIndexStmt checks if the corresponding index statement is
  * supported for distributed tables and errors out if it is not.
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c b/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c
index 689296b08..de5ee793a 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/shared_library_init.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include "fmgr.h"
 #include "miscadmin.h"
 
+#include "citus_version.h"
 #include "commands/explain.h"
 #include "executor/executor.h"
 #include "distributed/citus_nodefuncs.h"
@@ -48,6 +49,8 @@
 /* marks shared object as one loadable by the postgres version compiled against */
 PG_MODULE_MAGIC;
 
+static char *CitusVersion;
+
 void _PG_init(void);
 
 static void CreateRequiredDirectories(void);
@@ -610,6 +613,16 @@ RegisterCitusConfigVariables(void)
 		0,
 		NULL, NULL, NULL);
 
+	DefineCustomStringVariable(
+		"citus.version",
+		gettext_noop("Shows the running Citus version"),
+		NULL,
+		&CitusVersion,
+		CITUS_VERSION,
+		PGC_INTERNAL,
+		0,
+		NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
 	/* warn about config items in the citus namespace that are not registered above */
 	EmitWarningsOnPlaceholders("citus");
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
index 2939ade41..f8360556e 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include "catalog/pg_extension.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_namespace.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_type.h"
+#include "citus_version.h"
 #include "commands/extension.h"
 #include "commands/trigger.h"
 #include "distributed/colocation_utils.h"
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@
 #include "distributed/shardinterval_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/worker_manager.h"
 #include "distributed/worker_protocol.h"
+#include "executor/executor.h"
 #include "parser/parse_func.h"
 #include "utils/builtins.h"
 #include "utils/catcache.h"
@@ -98,6 +100,10 @@ static Oid distTransactionRelationId = InvalidOid;
 static Oid distTransactionGroupIndexId = InvalidOid;
 static Oid extraDataContainerFuncId = InvalidOid;
 
+/* Citus installed extension version */
+char *availableMajorVersion = NULL;
+static char *installedExtensionVersion = NULL;
+
 /* Hash table for informations about each partition */
 static HTAB *DistTableCacheHash = NULL;
 
@@ -133,6 +139,9 @@ static bool HasUniformHashDistribution(ShardInterval **shardIntervalArray,
 									   int shardIntervalArrayLength);
 static bool HasUninitializedShardInterval(ShardInterval **sortedShardIntervalArray,
 										  int shardCount);
+static void ErrorIfExtensionUpdateNeeded(void);
+static char * AvailableMajorVersion(void);
+static char * InstalledExtensionVersion(void);
 static void InitializeDistTableCache(void);
 static void InitializeWorkerNodeCache(void);
 static uint32 WorkerNodeHashCode(const void *key, Size keySize);
@@ -927,7 +936,7 @@ bool
 CitusHasBeenLoaded(void)
 {
 	/* recheck presence until citus has been loaded */
-	if (!extensionLoaded)
+	if (!extensionLoaded || creating_extension)
 	{
 		bool extensionPresent = false;
 		bool extensionScriptExecuted = true;
@@ -964,13 +973,246 @@ CitusHasBeenLoaded(void)
 			 * present during early stages of upgrade operation.
 			 */
 			DistPartitionRelationId();
+
+			/*
+			 * We also set installedExtensionVersion to NULL so that it will be re-read
+			 * in case of extension update.
+			 */
+			installedExtensionVersion = NULL;
 		}
 	}
 
+	if (extensionLoaded)
+	{
+		ErrorIfNewMajorVersionAvailable();
+		ErrorIfExtensionUpdateNeeded();
+	}
+
 	return extensionLoaded;
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * ErrorIfNewMajorVersionAvailable compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION and currently
+ * available version from citus.control file. If they are not same in major or
+ * minor version numbers, this function errors out. It ignores the schema version.
+ */
+void
+ErrorIfNewMajorVersionAvailable(void)
+{
+	char *availableVersion = AvailableMajorVersion();
+
+	if (!CompareVersions(availableVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("server restart is needed because, loaded Citus binaries "
+							   "does not match the available extension version")));
+	}
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * ErrorIfExtensionUpdateNeeded compares CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION and currently and
+ * catalog version from pg_extemsion catalog table. If they are not same in major or
+ * minor version numbers, this function errors out. It ignores the schema version.
+ */
+static void
+ErrorIfExtensionUpdateNeeded(void)
+{
+	char *installedVersion = InstalledExtensionVersion();
+
+	if (!CompareVersions(installedVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("\"ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE;\" is needed, because "
+							   "loaded Citus binaries does not match the installed "
+							   "extension version")));
+	}
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * CompareVersions compares given two versions. If they are same in major and
+ * minor version numbers, this function returns true. It ignores the schema version.
+ */
+bool
+CompareVersions(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion)
+{
+	const char schemaVersionSeparator = '-';
+	char *seperatorPosition = strchr(leftVersion, schemaVersionSeparator);
+	int comparisionLimit = 0;
+
+	if (seperatorPosition != NULL)
+	{
+		comparisionLimit = seperatorPosition - leftVersion;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		comparisionLimit = strlen(leftVersion);
+	}
+
+	return strncmp(leftVersion, rightVersion, comparisionLimit) == 0;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * AvailableMajorVersion returns the Citus version from citus.control file. It also
+ * saves the result, thus consecutive calls to CitusExtensionAvailableVersion will
+ * not read the citus.control file again.
+ */
+static char *
+AvailableMajorVersion(void)
+{
+	ReturnSetInfo *extensionsResultSet = NULL;
+	TupleTableSlot *tupleTableSlot = NULL;
+	FunctionCallInfoData *fcinfo = NULL;
+	FmgrInfo *flinfo = NULL;
+	int argumentCount = 0;
+	EState *estate = NULL;
+
+	bool hasTuple = false;
+	bool goForward = true;
+	bool doCopy = false;
+
+	/* if we cached the result before, return it*/
+	if (availableMajorVersion != NULL)
+	{
+		return availableMajorVersion;
+	}
+
+	estate = CreateExecutorState();
+	extensionsResultSet = makeNode(ReturnSetInfo);
+	extensionsResultSet->econtext = GetPerTupleExprContext(estate);
+	extensionsResultSet->allowedModes = SFRM_Materialize;
+
+	fcinfo = palloc0(sizeof(FunctionCallInfoData));
+	flinfo = palloc0(sizeof(FmgrInfo));
+
+	fmgr_info(F_PG_AVAILABLE_EXTENSIONS, flinfo);
+	InitFunctionCallInfoData(*fcinfo, flinfo, argumentCount, InvalidOid, NULL,
+							 (Node *) extensionsResultSet);
+
+	/* pg_available_extensions returns result set containing all available extensions */
+	(*pg_available_extensions)(fcinfo);
+
+	tupleTableSlot = MakeSingleTupleTableSlot(extensionsResultSet->setDesc);
+	hasTuple = tuplestore_gettupleslot(extensionsResultSet->setResult, goForward, doCopy,
+									   tupleTableSlot);
+	while (hasTuple)
+	{
+		Datum extensionNameDatum = 0;
+		char *extensionName = NULL;
+		bool isNull = false;
+
+		extensionNameDatum = slot_getattr(tupleTableSlot, 1, &isNull);
+		extensionName = NameStr(*DatumGetName(extensionNameDatum));
+		if (strcmp(extensionName, "citus") == 0)
+		{
+			MemoryContext oldMemoryContext = NULL;
+			Datum citusVersionDatum = slot_getattr(tupleTableSlot, 2, &isNull);
+
+			/* we will cache the result of citus version to prevent catalog access */
+			if (CacheMemoryContext == NULL)
+			{
+				CreateCacheMemoryContext();
+			}
+			oldMemoryContext = MemoryContextSwitchTo(CacheMemoryContext);
+
+			availableMajorVersion = text_to_cstring(DatumGetTextPP(citusVersionDatum));
+
+			MemoryContextSwitchTo(oldMemoryContext);
+
+			ExecClearTuple(tupleTableSlot);
+			ExecDropSingleTupleTableSlot(tupleTableSlot);
+
+			return availableMajorVersion;
+		}
+
+		ExecClearTuple(tupleTableSlot);
+		hasTuple = tuplestore_gettupleslot(extensionsResultSet->setResult, goForward,
+										   doCopy, tupleTableSlot);
+	}
+
+	ExecDropSingleTupleTableSlot(tupleTableSlot);
+
+	ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_OBJECT_NOT_IN_PREREQUISITE_STATE),
+					errmsg("citus extension is not found")));
+
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * InstalledExtensionVersion returns the Citus version in PostgreSQL pg_extension table.
+ * It also saves the result, thus consecutive calls to CitusExtensionCatalogVersion
+ * will not read the catalog tables again.
+ */
+static char *
+InstalledExtensionVersion(void)
+{
+	Relation relation = NULL;
+	SysScanDesc scandesc;
+	ScanKeyData entry[1];
+	HeapTuple extensionTuple = NULL;
+
+	/* if we cached the result before, return it*/
+	if (installedExtensionVersion != NULL)
+	{
+		return installedExtensionVersion;
+	}
+
+	relation = heap_open(ExtensionRelationId, AccessShareLock);
+
+	ScanKeyInit(&entry[0], Anum_pg_extension_extname, BTEqualStrategyNumber, F_NAMEEQ,
+				CStringGetDatum("citus"));
+
+	scandesc = systable_beginscan(relation, ExtensionNameIndexId, true,
+								  NULL, 1, entry);
+
+	extensionTuple = systable_getnext(scandesc);
+
+	/* We assume that there can be at most one matching tuple */
+	if (HeapTupleIsValid(extensionTuple))
+	{
+		MemoryContext oldMemoryContext = NULL;
+		int extensionIndex = Anum_pg_extension_extversion;
+		TupleDesc tupleDescriptor = RelationGetDescr(relation);
+		bool isNull = false;
+
+		Datum extensionVersionDatum = heap_getattr(extensionTuple, extensionIndex,
+												   tupleDescriptor, &isNull);
+
+		if (isNull)
+		{
+			ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_OBJECT_NOT_IN_PREREQUISITE_STATE),
+							errmsg("citus extension version is null")));
+		}
+
+		/* we will cache the result of citus version to prevent catalog access */
+		if (CacheMemoryContext == NULL)
+		{
+			CreateCacheMemoryContext();
+		}
+
+		oldMemoryContext = MemoryContextSwitchTo(CacheMemoryContext);
+
+		installedExtensionVersion = text_to_cstring(DatumGetTextPP(
+														extensionVersionDatum));
+
+		MemoryContextSwitchTo(oldMemoryContext);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_OBJECT_NOT_IN_PREREQUISITE_STATE),
+						errmsg("citus extension is not loaded")));
+	}
+
+	systable_endscan(scandesc);
+
+	heap_close(relation, AccessShareLock);
+
+	return installedExtensionVersion;
+}
+
+
 /* return oid of pg_dist_shard relation */
 Oid
 DistShardRelationId(void)
diff --git a/src/include/citus_config.h.in b/src/include/citus_config.h.in
index 33da446e7..97ad673aa 100644
--- a/src/include/citus_config.h.in
+++ b/src/include/citus_config.h.in
@@ -10,6 +10,18 @@
  */
 
 
+/* so the shared-library knows its own version */
+#undef CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION
+
+/* Citus major version as a string */
+#undef CITUS_MAJORVERSION
+
+/* Citus version as a string */
+#undef CITUS_VERSION
+
+/* Citus version as a number */
+#undef CITUS_VERSION_NUM
+
 /* Define to the address where bug reports for this package should be sent. */
 #undef PACKAGE_BUGREPORT
 
diff --git a/src/include/citus_version.h.in b/src/include/citus_version.h.in
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b576c29aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/include/citus_version.h.in
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/* This file is created manually */
+
+/* so the shared-library knows its own version */
+#undef CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION
+
+/* Citus major version as a string */
+#undef CITUS_MAJORVERSION
+
+/* Citus version as a string */
+#undef CITUS_VERSION
+
+/* Citus version as a number */
+#undef CITUS_VERSION_NUM
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
index abd1861c0..36b9ccfc4 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include "distributed/worker_manager.h"
 #include "utils/hsearch.h"
 
+extern char *availableMajorVersion;
 
 /*
  * Representation of a table's metadata that is frequently used for
@@ -68,6 +69,8 @@ extern void CitusInvalidateRelcacheByRelid(Oid relationId);
 extern void CitusInvalidateRelcacheByShardId(int64 shardId);
 
 extern bool CitusHasBeenLoaded(void);
+void ErrorIfNewMajorVersionAvailable(void);
+bool CompareVersions(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion);
 
 /* access WorkerNodeHash */
 extern HTAB * GetWorkerNodeHash(void);
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out
index 8655907f8..9b2c85c93 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_extension.out
@@ -24,59 +24,19 @@ WHERE pgd.refclassid = 'pg_extension'::regclass AND
 -- DROP EXTENSION pre-created by the regression suite
 DROP EXTENSION citus;
 \c
--- Create extension in oldest version, test every upgrade step
+-- Create extension in oldest version, this is expected to fail
 CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '5.0';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.0-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.0-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-5';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-6';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-7';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-8';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-5';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-6';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-7';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-8';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-9';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-10';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-11';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-12';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-13';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-14';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-15';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-16';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-17';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-18';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-5';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-6';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-7';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-8';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-9';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-10';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-11';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-12';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-13';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-14';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-15';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-16';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-17';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-1';
+ERROR:  requested version is not compatible with loaded Citus binaries.
+-- Create extension in newest major version, test every upgrade step
+CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '6.2-1';
 ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-2';
+-- show running version
+SHOW citus.version;
+ citus.version 
+---------------
+ 6.2devel
+(1 row)
+
 -- ensure no objects were created outside pg_catalog
 SELECT COUNT(*)
 FROM pg_depend AS pgd,
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql
index d1a1ff559..1b4d13f97 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_extension.sql
@@ -24,60 +24,16 @@ WHERE pgd.refclassid = 'pg_extension'::regclass AND
 DROP EXTENSION citus;
 \c
 
--- Create extension in oldest version, test every upgrade step
+-- Create extension in oldest version, this is expected to fail
 CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '5.0';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.0-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.0-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-5';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-6';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-7';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.1-8';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '5.2-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-5';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-6';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-7';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-8';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-9';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-10';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-11';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-12';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-13';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-14';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-15';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-16';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-17';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.0-18';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-1';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-2';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-3';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-4';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-5';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-6';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-7';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-8';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-9';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-10';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-11';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-12';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-13';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-14';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-15';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-16';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.1-17';
-ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-1';
+
+-- Create extension in newest major version, test every upgrade step
+CREATE EXTENSION citus VERSION '6.2-1';
 ALTER EXTENSION citus UPDATE TO '6.2-2';
 
+-- show running version
+SHOW citus.version;
+
 -- ensure no objects were created outside pg_catalog
 SELECT COUNT(*)
 FROM pg_depend AS pgd,