1. A method for configuring a plasma cluster tool, comprising: generating a key file from option specifications; generating at least one system-wide configuration file and at least one component-level configuration file using said key file, said key file encapsulating configuration restrictions specifically imposed on said plasma cluster tool; generating run-time executable objects from a database of option definition files, said at least one system-wide configuration file and said at least one component-level configuration file; and employing said run-time executable objects to configure said plasma cluster tool.