Accessing multiple content storage facilities using source-aware storage policies

• US 10,027,766 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2015
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Greenan, Kevin M., Boulanger, Antoine, Ghods, Sam, Queisser, Jeffrey R., Xu, Shi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Anh
• Application Number:
  US14/727,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20160191635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

Systems for cloud-based storage systems. Embodiments commence upon deploying a server in a cloud-based environment, such that the server is configured to interface with one or more storage facilities that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to a storage command originating from a user terminal. The deployed server is connected to the network such that the server receives storage commands that pertain to one or more source objects that are associated with a set of source attributes. A policy manager applies one or more source-aware storage policies by determining a set of storage policies based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes. The policy manager accesses a routing table of target storage locations and, in accordance with the source-aware policies, sends source objects over the network to one or more of the target storage locations.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying one or more applications on one or more user devices;

identifying one or more storage facilities that store or provide data on behalf of the one or more applications on the one or more user devices;

configuring a server in a cloud-based environment, the server accessing at least one storage policy that is stored on the server that is located between the user device and the one or more storage facilities;

generating, at the server, a dynamically-generated storage command that is associated with the at least one storage policy by using a storage command API, wherein generation of the dynamically-generated storage command comprises the steps of;

receiving, from the one or more applications on the user device, a content storage command that pertains to a source object,

determining a set of source attributes based at least on the content storage command and the source object,

determining the at least one storage policy that applies to the source object after determining the set of source attributes, wherein the at least one storage policy is based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes, and

determining an operation from the storage command API to apply to the dynamically-generated storage command based at least in part on the at least one storage policy that was determined; and

sending the source object over a network to the one or more storage facilities.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamically-generated storage command is based at least in part on a routing table having one or more target storage locations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one storage policy is further based at least in part on conditional logic having at least one source object operand.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the source object operand comprises at least one of, a service level agreement, a geographic indication, or a tariff, or a sensitivity indication, or a security objective, or a retention attribute, or a priority indication, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with an effective time period, wherein the at least one storage policy is valid during at least a portion of the effective time period.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage policy comprises at least one of, a user role, or a geography, or any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with a storage operation.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the storage operation is at least one of, an upload operation, or a download operation, or any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more associated source attributes corresponding to a source object type or a source object identifier.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a first table for generating content storage metadata, the first table comprising a first column that corresponds to a first identifier that is uniquely used to identify an object;

maintaining a second table for describing a physical storage facility location associated with a portion of a storage policy, the second table comprising a first column that identifies a second identifier associated with an instance of a policy manager communicating with a storage facility;

reducing a complexity of a storage command by associating the first column from the first table and the first column from the second table as a same global unique identifier.

11. A computer program product, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a process, the process comprising:

identifying one or more applications on one or more user devices;

identifying one or more storage facilities that store or provide data on behalf of the one or more applications on the one or more user devices;

configuring a server in a cloud-based environment, the server accessing at least one storage policy that is stored on the server that is located between the user device and the one or more storage facilities;

generating, at the server, a dynamically-generated storage command that is associated with the at least one storage policy by using a storage command API, wherein generation of the dynamically-generated storage command comprises the steps of;

receiving, from the one or more applications on the user device, a content storage command that pertains to a source object,

determining a set of source attributes based at least on the content storage command and the source object,

determining the at least one storage policy that applies to the source object after determining the set of source attributes, wherein the at least one storage policy is based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes, and

determining an operation from the storage command API to apply to the dynamically-generated storage command based at least in part on the at least one storage policy that was determined; and

sending the source object over a network to the one or more storage facilities.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the dynamically-generated is based at least in part a routing table having one or more target storage locations.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the determining the least one storage policy is further based at least in part on conditional logic having at least one source object operand.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the source object operand comprises at least one of, a service level agreement, a geographic indication, or a tariff, or a sensitivity indication, or a security objective, or a retention attribute, or a priority indication, or any combination thereof.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with an effective time period, wherein the at least one storage policy is valid during at least a portion of the effective time period.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one storage policy comprises at least one of, a user role, or a geography, or any combination thereof.

17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with a storage operation.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the storage operation is at least one of, an upload operation, or a download operation.

19. A system comprising:

one or more applications on one or more user devices;

one or more storage facilities that store or provide data on behalf of the one or more applications on the one or more user devices;

a server in a cloud-based environment, the server the server accessing at least one storage policy that is stored on the server that is located between the user device and the one or more storage facilities;

a policy manager to generate, at the server, a dynamically-generated storage command that is associated with the at least one storage policy by using a storage command API, wherein generation of the dynamically-generated storage command comprises the steps of;

receiving from the one or more applications on the user device, a content storage command that pertains to a source object,

determining a set of source attributes based at least in on the content storage command and the source object, and

determining the at least one storage policy that applies to the source object after determining the set of source attributes;

a request handler to determine the at least one storage policy that applies to the source object after generating the set of source attributes, wherein the at least one storage policy is based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes, and determining an operation from the storage command API to apply to the dynamically-generated storage command based at least in part on the at least one storage policy that was determined; and

a provider interface module to send the source object over a network to the one or more storage facilities.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the least one storage policy is further based conditional logic having at least one source object operand.