Social networking utilizing a dispersed storage network

• US 10,031,804 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2016
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Storage, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Grube, Gary W., Markison, Timothy W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, Huawen A
• Application Number:
  US15/095,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20160224421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/49 Saving the game status; Pausing or ending the game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/554 by saving game or status data
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5593 involving scheduling aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1076 Parity data used in redundant arrays of independent storages, e.g. in RAID systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• 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 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]

Abstract

A method includes receiving, from a first user device, social media data for storage in the social media DSN. The method further includes dispersed storage error encoding the social media data in accordance with dispersed storage error encoding parameters to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices. The method further includes generating metadata regarding the social media data. The method further includes storing the sets of encoded data slices and the metadata as a full record. The method further includes generating a partial record of the social media data, wherein the partial record includes one or more of: the metadata, a summary of the social media data, and a link to the full record. The method further includes determining a group to which the first user device is affiliated. The method further includes providing the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

Claims

1. A method for execution by a computing device of a social media dispersed storage network (DSN), the method comprises:

receiving, via the DSN, via an interface of the computing device, and from a first user device, social media data for storage in the social media DSN;

generating metadata regarding the social media data;

dispersed storage error encoding the social media data and the metadata in accordance with dispersed storage error encoding parameters to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

distributedly storing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices as a full record of the social media;

data within a plurality of dispersed storage (DS) units that are respectively located at geographically diverse locations within the DSN, wherein each DS unit stores less than a read threshold number of encoded data slices of any one of the plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

generating a partial record based on the social media data and including at least a portion of the metadata;

determining a group to which the first user device is affiliated; and

providing, via the interface and via the DSN, the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises one or more of:

a group ID, a user device ID, key words, a reference to a media file, a timestamp, and a link to other social networking data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the partial record further includes a summary of the social media data, the summary comprising one or more of:

a title, key points, fragments of text, thumbnails, reduced resolution of graphics, images, video, and other descriptive information regarding the full record.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices in storage units of the social media DSN; and

storing the full record in cache memory associated with the computing device after the partial record is sent to a requesting user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group comprises:

caching the partial record; and

sending a copy of the cached partial record to a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group comprises:

dispersed storage error encoding the partial record to produce one or more sets of encoded partial record slices;

storing the one or more sets of encoded partial record slices in a set of storage units of the social media DSN; and

sending a copy of the one or more sets of encoded partial record slices to a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

receiving a request for the full record from a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group;

reconstructing the social media data from the plurality of sets of encoded data slices; and

sending the reconstructed social media data and the metadata to the second user device.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprises:

receiving a request for the full record from a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group; and

sending the plurality of sets of encoded data slices to the second user device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the partial record further includes a link to the full record.

10. A computing device comprises:

an interface;

memory; and

a processing module operably coupled to the interface and to the memory, wherein the processing module is operable to;

receive, from a first user device via the interface, social media data for storage in a social media dispersed storage network (DSN);

generate metadata regarding the social media data;

dispersed storage error encode the social media data and the metadata in accordance with dispersed storage error encoding parameters to produce a plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

output, via the interface, the plurality of sets of encoded data slices as a full record of the social media data for distributed storage within the social media DSN within a plurality of dispersed storage (DS) units that are respectively located at geographically diverse locations within the DSN, wherein each DS unit stores less than a read threshold number of encoded data slices of any one of the plurality of sets of encoded data slices;

generate a partial record based on the social media data and including at least a portion of the metadata;

determine a group to which the first user device is affiliated; and

provide, via the interface, the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the metadata comprises one or more of:

a group ID, a user device ID, key words, a reference to a media file, a timestamp, and a link to other social networking data.

12. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the partial record includes a summary of the social media data, the summary comprising one or more of:

a title, key points, fragments of text, thumbnails, reduced resolution of graphics, images, video, and other descriptive information regarding the full record.

13. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the processing module is further operable to:

issue write commands for storing the plurality of sets of encoded data slices in storage units of the social media DSN; and

store the full record in cache memory associated with the computing device after the partial record is sent to a requesting user.

14. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the processing module is further operable to provide the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group by:

caching the partial record; and

sending a copy of the cached partial record to a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

15. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the processing module is further operable to provide the partial record to one or more other user devices affiliated with the group by:

dispersed storage error encoding the partial record to produce one or more sets of encoded partial record slices;

storing the one or more sets of encoded partial record slices in a set of storage units of the social media DSN; and

sending a copy of the one or more sets of encoded partial record slices to a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group.

16. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the processing module is further operable to:

receive a request for the full record from a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group;

reconstruct the social media data from the plurality of sets of encoded data slices; and

send, via the interface, the reconstructed social media data and the metadata to the second user device.

17. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the processing module is further operable to:

receive a request for the full record from a second user device of the one or more other user devices affiliated with the group; and

send, via the interface, the plurality of sets of encoded data slices and the metadata to the second user device.

18. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the partial record further includes a link to the full record.