File-agnostic data downloading in a virtual file system for cloud-based shared content

• US 10,180,947 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2016
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Malhotra, Ritik, Tallamraju, Sri Sarat Ravikumar, Luthra, Tanooj
• Primary Examiner(s): Stevens, Robert
• Application Number:
  US15/140,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20160323358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 707827
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0891 using clearing, invalidating or resetting means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1081 for peripheral access to main memory, e.g. direct memory access [DMA]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/122 of the least frequently used [LFU] type, e.g. with individual count value
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/113 Details of archiving lifecycle management in storage systems G06F3/0649; backup systems G06F11/1446
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/172 Caching, prefetching or hoarding of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1727 Details of free space management performed by the file system saving storage space on storage systems G06F3/0608; management of blocks in storage devices G06F3/064
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1748 De-duplication implemented within the file system, e.g. based on file segments de-duplication techniques in storage systems for the management of data blocks G06F3/0641
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1774 Locking methods, e.g. locking methods for file systems allowing shared and concurrent access to files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/183 Provision of network file services by network file servers, e.g. by using NFS, CIFS network file access protocols H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/185 Hierarchical storage management [HSM] systems, e.g. file migration or policies thereof details of archiving G06F16/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/196 Specific adaptations of the file system to access devices and non-file objects via standard file system access operations, e.g. pseudo file systems dedicated interfaces to storage systems G06F3/0601
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2443 Stored procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1016 Performance improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1044 Space efficiency improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/154 Networked environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/463 : File
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/60 : Details of cache memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/657 : Virtual address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 : Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 : wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 : Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 : at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 : Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 : specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• 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 67/34 : involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 : using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream

Abstract

A system and method for managing sizing of a plurality of sliding download windows in a virtual file system commences when a user device accesses a server in a cloud-based platform. An application on the user device issues a first file request for an object that is stored in the cloud-based platform. The virtual file system module allocates a first sliding window and prospectively downloads additional portions of the object into the first sliding window. Upon a second file request from the application, the virtual file system module allocates a second sliding window and increases the size of the first sliding window when the application requests access to the additional portions of the object that were prospectively downloaded into the first sliding window. The size of the second sliding window is decreased when a further application request for additional portions of the object hasn'"'"'t been received within a time period.

Claims

1. A method to implement prefetching in a virtual file system that accesses a requested file over a network, the method comprising:

calculating a first extent of a first window the first extent determined by at least a download starting time, a set of network conditions, a size of the requested file and a consumption rate;

calculating an initial second extent of a second window, the initial second extent determined by at least the download starting time, the set of network conditions, the size of the requested file and the consumption rate;

determining a delay time period to delay before starting display of the requested file;

recalculating the first extent and recalculating the second extent based at least on the delay time period;

downloading into memory corresponding to the first extent, a first set of portions of the requested file; and

displaying, after the delay time period, at least some of the first set of portions of the requested file that was downloaded into memory in a file management application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the requested file exists in a local cache.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising calculating a download rate based at least in part on network conditions as measured during the downloading of the first set of portions of the requested file.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of portions of the requested file are composed of Internet Protocol packets.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising downloading into memory corresponding to the first extent, a second set of portions of the requested file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested file corresponds to at least one of a video file, an audio file, an image file, or large structured document having multiple portions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a calculated time period to delay before starting display of the requested file is zero or non-zero.

8. A computer readable medium, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by a processor causes the processor to perform a set of acts to implement prefetching in a virtual file system that accesses a requested file over a network, the acts comprising:

calculating a first extent of a first window, the first extent determined by at least a download starting time, a set of network conditions, a size of the requested file and a consumption rate;

calculating an initial second extent of a second window, the initial second extent determined by at least the download starting time, the set of network conditions, the size of the requested file and the consumption rate;

determining a delay time period to delay before starting display of the requested file;

recalculating the first extent and recalculating the second extent based at least on the delay time period;

downloading into memory corresponding to the first extent, a first set of portions of the requested file; and

displaying, after the delay time period, at least some of the first set of portions of the requested file that was downloaded into memory in a file management application.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by the processor causes the processor to perform acts of determining whether the requested file exists in a local cache.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by the processor causes the processor to perform acts of calculating a download rate based at least in part on network conditions as measured during the downloading of the first set of portions of the requested file.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first set of portions of the requested file are composed of Internet Protocol packets.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 10, further comprising instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by the processor causes the processor to perform acts of downloading into memory corresponding to the first extent, a second set of portions of the requested file.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the requested file corresponds to at least one of a video file, an audio file, an image file, or large structured document having multiple portions.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein a calculated time period to delay before starting display of the requested file is zero or non-zero.

15. A system to implement prefetching in a virtual file system that accesses a requested file over a network, the system comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions;

and a processor or processors that execute the instructions to cause the processor or processors to perform a set of acts, the acts comprising,

calculating a first extent of a first window, the first extent determined by at least a download starting time, a set of network conditions, a size of the requested file and a consumption rate;

calculating an initial second extent of a second window, the initial second extent determined by at least the download starting time, the set of network conditions, the size of the requested file and the consumption rate;

determining a delay time period to delay before starting display of the requested file;

recalculating the first extent and recalculating the second extent based at least on the delay time period;

downloading into memory corresponding to the first extent, a first set of portions of the requested file; and

displaying, after the delay time period, at least some of the first set of portions of the requested file that was downloaded into memory in a file management application.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising instructions for determining whether the requested file exists in a local cache.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising instructions for calculating a download rate based at least in part on network conditions as measured during the downloading of the first set of portions of the requested file.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first set of portions of the requested file are composed of Internet Protocol packets.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising instructions for downloading into memory corresponding to the first extent, a second set of portions of the requested file.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the requested file corresponds to at least one of a video file, an audio file, an image file, or large structured document having multiple portions.