Method for storing data by using cloud services and apparatus thereof

• US 10,339,182 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2015
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Sang-lae, Yun, Jeong-hyun, Chang, Kyung-ah
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert W
• Application Number:
  US14/728,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20150347404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,491 Days
• 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 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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]

Abstract

A method of storing data includes receiving, by a network storage server, a request for transmitting a file from an external apparatus; obtaining information about a cloud storage, in which the file is stored; receiving the file from the cloud storage, based on the information about the cloud storage; and transmitting the received file to the external apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of storing data, the method performed by a network storage server, the method comprising:

storing at least one file control information corresponding to a plurality of files stored in a plurality of cloud storage, the plurality of cloud storage storing the plurality of files based on accounts of a user;

receiving, from the plurality of cloud storage, a file change event indicating that a user'"'"'s file is changed and an information about the changed file, wherein the information about the changed file includes file attribute information about the changed file and cloud storage information for access to the changed file;

storing the changed file in correspondence to identification information of the changed file;

transmitting, to an external apparatus, information about at least one file transmittable from the plurality of cloud storage to the network storage server;

receiving, from the external apparatus, a request for a file and a network status of the external apparatus, via a home network;

in response to receiving the request for the file according to a selection by the user, identifying a cloud storage, in which the file is stored, from among the plurality of cloud storage, based on the at least one file control information;

receiving the file, from the cloud storage, via a wide area network; and

transmitting the received file to the external apparatus, via the home network,

wherein the at least one file control information comprises at least one of file identification information, the file attribute information, and file access information,

wherein the at least one file control information further comprises file storage information on whether the plurality of files are stored in the network storage server and a ratio of a size of a portion of a given file stored in the network storage server to a total file size of the given file, and

wherein, based on a determination that only a first portion of the requested file is stored in the network storage server based on the file storage information, the network storage server is configured to transmit the first portion of the file stored in the network storage server to the external apparatus, receive a second portion of the file which is not stored in the network storage server from the cloud storage, and transmit the received second portion of the file to the external apparatus.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the file received from the cloud storage in the network storage server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the file from the cloud storage comprises:

determining whether the file is stored in the network storage server;

selectively requesting the cloud storage for the file according to a result of the determining; and

receiving the file from the cloud storage.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the external apparatus, a request for storing a certain file, stored in the external apparatus, in the cloud storage;

receiving the certain file, stored in the external apparatus, from the external apparatus; and

storing the received certain file in the cloud storage.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network storage server comprises a home electronic apparatus located in a home of the user.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, performs the method of claim 1.

7. A network storage server comprising:

at least one memory configured to store at least one file control information corresponding to a plurality of files stored in a plurality of cloud storage, the plurality of cloud storage storing the plurality of files based on accounts of a user;

a transceiver configured to receive, from the plurality of cloud storage, a file change event indicating that a user'"'"'s file is changed and an information about the changed file, wherein the information about the changed file include file attribute information about the changed file and cloud storage information for access to the changed file;

transmit to an external apparatus, information about at least one file transmittable from the plurality of cloud storage to the network storage server, and receive a request, from the external apparatus, for a file and a network status of the external apparatus, via a home network;

at least one processor configured to, store the changed file in correspondence to identification information of the changed file, in response to receiving the request for the file according to a selection by the user, identify a cloud storage, in which the file is stored, from among the plurality of cloud storage, based on the at least one file control information from the at least one memory, and

wherein the transceiver configured to, receive the file from the cloud storage via a wide area network, and

wherein the transceiver is configured to transmit the received file to the external apparatus via the home network,

wherein the at least one file control information comprises at least one of file identification information, the file attribute information, and file access information,

wherein the at least one file control information further comprises file storage information on whether the plurality of files are stored in the network storage server and a ratio of a size of a portion of a given file stored in the network storage server to a total file size of the given file, and

wherein, based on a determination that only a first portion of the requested file is stored in the network storage server based on the file storage information, the network storage server is configured to transmit the first portion of the file stored in the network storage server to the external apparatus, receive a second portion of the file which is not stored in the network storage server from the cloud storage, and transmit the received second portion of the file to the external apparatus.

8. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to store the file received from the cloud storage in the at least one memory of the network storage server.

9. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine whether the file is stored in the network storage server, selectively request the cloud storage for the file according to a result of determining whether the file is stored in the network storage server, and receive the file from the cloud storage.

10. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, through the transceiver, a request for storing a certain file, stored in the external apparatus, in the cloud storage, receive the certain file, from the external apparatus, and store the certain file in the cloud storage.

11. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein the network storage server comprises a home electronic apparatus located in a home of the user.

12. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein the request for the file includes identification information of the file, and the cloud storage is identified by using the identification information of the file.

13. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein the file access information comprises uniform resource locator (URL) at which the file is accessible through the cloud storage.

14. The network storage server of claim 7, wherein information about at least one file, which is stored in the cloud storage, is stored in the at least one memory, and the information about the at least one file is updated in response to a change to the at least one file in the cloud storage.