Pre-file-transfer update based on prioritized metadata

• US 10,642,787 B1
• Filed: 01/23/2020
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Topia Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Topia Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Manzano, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Channavajjala, Srirama
• Application Number:
  US16/750,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20200159694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 103 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/122 using management policies backup systems G06F11/1446; file migration policies for HSM systems G06F16/185
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/128 Details of file system snapshots on the file-level, e.g. snapshot creation, administration, deletion use of snapshots for error detection or correction G06F11/14, G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/14 Details of searching files based on file metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1873 Versioning file systems, temporal file systems, e.g. file system supporting different historic versions of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24573 using data annotations, e.g. user-defined metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

In some embodiments, responsive to a user modifying a content of the file at a first client device (associated with the user), a server system may automatically receive a copy of the file from the first client device, where the file copy may be an updated version of the file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the file. After receiving metadata associated with the updated version of the file from the first client device, the server system may automatically transfer the metadata to a second client device associated with the user such that, before the file copy is transferred to the second client device, the transfer of the metadata to the second client device causes a file representation of the file presented on a user interface of the second client device to be updated based on the metadata.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a server system comprising one or more processors programmed with computer program instructions that, when executed, cause the server system to;

receive, over a network, a copy of a first file from a first client device associated with a user, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from the first client device responsive to the user modifying a content of the first file stored on the first client device, the copy of the first file being an updated version of the first file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the first file;

receive, over a network, from the first client device, first metadata associated with the updated version of the first file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the first file, the first metadata being assigned a first priority greater than a second priority assigned to the copy of the first file; and

automatically transfer, based on the first priority being greater than the second priority, the first metadata over a network to a second client device associated with the user such that the first metadata is transferred to the second client device before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device,

wherein, before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device;

(i) the transfer of the first metadata to the second client device causes a file representation of the first file presented on a user interface of the second client device to be updated based on the first metadata, and

(ii) instead of the updated file representation of the first file representing a version of the first file currently stored on the second client device, the updated file representation represents the updated version of the first file that is currently stored on the first client device and not currently stored on the second client device, and

wherein at least one of the server system or the first client device comprises a priority assignment configuration to assign greater priority to metadata associated with files than priority assigned to the files such that at least one of the server system or the first client device assigns the first priority to the first metadata and the second priority to the copy of the first file based on the priority assignment configuration.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein, before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device, the transfer of the first metadata to the second client device causes a graphical availability indication of the updated version of the first file to be presented on the user interface of the second client device based on the first metadata.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer program instructions, when executed, cause the server system to:

receive a copy of a second file from the second client device associated with the user, wherein the copy of the second file is automatically received from the second client device responsive to the user modifying a content of the second file stored on the second client device, the copy of the second file being an updated version of the second file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the second file;

determine that the server system is in communication with the first client device associated with the user; and

automatically transfer the copy of the second file to the first client device associated with the user to replace an older version of the second file stored on the first client device, responsive to (i) determining that the server system is in communication with the first client device and (ii) receiving the copy of the second file from the second client device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from the first client device responsive to (i) a push request of the first client device and (ii) the user modifying the content of the first file stored on the first client device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from a first application at the first client device, and wherein the first application comprises a runtime environment for one or more mobile-agent objects.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first application is configured to create a first mobile object, and wherein the first mobile object is configured to create a proxy object at the server system.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first mobile object is configured to provide the copy of the first file to the proxy object, and wherein the proxy object is configured to store the copy of the first file on a memory device associated with the server system.

8. A method being implemented by a server system comprising one or more processors executing computer program instructions that, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving, over a network, a copy of a first file from a first client device associated with a user, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from the first client device responsive to the user modifying a content of the first file stored on the first client device, the copy of the first file being an updated version of the first file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the first file;

receiving, over a network, from the first client device, first metadata associated with the updated version of the first file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the first file, the first metadata being assigned a first priority greater than a second priority assigned to the copy of the first file; and

automatically transferring, based on the first priority being greater than the second priority, the first metadata over a network to a second client device associated with the user such that the first metadata is transferred to the second client device before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device,

wherein, before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device;

(i) the transfer of the first metadata to the second client device causes a file representation of the first file presented on a user interface of the second client device to be updated based on the first metadata, and

(ii) the updated file representation represents the updated version of the first file that is currently stored on the first client device and not currently stored on the second client device, and

wherein at least one of the server system or the first client device comprises a priority assignment configuration to assign greater priority to metadata associated with files than priority assigned to the files such that at least one of the server system or the first client device assigns the first priority to the first metadata and the second priority to the copy of the first file based on the priority assignment configuration.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device, the transfer of the first metadata to the second client device causes a graphical availability indication of the updated version of the first file to be presented on the user interface of the second client device based on the first metadata.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a copy of a second file from the second client device associated with the user, wherein the copy of the second file is automatically received from the second client device responsive to the user modifying a content of the second file stored on the second client device, the copy of the second file being an updated version of the second file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the second file;

determining that the server system is in communication with the first client device associated with the user; and

automatically transferring the copy of the second file to the first client device associated with the user to replace an older version of the second file stored on the first client device, responsive to (i) determining that the server system is in communication with the first client device and (ii) receiving the copy of the second file from the second client device.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from the first client device responsive to (i) a push request of the first client device and (ii) the user modifying the content of the first file stored on the first client device.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from a first application at the first client device, wherein the first application comprises a runtime environment for one or more mobile-agent objects, wherein the first application is configured to create a first mobile object, wherein the first mobile object is configured to create a proxy object at the server system, wherein the first mobile object is configured to provide the copy of the first file to the proxy object, and wherein the proxy object is configured to store the copy of the first file on a memory device associated with the server system.

13. One or more non-transitory machine-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a server system, cause operations comprising:

receiving, over a network, a copy of a first file from a first client device associated with a user, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from the first client device responsive to the user modifying a content of the first file stored on the first client device, the copy of the first file being an updated version of the first file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the first file;

receiving, over a network, from the first client device, first metadata associated with the updated version of the first file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the first file, the first metadata being assigned a first priority greater than a second priority assigned to the copy of the first file; and

automatically transferring, based on the first priority being greater than the second priority, the first metadata over a network to a second client device associated with the user such that the first metadata is transferred to the second client device before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device,

wherein, before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device;

(i) the transfer of the first metadata to the second client device causes a file representation of the first file presented on a user interface of the second client device to be updated based on the first metadata, and

(ii) the updated file representation represents the updated version of the first file that is currently stored on the first client device and not currently stored on the second client device, and

wherein at least one of the server system or the first client device comprises a priority assignment configuration to assign greater priority to metadata associated with files than priority assigned to the files such that at least one of the server system or the first client device assigns the first priority to the first metadata and the second priority to the copy of the first file based on the priority assignment configuration.

14. The media of claim 13, wherein, before the copy of the first file is transferred to the second client device, the transfer of the first metadata to the second client device causes an availability indication of the updated version of the first file to be presented on the user interface of the second client device based on the first metadata.

15. The media of claim 13, the operations further comprising:

receiving a copy of a second file from the second client device associated with the user, wherein the copy of the second file is automatically received from the second client device responsive to the user modifying a content of the second file stored on the second client device, the copy of the second file being an updated version of the second file that is generated from the user modifying the content of the second file;

determining that the server system is in communication with the first client device associated with the user; and

automatically transferring the copy of the second file to the first client device associated with the user to replace an older version of the second file stored on the first client device, responsive to (i) determining that the server system is in communication with the first client device and (ii) receiving the copy of the second file from the second client device.

16. The media of claim 13, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from the first client device responsive to (i) a push request of the first client device and (ii) the user modifying the content of the first file stored on the first client device.

17. The media of claim 13, wherein the copy of the first file is automatically received from a first application at the first client device, wherein the first application comprises a runtime environment for one or more mobile-agent objects, wherein the first application is configured to create a first mobile object, wherein the first mobile object is configured to create a proxy object at the server system, wherein the first mobile object is configured to provide the copy of the first file to the proxy object, and wherein the proxy object is configured to store the copy of the first file on a memory device associated with the server system.