Managed peer-to-peer applications, systems and methods for distributed data access and storage

• US 20050114711A1
• Filed: 11/13/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Rizal, Dharmarus, Hesselink, Lambertus, Bjornson, Eric S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,934,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• 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 16/1827 Management specifically adapted to NAS management of storage area networks [SAN] G06F3/067
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0209 Architectural arrangements, e.g. perimeter networks or demilitarized zones
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Applications, systems and methods for securely and remotely operating a remote computer from a local computer over a network while providing seamless, firewall-compliant connectivity. Secure and remote operation includes authenticating at least one remote computer for connection to at least one computer over the network and/or at least one local computer for connection to at least one remote computer over the network; establishing a secure connection between the at least one local computer and the at least one remote computer over the network; and integrating a desktop of at least one remote computer on a display of at least one local computer. The connections may be made over a public network, as well as through multiple firewalls without loss of functionality. A method of accessing and using at least one remote computer from a local computer over a public network may include centrally authenticating, at a location having a public address, a first computer having a first, firewall protected private address; creating a first firewall compliant connection between a publicly addressed connection server and the first computer upon authentication of the first computer; establishing a second firewall compliant connection between the publicly addressed connection server and a second computer having a second firewall protected private address; establishing a private-to-public-to-private communications tunnel, wherein the connection server routes communications from the first computer through the first firewall compliant connection and the second firewall compliant connection to the second computer, and from the second computer through the second firewall compliant connection and the first firewall compliant connection to the first computer; and performing at least one further step selected from the group consisting of: integrating a file structure of accessible files accessed at the second or first computer, into a file structure contained at the first or second computer, respectively; at least one of integrating a desktop of the second computer on a display of the first computer and integrating a desktop of the first computer on a display of the second computer; and directly operating the second computer from the first computer or the first computer from the second computer, wherein the computer that is directly operated is selected from the group consisting of: home appliances, video equipment, audio equipment, printers, fax machines, office equipment, medical devices, vehicles, cameras, RFID equipment, laboratory equipment, manufacturing machinery, GPS equipment, and devices having one or more embedded microprocessors.

Claims

1. A method of securely and remotely operating a remote computer from a local computer over a public network while providing seamless, firewall-compliant connectivity, said method comprising the steps of:

authenticating at least one of said remote computer for connection to said local computer over the public network and said local computer for connection to said remote computer over the public network;

establishing a secure connection between said local computer and said remote computer over the public network; and

integrating a desktop of said remote computer on a display of said local computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said establishing a secure connection comprises establishing a firewall compliant connection between said local computer and said remote computer over the public network wherein the local computer is protected by a local firewall element, and said remote computer is protected by a remote firewall element, each said firewall element adapted to protect each said computer from hostile intrusion from the public network, respectively.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising operating a plurality of remote computers from said local computer by similarly integrating a desktop from each of said plurality of remote computers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said desktop is fully functional on the display of said local computer, said method further comprising operating said remote computer by operating the desktop of said remote computer displayed on said local computer in the same manner as locally operating a desktop.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said establishing a secure connection further comprises:

centrally authenticating, at a location having a public address, the local computer having the local firewall protected private address;

creating a first firewall compliant connection between a publicly addressed connection server and said local computer upon authentication of said local computer;

establishing a second firewall compliant connection between said publicly addressed connection server and said remote computer having a remote firewall protected private address; and

establishing a private-to-public-to-private communications tunnel, wherein said connection server routes communications from said local computer through said first firewall compliant connection and said second firewall compliant connection to said remote computer, and from said second computer through said second firewall compliant connection to said local computer through said first firewall compliant connection to said local computer.

6. A method of securely and remotely operating a remote computer from a local computer over a network while providing seamless, firewall-compliant connectivity, said method comprising the steps of:

authenticating at least one of said remote computer for connection to said local computer over the network and said local computer for connection to said remote computer over the network;

establishing a secure connection between said local computer and said remote computer over the network; and

integrating a desktop of said remote computer on a display of said local computer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said desktop is fully functional on the display of said local computer, said method further comprising operating said remote computer by operating the desktop of said remote computer displayed on said local computer in the same manner as locally operating a desktop.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said remote and local computers connect to the network through firewalls, respectively.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said authenticating is carried out at a location having a public address.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said establishing a secure connection comprises:

creating a first firewall compliant connection between a publicly addressed connection server and said local computer upon authentication of said local computer;

establishing a second firewall compliant connection between said publicly addressed connection server and said remote computer having a remote firewall protected private address; and

establishing a private-to-public-to-private communications tunnel, wherein said connection server routes communications from said local computer through said first firewall compliant connection and said second firewall compliant connection to said remote computer, and from said second computer through said second firewall compliant connection to said local computer through said first firewall compliant connection to said local computer.

18. The method of claim 6, further comprising establishing at least one additional secure connection with at least a third computer wherein at least one file is securely sent point-to-multipoint from one of said computers to the others of said computers connected over the public network.

11. A method of accessing and using at least one remote computer from a local computer over a public network, said method comprising the steps of:

centrally authenticating, at a location having a public address, a first computer having a first, firewall protected private address;

creating a first firewall compliant connection between a publicly addressed connection server and said first computer upon authentication of said first computer;

establishing a second firewall compliant connection between said publicly addressed connection server and a second computer having a second firewall protected private address;

establishing a private-to-public-to-private communications tunnel, wherein said connection server routes communications from said first computer through said first firewall compliant connection and said second firewall compliant connection to said second computer, and from said second computer through said second firewall compliant connection and said first firewall compliant connection to said first computer; and

performing at least one further step selected from the group consisting of;

integrating a file structure of accessible files accessed at said second or first computer, into a file structure contained at said first or second computer, respectively;

at least one of integrating a desktop of said second computer on a display of said first computer and integrating a desktop of said first computer on a display of said second computer; and

directly operating said second computer from said first computer or said first computer from said second computer, wherein the computer that is directly operated is selected from the group consisting of;

home appliances, video equipment, audio equipment, printers, fax machines, office equipment, medical devices, vehicles, cameras, RFID equipment, laboratory equipment, manufacturing machinery, GPS equipment, and devices having one or more embedded microprocessors.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising authenticating and establishing at least one additional secure connection with at least a third computer and the connection server, wherein said access and use and said at least one further step may be carried out point to multipoint, from one of the connected computers to a plurality of remaining connected computers.

13. A method of remotely accessing data from a remote storage device, said method comprising the steps of:

requesting data from a first computer in a first location to a remote storage device associated with a second computer in a second location, said first and second computers being connected over a wide area network; and

displaying a file structure, on a display of said first computer, of data stored on said remote storage device, wherein the displayed file structure may be interacted with by a user of the first computer in the same manner that a user of the second computer would interact with the file structure locally on a display of said second computer and wherein at least one of said first and second computers is located behind a firewall.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said first computer is located behind a first firewall and said remote storage device is located behind a second firewall.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising searching said data stored on said remote storage device from said first computer.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising requesting a previous version of a file stored in said remote storage device and accessing the previous version.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving the previous version at the first location by means of at least one Delta or Inverse Delta file.