Service/client synchronization

• US 20070094334A1
• Filed: 10/21/2005
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hoffman, William, Jiang, Shan, Schreiber, Steven, Jager, Marcus
• Application Number:
  US11/256,294
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094334A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

Embodiments, of email service and client synchronization are presented herein.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a synchronization request at a server from a client to synchronize with an email account, wherein the synchronization request includes a generation identifier (ID) that identifies a group of changes to the email account which have been processed by the client;

comparing the received generation ID to a generation ID stored at the server; and

when the generation IDs do not match, initiating a synchronization with the client, the synchronization using change sequence numbers which correspond to the respective generation IDs, wherein each said change sequence number represents a change in state of a corresponding email in the email account.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when initiating the synchronization with the client, incrementing the generation ID stored at the server; and

communicating the incremented generation ID to the client as part of a synchronization key to mark an updated synchronization state for the client.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a subsequent synchronization request at the server from the client to synchronize the client'"'"'s email account, wherein the subsequent synchronization request includes a generation ID; and

comparing the received generation ID to the incremented generation ID stored at the server, wherein the generation IDs, when matching, confirm that the client has previously successfully synchronized with the client'"'"'s email account.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a subsequent synchronization request at the server from the client to synchronize the client'"'"'s email account, wherein the subsequent synchronization request includes a generation ID;

comparing the received generation ID to the incremented generation ID stored at the server, wherein the generation IDs, when non-matching, confirm that the client has not previously successfully synchronized with the client'"'"'s email account.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning said change sequence numbers to each respective email associated with the client'"'"'s email account; and

incrementing said change sequence numbers for the respective email when a new email is received by the client'"'"'s email account, when the respective email is read, or when the respective email is moved.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a next change number globally to the email associated with the client'"'"'s email account; and

incrementing said next change number globally for the email associated with the client'"'"'s email account when a new email is received by the client'"'"'s email account, when one of the emails is read, or when one of the emails is moved.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

uploading a new object at the client, wherein the new object has not been seen by the server;

generating a temporary object identifier (ID) at the client which identifies the new object that has been uploaded;

communicating the temporary object ID from the client to the server;

generating a permanent object ID at the server to replace the temporary object ID; and

communicating the permanent object ID from the server to the client, wherein the permanent object ID is utilized by the client when subsequently identifying the new object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the change sequence numbers which correspond to the respective generation IDs include:

a first change sequence number that represents a respective said email associated with the client'"'"'s email account that was most recently sent to the client; and

a second change sequence number that represents a respective said email associated with the client'"'"'s email account that has been confirmed to have been processed by the client.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the client is one of a plurality of clients that have access to the email account and further comprising:

marking at least one said email for deletion from the client'"'"'s email account with a tombstone indicator, wherein the tombstone indicator indicates that the at least one said email has not been viewed by each of the plurality of clients; and

deleting the email after it has been viewed by each of the plurality of clients.

10. A method comprising:

comparing a generation identifier (ID) received from a client to one or more of a plurality of generation IDs stored at a server, wherein;

at least one said stored generation ID represents a group of changes that was most recently communicated to the client;

another said stored generation ID represents a group of changes confirmed to have been most recently processed by the client; and

each said change relates to a change in state of an electronically stored object that corresponds to the client; and

when the generation ID received from the client matches at least one said stored generation ID, forming a communication that references the group of changes that correspond to the at least one said stored generation ID.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising when the generation ID received from the client matches the at least one said stored generation ID that represents the group of changes that was most recently communicated to the client, determining that the group of changes that was most recently communicated to the client was successfully processed by the client.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising when the generation ID received from the client does not match the at least one said stored generation ID that represents the group of changes that was most recently communicated to the client, determining that the group of changes that was most recently communicated to the client was not successfully processed by the client;

and

communicating the group of changes that was not successfully processed to the client.

13. One or more computer readable media comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer to:

form a synchronization request to synchronize with a user'"'"'s email account, wherein the synchronization request includes a generation identifier (ID) that identifies a group of changes to the email account which have been processed by the computer; and

when the generation ID does not match a generation ID that is associated with the user'"'"'s email account at an email service, synchronize the email account using one or more change sequence numbers at the email service which correspond to the respective generation IDs, wherein each said change sequence number represents a change in state of a corresponding email in the user'"'"'s email account.

14. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 13, wherein the synchronization request causes the email service to:

increment the generation ID stored at the email service when initiating the synchronization with the computer; and

communicate the incremented generation ID to the computer as part of a synchronization key to mark an updated synchronization state for the client.

15. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions further direct the computer to form a subsequent synchronization request to synchronize with the user'"'"'s email account, wherein the subsequent synchronization request includes a generation ID, wherein the subsequent synchronization request causes the email service to compare the received generation ID to the incremented generation ID, wherein the generation IDs, when matching, confirm that the client previously successfully synchronized with the client'"'"'s email account.

16. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions further direct the computer to wherein the computer executable instructions further direct the computer to form a subsequent synchronization request to synchronize with the user'"'"'s email account, wherein the subsequent synchronization request includes a generation ID, wherein the subsequent synchronization request causes the email service to compare the received generation ID to the incremented generation ID, wherein the generation IDs, when non-matching, confirm that the computer has not previously successfully synchronized with the user'"'"'s email account.

17. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 16, wherein the synchronization request causes the email service to initiate a recovery synchronization with the computer using the change sequence numbers which correspond to the respective generation IDs to determine what is to be sent to the computer.

18. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 16, wherein the computer executable instructions further direct the computer to:

generate a temporary object identifier (ID) at the client which identifies a new object that has been uploaded at the computer;

communicate the temporary object ID to the email service;

generate a permanent object ID at the email service to replace the temporary object ID; and

communicate the permanent object ID from the email service to the client, wherein the client uses the permanent object ID when subsequently identifying the new object.

19. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 13, wherein:

said change sequence numbers are assigned to each respective email associated with the user'"'"'s email account; and

said change sequence numbers are incremented for each of the respective emails when a new email is received by the user'"'"'s email account, when the respective email is read, or when the respective email is moved.

20. The one or more computer readable media as describe in claim 13, wherein:

a next change number is assigned globally to the email associated with the user'"'"'s email account; and

said next change number is incremented globally for the email associated with the user'"'"'s email account when a new email is received by the user'"'"'s email account, when email is read, or when email is moved.