Services for data access based on a data ownership directory in distributed system landscapes

• US 20070276919A1
• Filed: 05/12/2006
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Fischer, Uwe, Buchmann, Daniel, Scheerer, Oliver, Hoenig, Jochen, Waldscheck, Bernhard
• Granted Patent: US 8,099,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries

Abstract

A directory includes information about various systems (e.g., applications, processes, tasks, objects, services) and data, and may include data ownership information. The directory may define existing systems, corresponding locations by address, and corresponding semantic names. The directory may also specify the role of each system, e.g., a consumer or provider role. The directory may also define a scope of data a provider system can provide. As such, the directory may also include information about whether and how such data is being replicated. When a user requests data, a service may, based on the directory, determine and select an appropriate provider system for the data. The service may further create a subscription process to provide the user a local cache of the requested data. With such directory information, a service can provide data access services that integrate subscription processes.

Claims

1. A computer program product, tangibly embodied on computer-readable media, the computer program product being operable to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a request for data from a system;

determine, from a directory, a provider system that can provide the requested data;

determine, from the directory, whether there is a subscription process caching data that includes the requested data;

get the requested data from at least one of the provider system and the cached data; and

provide the requested data to the system.

2. A computer program product as in claim 1, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine whether the request for data is a read-only access request or a read-write access request.

3. A computer program product as in claim 2, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine that the request for data is a read-write access request;

determine, from the directory, a provider system that can provide read-write access to the requested data;

get the requested data from the provider system that can provide read-write access to the requested data;

provide the requested data to the system.

4. A computer program product as in claim 1, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine whether the request for data is a request for master data.

5. A computer program product as in claim 4, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine that the request for data is a request for master data;

determine, from the directory, a provider system that can provide master data;

get the requested data from the provider system that can provide master data;

provide the requested data to the system.

6. A computer program product as in claim 1, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine, from the directory, a first provider system that can provide a first portion of the requested data; and

determine, from the directory, a second provider system that can provide a second portion of the requested data, the first portion of requested data and the second portion of requested data, in combination, forming at least the requested data.

7. A computer program product as in claim 6, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

get the first portion of data from the first provider system;

get the second portion of data from the second provider system;

assemble the first portion of data and the second portion of data; and

provide the assembled data to the system.

8. A computer program product as in claim 7, wherein one of the first and second provider systems includes cached data.

9. A computer program product as in claim 1, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine, from a directory, a provider system that can provide the requested data comprises determine, from a directory, a provider system that can provide the requested data based on a scope of data requested; and

wherein determine, from the directory, whether there is a subscription process caching data that includes the requested data comprises determine, from the directory, whether there is a subscription process caching data that includes the requested data that can provide the requested data based on the scope of requested data.

10. A computer program product as in claim 1, wherein:

receive a request for data from a system comprises receive a semantic-based request for data from a system; and

get the requested data from at least one of the provider system and the subscription-based provider system comprises request, via a non-semantic-based request, data from at least one of the provider system and the subscription-based provider system.

11. A computer program product, tangibly embodied on computer-readable media, the computer program product being operable to cause a data processing apparatus to:

determine that a subscription process has been requested that includes a request for data but not an identification of a provider system;

determine a scope of data associated with the request for a subscription process;

determine, from a directory containing data ownership information, a provider system that can provide the scope of data; and

storing a routing rule for caching the requested data from the determined provider system to a cache.

12. A computer program product as in claim 11, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine that a subscription process has been initiated and is caching data to a first data processing apparatus;

determine, from a directory, a system executing on the first data processing apparatus using the data being cached; and

update the directory to include the system executing on the first data processing apparatus as a potential provider system for the data being cached.

13. A computer program product as in claim 11, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

update the directory to include an indication that the data being cached includes read-only data.

14. A computer program product as in claim 13, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

update the directory to include an indication that the data being cached does not include master data.

15. A computer program product as in claim 13, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

update the directory to include a semantic representation of the data being cached and a corresponding address of the data being cached.

16. A computer program product, tangibly embodied on computer-readable media, the computer program product being operable to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a request for data from a system;

determine, from a directory, a first provider system that can provide a first portion of the requested data;

determine, from the directory, a second provider system that can provide a second portion of the requested data, the first portion of requested data and the second portion of requested data, in combination, forming at least the requested data;

request the first portion of data from the first provider system;

request the second portion of data from the second provider system;

receive the first portion of data from the first provider system;

receive the second of data from the second provider system;

assemble the received first portion of data and the received second portion of data; and

provide the assembled data to the system.

17. A computer program product as in claim 16, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

wherein determine, from a directory, a first provider system that can provide a first portion of the requested data comprises determine, from a directory, a first provider system that can provide a first portion of the requested data based on a scope of data requested; and

wherein determine, from the directory, a second provider system that can provide a second portion of the requested data, the first portion of requested data and the second portion of requested data, in combination, forming at least the requested data comprises determine, from the directory, a second provider system that can provide a second portion of the requested data, the first portion of requested data and the second portion of requested data, in combination, forming at least the requested data based on the scope of data requested.

18. A computer program product as in claim 16, wherein:

receive a request for data from a system comprises receive a semantic-based request from data from a system;

request the first portion of data from the first provider system comprises request the first portion of data, via a non-semantic-based request, data from the first provider system; and

request the second portion of data from the second provider system comprises request the second portion of data, via a non-semantic-based request, data from the second provider system.

19. A computer program product as in claim 16, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine, from a directory, at least one provider for the data;

determine, from the directory, a specified level of quality for the data;

select a provider that meets the specified level of quality for the data;

request the data from the selected provider;

receive the data from the selected provider; and

provide the data to the system.

20. A computer program product as in claim 16, wherein the computer program product is further operable to cause the data processing apparatus to

determine that a request for the data is a read-write access request;

and

select, based on the directory, a provider system that provides read-write access to the data.