KNOWLEDGE BASED SYNCHRONIZATION OF SUBSETS OF DATA WITH NO MOVE CONDITION

• US 20090077002A1
• Filed: 09/14/2007
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Oliver C., Novik, Lev, Khosravy, Moe, Clark, Michael Ray
• Granted Patent: US 8,090,685 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/383 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0846 based on copy from other elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

An efficient way is provided to represent and exchange knowledge and/or partial knowledge across nodes when synchronizing between any two nodes. A first node sends a second node its knowledge and/or partial knowledge, including objects and versions of those objects. The second node compares its knowledge and/or partial knowledge with the knowledge and/or partial knowledge of the first node, and then sends the first node any latest versions of objects of which the first node is unaware. In addition, the second node sends its knowledge and/or partial knowledge to the first node. The first node then performs a similar object-by-object version comparison to determine any conflicts due to independent evolution of objects and any changes that should be sent to the second node in order to bring the objects of the second node up to date with the knowledge and/or partial knowledge of the first node.

Claims

1. A first node of a plurality of nodes connectable via one or more networks that synchronizes a set of objects and/or a subset of the objects between the first node and any second node of the plurality of nodes, comprising:

a synchronization component for synchronizing the set of objects and/or a subset of the objects between the first node any second node of the plurality of nodes, including;

a synchronization communications component that initiates synchronization with the second node, that transmits to the second node first knowledge and any first filtered knowledge about the set of objects including corresponding versions represented on the first node, that receives first changes to the set of objects from the second node about which the first node does not know and that receives second knowledge and any second filtered knowledge of the second node about the set of objects and corresponding versions represented on the second node; and

a synchronization analysis component that updates the set of objects represented on the first node and the first knowledge and any first filtered knowledge based on the first changes and compares the second knowledge and any second filtered knowledge with the first knowledge to determine what second changes to the set of objects to send to the second node about which the second node does not know.

2. The first node of claim 1, wherein any first filtered knowledge represents a first subset of information about the set of objects wherein no move operations are permitted in or out of the first subset.

3. The first node of claim 1, wherein any second filtered knowledge represents a second subset of information about the set of objects wherein no move operations are permitted in or out of the second subset.

4. The first node of claim 1, wherein the first and second filtered knowledge, if present, represent properties of the set of objects as a subset of information about the set of objects.

5. The first node of claim 1, wherein the first and second filtered knowledge represent knowledge respective subsets of information about the set of objects where the set of objects are represented on the first node with a first schema and represented on the second node with a second schema, wherein the first and second schema have at least one overlapping schema element that can be synchronized as a subset.

6. The first node of claim 1, wherein the first node and the second node independently evolve the set of objects on the first node and second node, respectively, when the first node or the second disconnects from the one or more networks.

7. A method for synchronizing a set of objects and/or a subset of the objects between a first node and a second node of a plurality of nodes connectable via one or more networks, comprising:

initiating synchronization by the first node with the second node including transmitting to the second node knowledge of the first node concerning a set of objects and corresponding versions for the objects of the set of objects represented on the first node and/or any partial knowledge of the set of objects and corresponding versions for the objects of the partial knowledge;

receiving by the first node first changes to the set of objects from the second node of which the first node is not aware based on a comparison of knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the second node and the knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the first node;

receiving by the first node from the second node the knowledge concerning the set of objects and/or any partial knowledge of the second node; and

comparing the knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the second node of the second node with the knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the second node of the first node to determine what second changes to the set of objects to send to the second node of which the second node is unaware.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

representing any partial knowledge of the set of objects by the first or second node as a filtered version of the knowledge, equivalent to a subset of the set of objects.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

restricting partial knowledge to when no move operations are permitted either in or out of the subset.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

representing properties of the set of objects with partial knowledge of the set of objects.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising representing partial knowledge by the first node when the first node and the second node have similar, but not identical, schemas.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

applying said first changes to the set of objects represented on the first node to bring the set of objects up to date as of the collective knowledge of the first and second node.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising updating the first knowledge and corresponding versions represented on the first node based on the first changes.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein said receiving by the first node of first changes to the set of objects from the second node includes receiving by the first node first changes representing knowledge of the latest versions of the set of objects from the second node of which the first node is not aware and/or any partial knowledge of the latest versions of the set of objects from the second node of which the first node is not aware.

15. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

initiating synchronization by the first node or the second node with a third node including transmitting to the third node knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the first node or second node, respectively, concerning a set of objects and corresponding versions for the objects of the set of objects represented on the first node or the second node, respectively.

16. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving by the first node or second node third changes to the set of objects from a third node of which the first node or second node, respectively, is not aware based on a comparison of knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the third node and the knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the first or second node, respectively; and

receiving by the first node or the second node, respectively, from the third node the knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of the third node concerning the set of objects and corresponding versions of the objects of the set of objects represented on the third node.

17. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

comparing the knowledge and/or any partial knowledge of a third node with the knowledge and/or partial knowledge of the first node or the second node to determine what changes to the set of objects to send to the third node of which the third node is unaware.

18. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

detecting from the knowledge and/or partial knowledge of the second node and the first node whether an object of the set of objects independently evolved on the first node and second node.

19. A computing device for synchronizing a subset of a set of objects between a first node and a second node of a plurality of nodes connectable via one or more networks, comprising, comprising:

a synchronization initiation component that initiates synchronization by the first node with the second node;

an input/output component that;

outputs to the second node partial knowledge of the first node concerning a subset of a set of objects including corresponding versions for the objects of the subset of objects represented on the first node;

receives first input representing first changes to the subset of objects from the second node about which the first node does not have represented in the partial knowledge of the first node; and

receives second input representing knowledge of the second node concerning the subset of objects including corresponding versions of the objects of the subset of objects represented on the second node; and

a synchronization analysis component for comparing the partial knowledge represented by the second input with the partial knowledge of the first node to determine what second changes to the subset of objects to transmit to the second node not represented in the partial knowledge of the second input.

20. The computing device of claim 19, further comprising:

an authentication component for authenticating that the second node is permitted to synchronize with the first node.