CONTENT-ORIENTED FEDERATED OBJECT STORE

• US 20150271267A1
• Filed: 03/24/2014
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Solis, Ignacio, Mosko, Marc E.
• Application Number:
  US14/223,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20150271267A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• 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]

Abstract

A content-oriented federated object store facilitates processing queries on metadata from a collection of content objects. During operation, the system can receive, from a first entity, a query that includes one or more search parameters. The first entity can include a local application, or a peer network device. The system can analyze a local metadata repository to search for metadata entries that satisfy the query, such that the metadata repository can include metadata entries for a plurality of content objects. The system can also issue the query to a remote network device, to obtain search results from a metadata repository at the remote network device, or at a device accessible from the remote network device. If the system obtains a set of search results from the local metadata repository or from a remote metadata repository, the system returns the set of search results to the first entity.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computer device from a first entity, a request message that includes a command for an object store system, a payload, and user metadata; and

responsive to determining that the command includes a command to store the payload in the object store system, processing the command which involves;

splitting the payload into a set of user-data named content objects;

creating a user-metadata named content object from the user metadata;

determining system contextual metadata associated with the named content objects;

generating a system-metadata named content object for the system contextual metadata;

storing the user-data content objects in a data repository; and

storing the metadata content objects in a metadata repository that includes metadata for a plurality of user-data content objects.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to determining that the command includes a command to access data from the object store system, processing the command and metadata to obtain user data, wherein processing the command involves:

searching through the local metadata repository to identify user-data content objects that match the metadata in the request message;

obtaining, from the data repository, the identified user-data content objects;

obtaining, from the local metadata repository, user-metadata that corresponds to the identified user-data content objects;

assembling the obtained content objects into a response payload; and

sending, to the first entity, a response message that includes at least the response payload, and the user-metadata.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

validating the command;

validating the user metadata; and

validating the system metadata.

4. The method of claim 1 where the command includes at least one of:

a create command;

an update command;

an append command;

a merge command;

a read command;

a search command;

a delete command;

an associate command;

a move command;

a notify command;

a subscribe command;

a publish command.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user metadata includes one or more of:

a content name;

author information;

group information;

encryption information;

authentication information;

cryptographic signature information;

a relation to other content names;

format information;

a creation time;

a modification time;

a size; and

a notification time

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the system metadata includes one or more of:

author information;

group information;

encryption information;

authentication information;

cryptographic signature information;

a relation to other content names;

format information;

a creation time;

a modification time;

a size;

a notification time;

system identification information;

system authentication information;

system resource information;

system connectivity and network information; and

system peer information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request message from the first entity also includes callback information for the first entity:

and

wherein the response payload also includes callback information for the local computer device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the callback information includes one or more of:

a callback function;

a callback message queue;

a storage location;

a network address;

a signal;

a network socket;

a file descriptor;

a lock;

a semaphore; and

shared memory.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the data repository or the metadata repository includes one or more of:

a database;

a random access memory (RAM) device;

a non-volatile storage device; and

a remote storage device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to determining that the command in the request message includes a command to access data from the object store system:

updating the command in the request message to include a system context;

forwarding the request message with the updated command to a second entity;

receiving, from the second entity, a response message that includes at least a set of response payload content objects, and a user metadata content object; and

forwarding the response message to the first entity.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the response message from the second entity also includes a system metadata content object, and a command response;

and wherein the method further comprises, prior to forwarding the response message;

validating the command response from the response message; and

validating the system metadata content object from the response message.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the second entity includes one or more of:

a local application; and

a peer network device.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the local entity and the second entity have exchanged authentication information.

14. The method of claim 10, where communicating with the second entity involves communicating over one or more of:

an inter-process communicating (IPC);

an Internet protocol (IP) network; and

a content centric network (CCN).

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first entity, a request message that includes a command for an object store system, a payload, and user metadata; and

responsive to determining that the command includes a command to store the payload in the object store system, processing the command which involves;

splitting the payload into a set of user-data named content objects;

creating a user-metadata named content object from the user metadata;

determining system contextual metadata associated with the named content objects;

generating a system-metadata named content object for the system contextual metadata;

storing the user-data content objects in a data repository; and

storing the metadata content objects in a metadata repository that includes metadata for a plurality of user-data content objects.

16. The storage medium of claim 15, further comprising, responsive to determining that the command includes a command to access data from the object store system, processing the command and metadata to obtain user data, wherein processing the command involves:

searching through the local metadata repository to identify user-data content objects that match the metadata in the request message;

obtaining, from the data repository, the identified user-data content objects;

obtaining, from the local metadata repository, user-metadata that corresponds to the identified user-data content objects;

assembling the obtained content objects into a response payload; and

sending, to the first entity, a response message that includes at least the response payload, and the user-metadata.

17. The storage medium of claim 15, further comprising, responsive to determining that the command in the request message includes a command to access data from the object store system:

updating the command in the request message to include a system context;

forwarding the request message with the updated command to a second entity;

receiving, from the second entity, a response message that includes at least a set of response payload content objects, and a user metadata content object; and

forwarding the response message to the first entity.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

an interfacing module to receive, from a first entity, a request message that includes a command for an object store system, a payload, and user metadata; and

a command-processing module that, responsive to determining that the command includes a command to store the payload in the object store system, is configured to;

split the payload into a set of user-data named content objects;

create a user-metadata named content object from the user metadata;

determine system contextual metadata associated with the named content objects;

generate a system-metadata named content object for the system contextual metadata;

store the user-data content objects in a data repository; and

store the metadata content objects in a metadata repository that includes metadata for a plurality of user-data content objects.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein responsive to the command-processing module determining that the command includes a command to access data from the object store system, the command-processing module is further configured to:

search through the local metadata repository to identify user-data content objects that match the metadata in the request message;

obtain, from the data repository, the identified user-data content objects;

obtain, from the local metadata repository, user-metadata that corresponds to the identified user-data content objects;

assemble the obtained content objects into a response payload; and

send, to the first entity, a response message that includes at least the response payload, and the user-metadata.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein responsive to the command-processing module determining that the command includes a command to access data from the object store system, the command-processing module is further configured to:

update the command in the request message to include a system context;

forward the request message with the updated command to a second entity;

receive, from the second entity, a response message that includes at least a set of response payload content objects, and a user metadata content object; and

forward the response message to the first entity.