ACCESSING MULTIPLE CONTENT STORAGE FACILITIES USING SOURCE-AWARE STORAGE POLICIES

• US 20160191635A1
• Filed: 06/01/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Box Incorporated
• Inventors: Queisser, Jeffrey R., Xu, Shi, Greenan, Kevin M., Boulanger, Antoine, Ghods, Sam
• Granted Patent: US 10,027,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• 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 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

Systems for cloud-based storage systems. Embodiments commence upon deploying a server in a cloud-based environment, such that the server is configured to interface with one or more storage facilities that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to a storage command originating from a user terminal. The deployed server is connected to the network such that the server receives storage commands that pertain to one or more source objects that are associated with a set of source attributes. A policy manager applies one or more source-aware storage policies by determining a set of storage policies based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes. The policy manager accesses a routing table of target storage locations and, in accordance with the source-aware policies, sends source objects over the network to one or more of the target storage locations.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

configuring a server in a cloud-based environment, wherein the server is configured to interface with one or more storage facilities that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to a storage command originating from a user device;

receiving, by the server, the storage command from the user device, wherein the storage command pertains to a source object corresponding to one or more associated source attributes;

determining at least one storage policy, wherein determining the at least one storage policy is based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes; and

sending the source object over the network to one or more target storage locations.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising constructing at least one second storage command, wherein the at least one second storage command is based at least in part on a routing table having one or more target storage locations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one storage policy is further based at least in part on conditional logic having at least one source object operand.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the source object operand comprises at least one of, a service level agreement, a geographic indication, or a tariff, or a sensitivity indication, or a security objective, or a retention attribute, or a priority indication, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with an effective time period, wherein the at least one storage policy is valid during at least a portion of the effective time period.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage policy comprises at least one of, a user role, or a geography, or any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with a storage operation.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the storage operation is at least one of, an upload operation, or a download operation, or any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more associated source attributes corresponding to a source object type.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more associated source attributes corresponding to a source object identifier.

11. A computer program product, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a process, the process comprising:

configuring a server in a cloud-based environment, wherein the server is configured to interface with one or more storage facilities that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to a storage command originating from a user device;

receiving, by the server, the storage command from the user device, wherein the storage command pertains to a source object corresponding to one or more associated source attributes;

determining at least one storage policy, wherein determining the at least one storage policy is based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes; and

sending the source object over the network to one or more target storage locations.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising instructions for constructing at least one second storage command, wherein the at least one second storage command is based at least in part a routing table having one or more target storage locations.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the determining the least one storage policy is further based at least in part on conditional logic having at least one source object operand.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the source object operand comprises at least one of, a service level agreement, a geographic indication, or a tariff, or a sensitivity indication, or a security objective, or a retention attribute, or a priority indication, or any combination thereof.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with an effective time period, wherein the at least one storage policy is valid during at least a portion of the effective time period.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one storage policy comprises at least one of, a user role, or a geography, or any combination thereof.

17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one storage policy is associated with a storage operation.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the storage operation is at least one of, an upload operation, or a download operation.

19. A system comprising:

a server in a cloud-based environment, wherein the server is configured to interface with one or more storage facilities that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to a storage command originating from a user device;

a policy manager to receive the storage command from the user device, wherein the storage command pertains to a source object corresponding to one or more associated source attributes;

a request handler to determine at least one storage policy, wherein determining the at least one storage policy is based at least in part on the one or more associated source attributes; and

a provider interface module to send the source object over the network to one or more target storage locations.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the least one storage policy is further based conditional logic having at least one source object operand.