Content Item Synchronization By Block

• US 20170078395A1
• Filed: 11/22/2016
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Tataroiu, Bogdan-Cristian, Koorapati, Nipunn
• Granted Patent: US 9,819,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• 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: H04N 21/278 Content descriptor database or directory service for end-user access details of content or meta data based information retrieval of video data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/83 Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring

Abstract

A content management system synchronizes content items across client computing systems. The content items are transmitted to the content management system and managed as blocks of data with a fixed size. When a new content item is added to synchronized data at a client, the client transmits the blocks and a blocklist to the content management system. The content management system uses the blocklist to determine blocks expected to be received at the content management system and the client begins to transmit blocks of the content item to the content management system. When blocks received at the content management system match expected blocks, the content management system notifies receiving clients to begin receiving blocks for the content item, prior to receipt of all blocks on the blocklist at the content management system. This enables content items to begin synchronization across clients prior to actual entry of the content item into the content management system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at an online content management system from an uploading client computer, a blocklist of block identifiers for a content item and a first block corresponding to a first block identifier in the blocklist;

identifying a receiving client computer; and

prior to receipt of all blocks corresponding to the blocklist of block identifiers, transmitting the blocklist and the first block to the receiving client computer.