Information processing system

• US 6,711,592 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2001
• Issued: 03/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Ono, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, HONG CHONG
• Application Number:
  US09/871,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20010056524A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,023 Days
• Field of Search: 707/201-204, 709/201-203, 711/162, 714/6-7
• US Class Current: 707/621
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2082 Data synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

Information processing system is provided which includes at least two information processing devices connected through a communication network so as to be communicated with each other for transmission of data so that both devices can have information data showing the same contents and each having a memory to store the data.

The data in each of memories is constructed of unit data split into a predetermined unit. The data is of a hierarchical tree structure in which the data to be replicated exists in a lowest layer and each of nodes in the tree structure is expressed by tags. To the tag are added identifying information and time information. Each of the above devices has replication control section adapted, by using the identifying and time information, to detect inconsistent portions of the information and to replicate only the inconsistent portions between the devices.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

at least two information processing devices being connected through a communication network so as to be communicated with each other in order to enable data transfer so that both of said information processing devices hold information data containing the same content, and each having a memory used to store said information data; and

wherein said data stored in said memory is made up of unit data being split into a predetermined unit and said data is of a hierarchical tree structure in which nodes are expressed by tags and wherein each of said nodes existing in a lowest layer in said hierarchical tree structure corresponds to each piece of said unit data and to each of said tags expressing each of said nodes in said lowest layer are added identifying information used to identify each piece of said unit data and time information indicating a time of storing each piece of said unit data into said memory, and wherein each of said information processing devices includes a replication control unit which, by using said identifying information and said time information, detects inconsistent portion of said data held by each of said information processing devices and performs replication of said inconsistent portion of said data only between said information processing devices.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said identifying information has an identification code used to identify each of said information processing devices.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of information processing devices is a server and at least one of said plurality of information processing devices except said server is a mobile device being a client and wherein said replication of information is performed between said server and said mobile device.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein said network is a Wide Area Network.

5. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein said mobile device, by using said identifying code fed from said server through said network and used to identify said mobile device, is able to produce new identifying information even while said mobile device is not being connected to said network.

6. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein each of said information processing devices is a server operating on said network.

7. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein said time information is made up of a synchronized time attribute indicating a time of completion of said replication of information between said information processing devices and of a changed time attribute indicating an updated time of storing each piece of said unit data into said memory.

8. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein a set attribute indicating a set to which each piece of said unit data belongs is added to said tag of said node in the lowest layer.

9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein each of said information processing devices is able to designate a predetermined group of unit data using said set attribute.

10. The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein a priority attribute showing information about priority as to whether said unit data to be updated is to be overwritten with unit data to be replicated at time of said replication is added to said tag of said node in the lowest layer.

11. The information processing system according to claim 10, wherein one of said information processing devices storing said unit data to be updated judges, when said changed time attribute given to said tag corresponding to said unit data to be updated shows a time being newer than a time shown by said synchronized time attribute given to said tag at time of said replication, whether said unit data to be updated is to be overwritten by said unit data to be replicated on the basis of said priority attribute given to each of said both unit data.

12. The information processing system according to claim 11, wherein, when said unit data to be updated has not been overwritten with said unit data to be replicated according to said judgment based on said priority attribute, an event notification showing that said replication between said information processing devices has become invalid is issued to said information processing device storing said unit data to be replicated.