Detecting low fidelity sync data

• US 7,342,555 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2004
• Issued: 03/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Starbuck, Bryan T., Potter, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; My-Chau T.
• Application Number:
  US10/835,900
• Publication Number:
  US 20060028396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/2.1, 345/2.3, 345/169, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/248, 707/1, 707/3, 707/200, 707/201, 713/400
• US Class Current: 345/2.3
• 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: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

The present invention provides for a distributed computing system that is capable of determining when data needs to be synced between two computer devices because data has changed on at least a remote device. More particularly, the present invention provides for a sync adapter that uses sync data to detect that a property on a device is new and needs to synchronize with corresponding data on another machine. The sync data is specific to the two devices in that the sync data mirrors data that was last synchronized between these two computing devices. Other example embodiments use the sync data to detect and mark data as low fidelity data for identifying any date and time information associated with the low fidelity data as potentially unreliable.

Claims

1. In a distributed computer system capable of synchronizing data between devices, a method of detecting and marking data as low fidelity data for identifying any time-date information associated with the low fidelity data as potentially unreliable, the method comprising the acts of:

initiating synchronization of data between the local machine and a remote device;

determining that one or more properties of remote data are changed properties that need to be synchronized with corresponding properties of local data;

establishing that the changed properties are low fidelity data in that it is not determinative when the one or more properties where changed; and

upon synchronizing of the changed properties, indicating that the changed properties are low fidelity data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is done by marking the one or more properties with a flag.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is metadata associated with existing time-date information corresponding to the one or more properties included in sync data, which is specific to the local machine and the remote device in that the sync data mirrors data that was last synchronized between the local machine and the remote device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the metadata is a time-date value of a predetermined time above the existing time-date information.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the establishing of the changed data as low fidelity data is based on a comparison of time-date information associated with the changed properties with existing time-date information included in sync data, wherein the time-date information associated with the changed properties is included in the remote data and is a predetermined time value above the existing time-date information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is time-date information associated with when the remote device and the local machine last synchronized the one or more properties.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing of the changed properties as low fidelity data is determined based on the absence of time-date information for the one or more properties.

8. In a distributed computer system capable of synchronizing data between devices, a computer program product for implementing a method of detecting and marking data as low fidelity data for identifying any time-date information associated with the low fidelity data as potentially unreliable, the computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by a process cause the distributed computing system to perform the following:

initiate synchronization of data between the local machine and a remote device;

determine that one or more properties of remote data are changed properties that need to be synchronized with corresponding properties of local data;

establish that the changed properties are low fidelity data in that it is not determinative when the one or more properties where changed; and

upon synchronizing of the changed properties, indicate that the changed properties are low fidelity data.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the indication is done by marking the one or more properties with a flag.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the indication is metadata associated with existing time-date information corresponding to the one or more properties included in sync data, which is specific to the local machine and the remote device in that the sync data mirrors data that was last synchronized between the local machine and the remote device.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the metadata is a time-date value of a predetermined time above the existing time-date information.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the establishing of the changed data as low fidelity data is based on a comparison of time-date information associated with the changed properties with existing time-date information included in sync data, wherein the time-date information associated with the changed properties is included in the remote data and is a predetermined time value above the existing time-date information.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the indication is time-date information associated with when the remote device and the local machine last synchronized the one or more properties.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the establishing of the changed properties as low fidelity data is determined based on the absence of time-date information for the one or more properties.