Data synchronization

• US 7,451,163 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2002
• Issued: 11/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Bergman, Robert, O'Neil, Edward K., Selman, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): DANG, THANH HA T
• Application Number:
  US10/279,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20030110172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,210 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/201, 707/204, 707/200, 707/203, 707/1, 707/3, 709/201, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/80 of semi-structured data, e.g. markup language structured data such as SGML, XML or HTML content-based retrieval of web data G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1012 to domains
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1015 to users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1064 Restricting content processing at operating system level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1073 Conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1076 Revocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2145 Inheriting rights or properties, e.g., propagation of permissions or restrictions within a hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 : Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 : comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 : providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0884 : by delegation of authentication, e.g. a proxy authenticates an entity to be authenticated on behalf of this entity vis-à-vis an authentication entity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 : Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 : for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 : specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 : Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 : Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 : Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 : Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 : Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 : Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 : Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 : Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 : Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 : Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 : Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 : Version management

Abstract

Application data used by enterprise applications running on one or more servers can be synchronized with application data deployed from other locations. Application data can be transmitted as XML files over HTTP to facilitate synchronization with web-enabled servers. Multiple service data repositories can be synchronized with application data residing in a master data repository that runs within an enterprise application. Server-to-server data synchronization functionality is also provided through the use of proxy data repositories. Application data files can be deployed from an author system to remote servers. Newly-authored application data files can be versioned in the author system using a source control system and selectively deployed to various servers by the author in conjunction with a multi-stage testing process in preparation for deployment of the application data to a production server.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing application data, comprising:

receiving a synchronization request at a data synchronization web application, the data synchronization web application running on a web server;

sending new application data by the data synchronization web application to a master data repository on the web server in accordance with the synchronization request, wherein the master data repository is synchronized with the new application data;

communicating the new application data to a database by the master data repository;

notifying a first service data repository on the web server by the master data repository each time the master data repository is synchronized; and

synchronizing data subsets in the first service data repository with data in the master data repository, said synchronizing being performed on the data subsets by the first service data repository separate from synchronizing performed on the new application data in the master data repository after being notified by the master data repository;

notifying a second service data repository on the web server using the first service data repository when the first service data repository has been synchronized with the new application data from the master data repository; and

synchronizing data stored in the second service data repository with the new application data using the second service data repository separate from synchronizing performed on said new application data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said data synchronization application runs within an enterprise application of said web server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said web server is a development server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said web server is a testing server.

5. The system method of claim 1, wherein:

said web server is a production server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said application data comprises at least one XML file.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said application data comprises application data files adapted for transmission over HTTP.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the master data repository is a runtime representation of the application data.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the data synchronization web application includes a set of Java Server Pages.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the web server comprises a first web server, the method further comprising:

sending the new application data to a proxy data repository running on the first web server;

forwarding the new application data from the proxy data repository to a data synchronization web application running on a second server;

updating a master data repository in the second server with the new application data from the proxy data repository using the data synchronization web application on said second server;

notifying using the master data repository on the second server a service data repository in the second server of the new application data; and

synchronizing data in the service data repository in the second server with the new application data using the service data repository in the second server separate from synchronizing performed on said new application data in the master data repository of the second server.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

polling the master data repository by the first service data repository to determine if the master data repository has received additional new application data; and

synchronizing data in the first service data repository with the additional new application data when polling indicates the master data repository has received the additional new application data.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a log in the first service data repository indicating when the first service data repository has been synchronized with the new application data in said master data repository.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a log in the master data repository indicating when the first service data repository has been synchronized.