Unread mark replication bounce-back prevention

• US 7,475,095 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2003
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Spencer, William A., Holden, Russell L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cottingham; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIMBLIN, ROBERT M
• Application Number:
  US10/737,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20050131967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,848 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1-100, 707200-204, 711/161, 711/162
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Under the present invention, a method, system, and program product for preventing an unread activity from being sent back (i.e., bounced-back) to its originating server during a replication operation are provided. The method includes: storing an identification of an originating server of a replicated unread activity, the unread activity being associated with a read/unread status of an email, in an unread log of a receiving server; during a subsequent replication process initiated by the receiving server, preventing replication of the unread activity back to the originating server; during the subsequent replication process, replicating the unread activity to at least one other server; and storing the identification of the originating server with the unread entry.

Claims

1. A method for preventing an unread activity from being bounced-back to an originating server during a replication operation, comprising:

storing an identification of an originating server of a replicated unread activity, the unread activity being associated with a read/unread status of an email, in an unread log of a receiving server;

during a subsequent replication process initiated by the receiving server, preventing replication of the unread activity back to the originating server;

during the subsequent replication process, replicating the unread activity to at least one other server not identified as the originating server;

wherein storing an identification further comprises updating the unread log to include an unread entry corresponding to the replicated unread activity, and storing the identification of the originating server with the unread entry;

wherein preventing the replication of the unread activity back to the originating server further comprises examining the unread log to determine if any unread entries stored therein correspond to an unread activity received from the originating server and, during the subsequent replication process, not replicating any unread activity identified as being received from the originating server back to the originating server,

wherein the originating server has a name, and wherein the identification is a hash of the name of the originating server; and

wherein during the subsequent replication process, if another server has the same hash as the originating server, the receiving server replicates the unread activity to the other server and back to the originating server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the originating server discards any duplicate replicated unread activities.

3. A bounce-back prevention system, comprising:

a receiving server, including at least one computer, for receiving an unread activity, associated with a read/unread status of an email and replicated by an originating server, the receiving server including an unread log for storing an identification of the originating server;

a system for preventing replication of the unread activity back to the originating server during a subsequent replication process initiated by the receiving server;

wherein the receiving server further comprises a replication system, and wherein the replication system of the receiving server replicates the unread activity to at least one other server not identified as the originating server during the subsequent replication process;

wherein the receiving server further comprises a system for updating the unread log to include an unread entry corresponding to the replicated unread activity, and for storing the identification of the originating server with the unread entry;

wherein the system for preventing the replication of the unread activity back to the originating server further comprises a system for examining the unread log to determine if any unread entries stored therein correspond to an unread activity received from the originating server, and a system for preventing any unread activities, identified by the examining system as being received from the originating server, from being replicated back to the originating server, during the subsequent replication process;

wherein the originating server has a name, and wherein the identification is a hash of the name of the originating server; and

wherein the receiving system includes a replication system, and wherein during the subsequent replication process, if another server has the same hash as the originating server, the replication system of the receiving server replicates the unread activity to the other server and back to the originating server.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the originating server discards any duplicate replicated unread activities.

5. A program product stored on a recordable storage medium for preventing an unread activity associated with a read/unread status of an email from being bounced-back to an originating server during a replication operation, which when executed on a computer system comprises:

program code for storing an identification of an originating server of a replicated unread activity in an unread log of a receiving server;

program code for preventing replication of the unread activity back to the originating server, during a subsequent replication process initiated by the receiving server;

program code for replicating the unread activity to at least one other server not identified as the originating server, during the subsequent replication process;

wherein the program code for storing an identification further comprises program code for updating the unread log to include an unread entry corresponding to the replicated unread activity, and program code for storing the identification of the originating server with the unread entry;

wherein the program code for preventing the replication of the unread activity back to the originating server further comprises program code for examining the unread log to determine if any unread entries stored therein correspond to an unread activity received from the originating server, and program code for preventing replication of any unread activity the examining program code has identified as being received from the originating server back to the originating server, during the subsequent replication process;

wherein the originating server has a name, and wherein the identification is a hash of the name of the originating server; and

wherein the receiving server further includes program code for replicating the unread activity to the other server and back to the originating server during the subsequent replication process, if another server has the same hash as the originating server.

6. The program product of claim 5, wherein the originating server includes program code for discarding any duplicate replicated unread activities.