Data synchronization

• US 7,516,167 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2005
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Selman, Daniel, Bergman, Robert, O'Neil, Edward K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): DANG, THANH HA T
• Application Number:
  US11/112,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20050187986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 707/203, 707/204, 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 707/200, 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 in a cluster of servers, comprising:

receiving an update to the application data in a first server in the cluster of servers, wherein the update to the application data is provided from a device external to the cluster of servers;

synchronizing the application data with the update to form updated application data;

forwarding the updated application data to a proxy data repository in the first server; and

forwarding said updated application data from said proxy data repository to a second server in the cluster of servers, wherein said updated application data is configured to synchronize with the proxy data repository on said second server, said synchronizing in said second server being performed on data in the second server by the second server separate from the synchronizing performed in the first server;

forwarding said updated application data from said proxy data repository to a third server in the cluster of servers wherein said updated application data is configured to synchronize with the proxy data repository on said third server, said synchronizing in said third server being performed on data in the third server by the third server separate from the synchronizing performed in the first and second server,

wherein said proxy data repository receives the updated application data in a binary protocol and marshals the updated application data into an XML format before forwarding the updated application data to the second server and the third server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the proxy data repository transmits the XML formatted data over HTTP to the second server and the third server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said method is performed as part of a testing process in preparation for deployment of said updated application data to a production server.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second server and the third server are running on a same enterprise application as the first server.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

synchronizing data in a master data repository in the first server with the updated application data;

notifying a first service data repository in the first server each time the master data repository is synchronized; and

synchronizing data subsets in the first service data repository with the 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.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

notifying said master data repository the first service data repository has been synchronized with the updated application data; and

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

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a log in the first server indicating when the proxy data repository in the second server has been synchronized with the updated application data and when the proxy data repository in the third server has been synchronized with the updated application data.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the updated application data in a master data repository in the first server separate from the proxy data repository.