Unified local-remote logical volume

• US 7,765,243 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2004
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jpmorgan Chase Bank NA As The Agent
• Original Assignee: SanDisk IL Ltd. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Kedem, Noam
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam; Hosain T
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIN, SHEW FEN
• Application Number:
  US10/981,657
• Publication Number:
  US 20060020637A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,090 Days
• Field of Search: 707/102, 707/722
• US Class Current: 707/822
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

A method of managing local and remote data storage including displaying to a user, as a single logical volume, file names referencing both local data files and remote data files. The user individually selects file names and assigns a location attribute to the file names: residing only on the remote data storage, residing only the local data storage; residing on both the local data storage and the remote data storage. The location attribute of residing only on the remote data storage causes the local data file to be erased. The location attribute of residing only on the local data storage causes the remote data file to be erased. The location attribute, of residing on both the local data storage and the remote data storage, causes the files to be synchronized.

Claims

1. A method of managing data storage comprising:

at a host device that includes local data storage and that is operatively coupled to a removable data storage device,

wherein the local data storage stores a local version of a first file and the removable data storage device stores a remote version of the first file, and wherein the removable data storage device stores a second file without a local version of the second file being stored at the local data storage;

displaying as a single logical volume a first file name corresponding to the first file and a second file name corresponding to the second file, wherein the second file name is displayed independent of whether the removable data storage device is connected to the host device;

displaying a menu of location attribute options for the first file, the menu including a first location attribute option to maintain the first file only on the local data storage, a second location attribute option to maintain the first file only on the removable data storage device, and a third location attribute option to maintain the first file on the local data storage and on the removable data storage device;

in response to receiving a selection of the first location attribute option, assigning the first location attribute option to the first file and deleting the remote version of the first file from the removable data storage device; and

in response to receiving a selection of the second location attribute option, assigning the second location attribute option to the first file and deleting the local version of the first file from the local data storage.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising merging first data files stored at the local data storage and second data files stored at the removable data storage device into the single logical volume prior to displaying the single logical volume.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the single logical volume includes a third file name, the method further comprising:

displaying the first file name and an associated first location attribute indicator that references the first location attribute option;

displaying the second file name and an associated second location attribute indicator that references the second location attribute option; and

displaying the third file name and an associated third location attribute indicator that references the third location attribute option.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein when the third location attribute option is assigned to the third file name after the removable data storage device is disconnected from the host device, a synchronization action is performed upon reconnecting the removable data storage device to the host device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the removable data storage device is a personal storage device having a serial bus interface.

6. A host device comprising:

a local data storage;

a processor coupled to the local data storage;

a physical interface to enable communication between the processor and a removable data storage device when the removable data storage device is coupled to the processor;

a display device operatively coupled to the processor;

a first file name referencing a first file, wherein a local version of the first file is stored at the local data storage and a remote version of the first file is stored at the removable data storage device; and

a second file name referencing a second file stored at the removable data storage device without a local version of the second file being stored at the local data storage;

displaying as a single logical volume the first file name and the second file name, wherein the second file name is displayed independent of whether the removable data storage device is connected to the host device;

displaying a menu of location attribute options for the first file, the menu including a first location attribute option to maintain the first file only on the local data storage, a second location attribute option to maintain the first file only on the removable data storage device, and a third location attribute option to maintain the first file on the local data storage and on the removable data storage device; and

an input mechanism to receive a selection of a location attribute option to the first file name;

wherein;

in response to receiving the selection of the first location attribute option, assigning the first location attribute option to the first file and the remote version of the first file is deleted from the removable data storage device; and

in response to receiving the selection of the second location attribute option, assigning the second location attribute option to the first file and the local version of the first file is deleted from the local data storage.

7. The host device of claim 6, wherein in response to receiving the selection of a third location attribute option, assigning the third location attribute option to the first file and the local version of the first file is synchronized with the remote version of the first file.

8. The host device of claim 7, wherein the synchronizing is performed manually.

9. The host device of claim 7, wherein the synchronizing is performed periodically according to a previously defined schedule.

10. A method of managing local data storage and remote data storage, the method comprising:

at a host device including a local data storage, the host device operatively coupled to a removable data storage device,

displaying a plurality of file names referencing first data files stored in local storage and second data files stored in removable data storage device as a single logical volume, each file name referencing a corresponding file, wherein the removable data storage device stores a second file without a local version of the second file being stored at the local data storage;

wherein file names of the second data files are displayed independent of whether the removable data storage device is connected to the host device;

wherein the first data files including a local version of a first file are stored at the local data storage and the second data files including a remote version of the first file are stored at the removable data storage device;

displaying a menu of location attribute options for the first file, the menu including a first location attribute option to maintain the first file only on the local data storage, a second location attribute option to maintain the first file only on the removable data storage device, and a third location attribute option to maintain the first file on the local data storage and on the removable data storage device;

assigning a location attribute to a first file name that references the first file;

in response to the assigned location attribute being assigned a first location attribute option to the first file, deleting the remote version of the first file from the removable data storage device; and

in response to the assigned location attribute being assigned a second location attribute option to the first file, deleting the local version of the first file from the local data storage.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein when the removable data storage device is disconnected from the host device and the first location attribute option is subsequently assigned to the first file name, the remote version of the first file is deleted from the removable data storage device upon reconnecting the removable data storage device to the host device.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising when the assigned attribute is a third location attribute option to the first file, synchronizing the local version of the first file with the remote version of the first file.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein synchronizing the local version of the first file with the remote version of the first file is performed at a time according to a previously defined schedule.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the removable data storage device comprises a flash drive.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising maintaining a directory of the single logical volume to display the plurality of file names referencing the first data files and the second data files at the host device when the removable data storage device is decoupled from the host device.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving user input corresponding to file actions related to files at the removable data storage device, wherein the user input is received when the removable data storage device is decoupled from the host; and

performing the file actions related to the files at the removable data storage device upon connecting the removable data storage device to the host device.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the removable data storage device comprises a universal serial bus storage device.