System and method for establishing and retrieving data based on global indices

• US 7,814,169 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2003
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kove IO, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Econnectix LLC
• Inventors: Roizen, Michael F., Overton, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Jalil; Neveen Abel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pulliam; Christyann R
• Application Number:
  US10/646,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20040205055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,608 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• 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: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3254 Orientation, e.g. landscape or portrait; Location or order of the image data, e.g. in memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information

Abstract

A system and method for establishing and retrieving data based upon global indices established on the date of first use by a user. The system uses a distributed data name service (DDNS) which uniquely identifies users based upon the unique ID of devices on the system combined with the date and time of first use. Both the unique device ID and the unique user ID'"'"'s are stored on servers of the system. This unique user ID generated is used for all subsequent uses of the system by the user. Searching for data generated by devices of the system relating to a particular user is accomplished by searching for instances of the user ID on servers of the system rather than by searching for the data itself. A simplified data transport protocol allows for the transfer of data from one location to another after the data is located.

Claims

1. A method for indexing data in a network based on unique identifiers, the method comprising:

establishing a unique location identifier for each of a plurality of data generating devices on the network, the unique location identifier for identifying a network location of each of the plurality of data generating devices in the network;

registering the unique location identifier of each of the plurality of data generating devices on at least one server connected to the network when each respective one of the data generating devices is first used on the network;

establishing a unique identifier for data generated by the plurality of data generating devices;

registering the unique identifier for data generated by the plurality of data generating devices on the at least one server, wherein registering the unique identifier further comprises the at least one server associating the unique identifier with a first unique location identifier of a data generating device;

the at least one server associating the unique identifier with a second unique location identifier of the data generating device in response to a change in a location of the data generating device;

providing a plurality of servers in a tree structure, the at least one server included in the tree structure;

receiving a query from a client machine at one of the servers, wherein the query is for the data generated by the plurality of data generating devices and the query is based on the unique identifier;

the one of the servers, in response to the query received from the client machine, querying at least one parent server of the one of the servers until the second unique location identifier associated with the unique identifier is found, the at least one parent server included in the servers;

transmitting the second unique location identifier to the client machine in response to the query received at the one of the servers; and

the data generating device transmitting data generated by the data generating device to the client machine directly over a peer-to-peer connection established in response to transmitting the second unique location identifier to the client machine.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the unique identifier on a token.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising using the token for subsequent uses of any of the plurality of data generating devices.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising retrieving data generated by one of the plurality of data generating devices by manipulating the unique identifier associated with that data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the unique identifier is transmitted to the at least one server.

6. A method for storing data based on a plurality of unique identifiers and a plurality of unique location identifiers maintained in at least one server in a network, the network including a plurality of data generating devices, the method comprising:

registering the unique location identifiers on the at least one server when the data generating devices are first used on the network, wherein each one of the unique location identifiers identifies a location of a corresponding one of the data generating devices on the network;

generating a unique data identifier at a respective one of the plurality of data generating devices for data generated at the respective one of the plurality of data generating devices when the data is created;

the at least one server storing an association of the unique data identifier and the unique location identifiers of each of the plurality of data generating devices that generated the data identified by the unique data identifier;

the at least one server changing an association of a unique identifier and a first unique location identifier of a data generating device to an association of the unique identifier and a second unique location identifier of the data generating device in response to changing a network location of the data generating device;

providing a plurality of servers in a tree structure, the at least one server included in the servers;

receiving a query from a client machine at one of the servers, wherein the query is for data generated by the data generating device and the query is based on the unique identifier;

the one of the servers, in response to the query received from the client machine, sending a request to at least one parent server of the one of the servers until the unique identifier is found, the at least one parent server included in the servers;

transmitting the second unique location identifier to the client machine in response to the query received at the one of the servers; and

the data generating device transmitting data generated by the data generating device to the client machine directly over a peer-to-peer connection created in response to transmitting the second unique location identifier to the client machine.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of data generating devices comprise client entities.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising adding new data to the network by creating a new association of another unique data identifier to a unique location identifier of an appropriate one of the plurality of data generating devices.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising removing data from the network by deleting the association of the unique data identifier and the second unique location identifier.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising updating data in the network by modifying an association of the unique data identifier and the second unique location identifier.

11. A computer readable medium containing computer executable code for indexing data in a network based on unique identifiers, the computer executable code comprising instructions for:

receiving a unique identifier generated by a data generating devices in response to the data generating device first generating data on the network;

registering the unique identifier for the data generated by the data generating device, wherein registering the unique identifier further comprises associating the unique identifier with a unique location identifier, and the unique location identifier identifies a location of the data generating device in the network;

associating the unique identifier with a second unique location identifier of the data generating device in response to changing the location of the data generating device;

one of a plurality of servers receiving a query from a client machine, wherein the query is for the data generated by the data generating device;

the one of the servers querying, in response to the query received from the client machine, at least one parent server of the one of the servers to find the second unique location identifier, the at least one parent server included in the servers, and the servers arranged in a tree structure;

transmitting the second unique location identifier to the client machine after receiving a response to the query sent to the at least one parent server; and

transmitting the data generated by the data generating device from the data generating device to the client machine over a connection created between the data generation device and the client machine after transmitting the second unique location identifier to the client machine.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions for automatically detecting and integrating spontaneously added data generating devices at the at least one server.