Method for managing multiple file states for replicated files
First Claim
1. A method for file replication of a master file on a first computer accessible by a plurality of other computers, comprising:
- replicating a local copy of said master file and an accompanying shadow copy of said master file on each of at least several of the plurality of other computers;
permitting access to each local copy for modification; and
updating each shadow copy when said master file changes.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A server file replication technique is implemented with three local copies of a replicated file. First, a shadow file is a copy of the last known good version of the file on the server. Second, a local copy is the user'"'"'s working copy. Whatever changes the user has made to the file are stored in the local copy. Third, a rollback file is a copy made of the local copy if the local copy changes (for example, when conflicts are resolved or the server version is copied to the local copy.) Different states exist, based on whether these copies contain differences from each other and from the server version, and based on the user'"'"'s use of the document. These states guide what is done to maintain the local copies and whether conflict resolution is required.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for file replication of a master file on a first computer accessible by a plurality of other computers, comprising:
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replicating a local copy of said master file and an accompanying shadow copy of said master file on each of at least several of the plurality of other computers; permitting access to each local copy for modification; and updating each shadow copy when said master file changes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for replication of a master file, the system comprising a first computer and a plurality of other computers, said master file located on the first computer, said first computer at least intermittently operably connected to the plurality of other computers, each of at least several of the plurality of other computers comprising:
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local copy storage for storing a local copy of said master file; shadow copy storage for storing a shadow copy of said master file; a local copy modification module for permitting access to said local copy for modification; and a shadow copy updating module for updating said shadow copy storage when said master file changes. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for replicating a master file on a server processor onto a plurality of client processors, the method comprising:
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storing a local copy of the master file on each of the plurality of client processors; storing a shadow copy of the master file on each of the plurality of client processors; permitting each of the plurality of client processors to access their local copy for modification; updating the shadow copy on each of the plurality of client processors when the master file changes, wherein the updated shadow copy is indicative of a most recent version of the master file on the server processor by, the step of updating the shadow copy on each of the plurality of client processors comprising; storing a local copy as a rollback copy only if the local copy has been accessed since a previous rollback; and updating the local copy with the shadow copy; and generating versioning states indicative of versions of each of the master file, the plurality of local copies, and the plurality of shadow copies; storing the generated versioning states; and utilizing the stored versioning states to determine a current state of at least one of the master file, a local copy, and a shadow copy.
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Specification