Policy driven distributed data resiliency

• US 8,332,369 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2009
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kol, Ayla, Gavrilov, Dmitri, Clark, Bradford, Kress, Brian T., Kleewein, James C., Thiel, Gregory I.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Baoquoc N
• Application Number:
  US12/638,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20110145208A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 707/694, 707/695
• US Class Current: 707/694
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/273 Asynchronous replication or reconciliation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A data resiliency layer provides manageable data resiliency policy options for email related applications. Through one or more APIs such applications are enabled to query whether a data resiliency policy is satisfied for a given mailbox or database at a given point in time. Email related applications may consume this information to modify their behavior such as to wait, repeat, or fail the actions at hand to the point where data committal is guaranteed to a degree specified by the data resiliency policy.

Claims

1. A method to be executed at least in part in a computing device for implementing policy driven distributed data resiliency, the method comprising:

receiving a first portion of data from an application for a mailbox;

receiving a query at a Data Resiliency Layer (DRL) from the application providing data to the mailbox;

querying a Data Replication Solution (DRS) as to whether a Data Resiliency Policy (DRP) is satisfied regarding the first portion of the data provided by the application;

if a confirmation response is received from the DRS;

providing an affirmative reply to the query from the application based on the response from the DRS; and

continuing to receive additional portions of the data from the application for the mailbox;

else;

receiving a failure response from the DRS, wherein the reply includes one of a confirmation indication and a failure indication depending on the received response;

performing one of;

repeating a data write;

transitioning into a wait mode until a confirmation reply is received; and

cancelling the data write and reporting failure.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

querying the DRS, receiving a response, and providing the reply to the querying application during at least one from a set of;

a pre-check, a data push, and following a completion of a data push.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

employing at least one Application Programming Interface (API) to communicate with the application.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one API is further utilized to throttle a plurality of applications providing data to the mailbox such that a load on the DRL is reduced.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the response from the DRS includes detail information associated with the DRP, and the method further comprises:

providing the detail information associated with the DRP to the querying application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the DRL is configured to provide manageable options associated with the DRP to the application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the options associated with the DRP are defined by at least one of:

an administrator and the application providing the data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the DRL is part of an email system and the application includes one of:

a search application, an archiving application, a database application, a data import application, and a data export application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the DRP defines at least one from a set of:

a frequency of data replication, a location of data replication, a type of data to be replicated, a number of copies to be replicated, and a type of copies to be replicated.

10. A system for facilitating data replication in electronic mail services implementing policy driven distributed data resiliency, the system comprising:

a first server performing actions including;

manage Data Resiliency Policy (DRP) associated with at least one mailbox managed by the system;

coordinate enforcement of the DRP through a Data Replication Solution (DRS);

a second server performing actions including;

manage interactions of an application providing data to the at least one mailbox with the system; and

a third server performing actions including;

manage a Data Resiliency Layer (DRL), the DRL configured to;

employ at least one Application Programming Interface (API) to communicate with the application, wherein the at least one API is further utilized to throttle a plurality of applications providing data to the at least one mailbox such that a load on the DRL is reduced;

receive a query from the application through the at least one API following a completion of a data write;

request a DRP status from the DRS;

if the DRP status is confirmed;

notify the application such that the application is enabled to continue providing data to the at least one mailbox subsequent to confirming the DRP status;

else;

perform one of;

repeating the data write;

transitioning into a wait mode until a confirmation reply is received; and

cancelling the data write and reporting failure.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein DRL is further configured to confirm the DRP status in response to one of:

the application attempting to write search data to the at least one mailbox, the application attempting to write archive data to the at least one mailbox, the application attempting to write imported data to the at least one mailbox, and data being attempted to be moved between mailboxes.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the DRS is at least one from a set of:

an externally implemented software solution, an externally implemented hardware solution, and a program executed at the first server.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the second server is configured to execute a plurality of applications providing data to the at least one mailbox and further configured to coordinate interactions of externally executed applications providing data to the at least one mailbox.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the DRL employs a plurality of standardized Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are utilized to throttle data writes from a plurality of applications in order to reduce a load on the DRL.

15. A computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon for implementing policy driven distributed data resiliency, the instructions comprising:

receiving a query through at least one Application Programming Interface (API) at a Data Resiliency Layer (DRL) from an application providing data to a mailbox following a completion of a data write, wherein the at least one API is further utilized to throttle a plurality of applications providing data to the mailbox such that a load on the DRL is reduced;

querying a Data Replication Solution (DRS) as to whether a Data Resiliency Policy (DRP) is satisfied regarding the data provided by the application, wherein the DRS manages asynchronous replication of data associated with the mailbox as defined by the DRP;

if a confirmation response is received from the DRS;

providing a reply to the query from the application based on the affirmative response from the DRS such that the application is enabled to complete a data write;

else;

receiving a failure response from the DRS, wherein the reply includes one of a confirmation indication and a failure indication depending on the received response; and

performing one of;

repeating the data write;

transitioning into a wait mode until a confirmation reply is received; and

cancelling the data write and reporting failure.

16. The computer-readable memory device of claim 15, wherein the data is provided to the mailbox in steps, and the DRL is configured to query the DRP prior to a first step, after each step, and following the last step of data writes.

17. The computer-readable memory device of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise:

enabling the application to define at least one parameter associated with the implementation and querying of the DRP.

18. The computer-readable memory device of claim 15, wherein the replicated data is provided to at least one of the mailbox and an associated public folder over the Internet.