Synchronization of networked storage systems and third party systems

• US 8,914,856 B1
• Filed: 06/17/2011
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Velummylum, Piragash, Olson, Johanna S., Smith, Korwin J., Wood, James H., Emery, Christopher G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrishamkar, Kaveh
• Application Number:
  US13/163,065
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/5
• 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: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for the synchronizing of files between a networked storage system and a third party system. A file can be stored in a storage location in a networked storage system. A determination can be whether the storage location is associated with a third party system. An authentication credential can be retrieved that is associated with the third party system. Upload of the file to the third party system can be initiated.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a program executable in a computing device, the program comprising:

code that maintains a plurality of networked storage accounts in a networked storage system for a plurality of users, the networked storage system comprising a plurality of computing devices;

code that receives a file to be stored in the networked storage system via at least one of an email with a file attachment or an uploaded file uploaded by a user to the networked storage system;

code that identifies a storage account associated with the user;

code that identifies a storage location in the networked storage system associated with the file;

code that stores the file in the storage location in the networked storage system in association with the storage account;

code that determines whether the file has been tagged with a respective tag;

code that determines whether the respective tag is associated with a third party system by determining whether the respective tag corresponds to an entry in a third party data structure associated with the storage location, the entry identifying another storage location within the third party system, the third party system being external to the networked storage system and accessible via a network;

code that identifies the third party system and an authentication credential associated with the third party system in the third party data structure, the authentication credential being associated with a third party system account of the user in the third party system, the third party system account being different from the storage account of the user; and

code that initiates an upload of the file to the third party system in the third party system account associated with the authentication credential in response to determining that the respective tag is associated with the third party system.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the authentication credential is at least one of:

a username and password pair or an authentication token.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the third party system further comprises at least one of:

a social networking system, a multimedia storage system, or a publishing system.

4. A system, comprising:

a networked storage system;

at least one computing device; and

a third party system uploader executable in the at least one computing device, the third party system uploader comprising;

logic that identifies whether a storage account in the networked storage system corresponds to an incoming email having at least one file attached thereto;

logic that extracts the at least one file from the incoming email in response to the storage account being identified;

logic that stores the at least one file in a storage location in the networked storage system in association with the storage account;

logic that determines whether the at least one file has been tagged with a respective tag;

logic that determines whether the respective tag is associated with a third party system by determining whether the respective tag corresponds to an entry in a third party data structure associated with the storage location, the entry identifying another storage location within the third party system, the third party system being external to the networked storage system and accessible via a network; and

logic that initiates an upload of the at least one file to the third party system in response to determining that the respective tag is associated with the third party system, the upload being initiated using an authentication credential for the third party system.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that identifies whether the storage account in the networked storage system corresponds to the incoming email further comprises logic that determines whether a first identifier associated with the incoming email matches a second identifier stored in association with the storage account.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the first identifier further comprises a string included in at least one of a From email address, a subject, or a body of the incoming email; and

the second identifier is another string associated with the storage account.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the first identifier further comprises a string associated with the storage location in the storage account.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the first identifier further comprises a string corresponding to the third party system.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the first identifier further comprises a string corresponding to at least one storage attribute associated with the third party system, the at least one storage attribute identifying a third party system storage location.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein the authentication credential is at least one of:

a username and password pair or an authentication token.

11. The system of claim 4, wherein the third party system further comprises at least one of:

a social networking system, a multimedia storage system, or a publishing system.

12. The system of claim 4, wherein the third party system uploader further comprises:

logic that receives at least one message from the networked storage system confirming a storage of the at least one file; and

logic that initiates the upload when the at least one message is received.

13. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that initiates the upload of the at least one file to the third party system further comprises logic that adds a task comprising an upload process to the third party system to an upload queue.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, in at least one computing device, a file associated with a storage account in a networked storage system;

storing, in the at least one computing device, the file associated with the storage account in a storage location in the networked storage system;

determining, in the at least one computing device, whether the file has been tagged with a respective tag;

determining, in the at least one computing device, whether the respective tag is associated with a third party system by determining whether the respective tag corresponds to an entry in a third party data structure associated with the storage location, the entry identifying another storage location within the third party system, the third party system being external to the networked storage system and accessible via a network; and

initiating, in the at least one computing device, an upload of the file to the third party system in response to determining that the respective tag is associated with the third party system, the upload being initiated using an authentication credential for the third party system, the authentication credential having been stored with the networked storage system.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating, in the at least one computing device, a message when the file is stored in the storage location;

transmitting, in the at least one computing device, the message to a listener process executed in the at least one computing device, the listener process configured to add a task comprising an upload process to the third party system to an upload queue; and

wherein initiating the upload of the file to the third party system is performed asynchronously with the storing the file to the storage location.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the entry in the third party system data structure further comprises a unique identifier associated with the storage location and an identifier corresponding to the third party system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the authentication credential is at least one of:

a username and password pair or an authentication token.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the third party system further comprises at least one of:

a social networking system, a multimedia storage system, or a publishing system.