System for a distributed file system element collection

• US 9,053,124 B1
• Filed: 12/31/2014
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Code 42 Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Code 42 Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Dornquast, Matthew, Bispala, Brian, Rostance, Charles, Knutson, Jens, Bajorek, Robert, McGuire, Bret, Schroeder, Samuel, Grammens, Justin, Lindquist, Peter, Covington, Colt
• Primary Examiner(s): ABYANEH, ALI S
• Application Number:
  US14/587,168
• Time in Patent Office: 160 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1435 using file system or storage system metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1453 using de-duplication of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1748 De-duplication implemented within the file system, e.g. based on file segments de-duplication techniques in storage systems for the management of data blocks G06F3/0641
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/183 Provision of network file services by network file servers, e.g. by using NFS, CIFS network file access protocols H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1844 Management specifically adapted to replicated file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1873 Versioning file systems, temporal file systems, e.g. file system supporting different historic versions of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2329 using versioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/821 Prioritising resource allocation or reservation requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1072 Discovery involving ranked list compilation of candidate peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Disclosed in some examples is a data distribution mechanism for distributing a collection of file system elements across one or more computing devices. The system can include a plurality of nodes implemented on a machine. The data distribution mechanism may be used in connection with data synchronization, sharing, backup, archiving, and versioning operations for a plurality of connected machines on behalf of one or a plurality of users.

Claims

1. At least one machine readable medium that is not a transitory propagating signal, the medium including instructions that, when executed by at least one machine, cause the at least one machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving an indication to create a collection, the indication including a creation context, and the creation context indicating a plurality of file system elements;

identifying a collection type based on the creation context;

creating a collection schema for the collection type, the collection schema including a plurality of collection definitions, the collection definitions including a set of file system element definitions for the collection and a set of participant node definitions, the set of file system element definitions including at least two definitions respectively corresponding to at least two file system elements indicated in the creation context;

synchronizing, by a node, an event stream with a participant node from a list of participant nodes, the event stream including indications of changes of file system elements between participant nodes, the list of participant nodes derived from the set of participant node definitions;

identifying, from a local data store of the node, a state of a file system element identified in the set of file system element definitions, the state being one of a plurality of states, the state corresponding to a data distribution action, wherein the state of the file system element indicates that the file system element has changed in the local data store;

issuing, by the node in response to identifying the state, a communication to nodes in the list of participant nodes to complete the data distribution action, wherein the communication is an event published to the nodes in the list of participant nodes, and wherein the data distribution action includes notifying the nodes in the list of participant nodes about the file system element change;

receiving a response to the communication from a participant node in the list of participant nodes, wherein the response is a request for contents of the file system element; and

completing the data distribution action by transmitting the requested contents of the file system element to the participant node, wherein transmitting includes encrypting the contents of the file system element with a key, and wherein the participant node is a store point node that does not have access to the key.

2. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication to create the collection includes:

observing a user input at a user action point;

providing, in response to the user input, a user interface to a user to create the collection; and

wherein the indication to create the collection is received via the user interface.

3. The machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein observing the user input and providing the user interface are performed by the node.

4. The machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the user action point is a web interface.

5. The machine readable medium of claim 3, wherein the user action point is a user interface element added to a file browser application.

6. The machine readable medium of claim 3, wherein the user action point is a user interface element provided by a data distribution mechanism of the node.

7. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the collection type is one of a backup collection, a personal collection, or a multi-user collection.

8. The machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the collection type is a backup collection, wherein the at least two file system elements have corresponding definitions stored in a second set of file system definitions, the second set of file system definitions in a second collection schema for a second collection.

9. The machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein the collection type is a multi-user collection, wherein one file system element of the at least two file system elements is a directory with a child, wherein the child has a corresponding file system element definition in a second set of file system element definitions for a second collection, and wherein the contents of the one file system element exclude the child.

10. The machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the collection and the second collection use respective encryption keys to secure file system element contents, and wherein the respective encryption keys are different.

11. The machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the second collection has a second collection type that is either a multi-user collection or a personal collection.

12. The machine readable medium of claim 8, wherein the collection and the second collection use respective encryption keys to secure file system element contents, and wherein the respective encryption keys are the same.

13. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein creating the collection schema is performed by an authority node, the authority node being a computer system that is distinct from the node and manages the collection.

14. The machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein

the operations further comprise distributing, by the authority node, a portion of the collection schema to nodes in the list of participant nodes, the portion of the collection schema including the set of file system element definitions.

15. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the request for contents of the file system element includes a request for a block of the file system element, the block specified by an identifier derived from an encrypted version of the block, the encrypted version encrypted with the key.

16. The machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the key is designated at the time of collection creation at the node.

17. A method implemented by at least one computer, the computer including at least hardware processor, and the method comprising operations resulting from an execution of instructions by the at least one hardware processor, with the operations including:

receiving an indication to create a collection, the indication including a creation context, the creation context indicating a plurality of file system elements;

identifying a collection type, based on the creation context;

creating a collection schema for the collection type, the collection schema including a plurality of collection definitions, the collection definitions including a set of file system element definitions for the collection and a set of participant node definitions, the set of file system element definitions including at least two definitions respectively corresponding to at least two file system elements indicated in the creation context;

synchronizing, by a node, an event stream with a participant node from a list of participant nodes, the event stream including indications of changes of file system elements between participant nodes, the list of participant nodes derived from the set of participant node definitions;

identifying, from a local data store of the node, a state of a file system element identified in the set of file system element definitions, the state being one of a plurality of states, the state corresponding to a data distribution action, wherein the state of the file system element indicates that the file system element has changed in the local data store;

issuing, by the node in response to identifying the state, a communication to nodes in the list of participant nodes to complete the data distribution action, wherein the communication is an event published to the nodes in the list of participant nodes, and wherein the data distribution action includes notifying the nodes in the list of participant nodes about the file system element change;

receiving a response to the communication from a participant node in the list of participant nodes, wherein the response is a request for contents of the file system element; and

completing the data distribution action, by transmitting the requested contents of the file system element to the participant node, wherein transmitting includes encrypting the contents of the file system element with a key, and wherein the participant node is a store point node that does not have access to the key.