System and method for creating an efficient and scalable cache mode for a collaboration suite application

• US 9,262,750 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2008
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Khavari, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilles, Jude Jean
• Assistant Examiner(s): Means, Jaren M
• Application Number:
  US12/049,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20090234911A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,895 Days
• Field of Search: 709/248
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A system and method for creating a cached mode is created for some applications, such as for use with BES. Operations on the mailbox items are conducted off the cache, rather than off the collaboration suite server itself, thus reducing the load on the collaboration suite server. According to one aspect of the present invention, a filtered initial synchronization is performed with the cache in the client device to further reduce the load on the collaboration suite server as well as the required bandwidth. In one embodiment of the present invention, mailbox items on the local cache are periodically reaped so as to not over-burden the disk space in the client device. In one embodiment of the present invention, mailbox items not present in the cache can be requested on-demand from the collaboration suite server.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a collaboration suite server comprising source mailboxes for each of a plurality of users;

a cache store configured to store mailbox items on a plurality of distinct user-specific caches, wherein each user-specific cache of the plurality of user-specific caches;

(i) corresponds to a particular mobile device configured to receive mailbox items of a corresponding user through a mobile device synchronization component, (ii) comprises a subset of data from a corresponding user source mailbox maintained at the collaboration suite server, and (iii) is synchronized with the corresponding user source mailbox, the synchronization including an initial synchronization that caches a filtered subset of the mailbox items prior to a user requesting the a mailbox item; and

a processor configured to perform the steps of;

periodically removing one or more mailbox items from the respective user-specific caches based upon a set of parameters including a respective age of the one or more mailbox items;

receiving a request for a mailbox item from the mobile device synchronization component on behalf of a mobile device;

determining whether the user-specific cache corresponding to the mobile device includes the requested mailbox item;

in response to a determination that the user-specific cache includes the requested mailbox item from the user-specific cache, providing the mailbox item to the mobile device synchronization component to provide to the mobile device without requiring interaction with the corresponding user source mailbox at the collaboration suite server; and

in response to a determination that the user-specific cache does not include the requested mailbox item, forwarding the request to the collaboration suite server.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the steps of:

performing an initial synchronization between a user-specific cache and a corresponding user mailbox based on a set of parameters that identifies a subset of currently existing data in the corresponding user source mailbox, and

simultaneously receiving new mailbox items from the corresponding user source mailbox in real-time during the initial synchronization through a separate synchronization process.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the step of progressively synchronizing the user-specific cache with the corresponding user source mailbox in real-time after the initial synchronization.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the step of progressively synchronizing comprises periodically transmitting a mailbox revision number corresponding to the user-specific cache to the collaboration suite server and receiving updated data from the corresponding user source mailbox if the transmitted mailbox revision number does not match a second mailbox revision number maintained by the collaboration suite server for the corresponding user source mailbox.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein periodically removing data in the user-specific cache is based upon a set of parameters configured to maintain a size of the user-specific cache.

17. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising:

a first synchronizer for synchronizing the subset of data from the corresponding user source mailbox maintained at the collaboration suite server; and

a second synchronizer for synchronizing any new mailbox items received by the corresponding user source mailbox while the first synchronizer is synchronizing the subset of data from the corresponding user source mailbox.

18. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the subset of data is a result of filtering data within the corresponding user source mailbox during the initial synchronization based on one or more filter parameters defined by a user.

6. A method for reducing load on a collaboration suite server supporting access to user source mailboxes by mobile devices, the method comprising:

configuring a cache store to store mailbox items on a plurality of distinct user-specific caches, wherein each user-specific cache of the plurality of user-specific caches;

(i) corresponds to a particular mobile device configured to receive mailbox items of a corresponding user through a mobile device synchronization component, (ii) comprises a subset of data from a corresponding user source mailbox maintained at the collaboration suite server, the collaboration suite server comprising source mailboxes for each of a plurality of users, and (iii) is synchronized with the corresponding user source mailbox, the synchronization including an initial synchronization that caches a filtered subset of the mailbox items prior to a user requesting a mailbox item;

periodically removing one or more mailbox items from the respective user-specific caches based upon a set of parameters including a respective age of the one or more mailbox items;

receiving a request for a mailbox item from the mobile device synchronization component on behalf of a mobile device;

determining whether the user-specific cache corresponding to the mobile device includes the requested mailbox item;

in response to a determination that the user-specific cache includes the requested mailbox item, providing the mailbox item from the user-specific cache to the mobile device synchronization component to provide to the mobile device without requiring interaction with the corresponding user source mailbox at the collaboration suite server; and

in response to a determination that the user-specific cache does not include the requested mailbox item, forwarding the request to the collaboration suite server.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

performing an initial synchronization between a user-specific cache and a corresponding user source mailbox based on a set of parameters that identifies a subset of currently existing data in the corresponding user source mailbox; and

simultaneously receiving new mailbox items from the corresponding user source mailbox in real-time during the initial synchronization through a separate synchronization process.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising progressively synchronizing the user-specific cache with the corresponding user source mailbox in real-time after the initial synchronization.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of progressively synchronizing comprises periodically transmitting a mailbox revision number corresponding to the user-specific cache to the collaboration suite server and receiving updated data from the corresponding user source mailbox if the transmitted mailbox revision number does not match a second mailbox revision number maintained by the collaboration suite server for the corresponding user source mailbox.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein periodically removing data in the user-specific cache is based upon a set of parameters configured to maintain a size of the user-specific cache.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that cause a processor to reduce load on a collaboration suite server supporting access to user source mailboxes by mobile devices by performing the steps of:

configuring a cache store to store mailbox items on a plurality of distinct user-specific caches, wherein each user-specific cache of the plurality of user-specific caches;

(i) corresponds to a particular mobile device configured to receive mailbox items of a corresponding user through a mobile device synchronization component, (ii) comprises a subset of data from a corresponding user source mailbox maintained at the collaboration suite server, the collaboration suite server comprising source mailboxes for each of a plurality of users, and (iii) is synchronized with the corresponding user source mailbox, the synchronization including an initial synchronization that caches a filtered subset of the mailbox items prior to a user requesting a mailbox item;

periodically removing one or more mailbox items from the respective user-specific caches based upon a set of parameters including a respective age of the one or more mailbox items;

receiving a request for a mailbox item from the mobile device synchronization component on behalf of a mobile device;

determining whether the user-specific cache corresponding to the mobile device includes the requested mailbox item;

in response to a determination that the user-specific cache includes the requested mailbox item, providing the mailbox item from the user-specific cache to the mobile device synchronization component to provide to the mobile device without requiring interaction with the corresponding user source mailbox at the collaboration suite server; and

in response to a determination that the user-specific cache does not include the requested mailbox item, forwarding the request to the collaboration suite server.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the mobile device synchronization component is configured to communicate with the mobile device through a wireless network.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to perform the steps of:

performing an initial synchronization between a user-specific cache and a corresponding user source mailbox based on a set of parameters that identifies a subset of currently existing data in the corresponding user source mailbox; and

simultaneously receiving new mailbox items from the corresponding user source mailbox in real-time during the initial synchronization through a separate synchronization process.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to perform the step of progressively synchronizing the user-specific cache with the corresponding user source mailbox in real-time after the initial synchronization.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the step of progressively synchronizing comprises periodically transmitting a mailbox revision number corresponding to the user-specific cache to the collaboration suite server and receiving updated data from the corresponding user source mailbox if the transmitted mailbox revision number does not match a second mailbox revision number maintained by the collaboration suite server for the corresponding user source mailbox.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein periodically removing data in the user-specific cache is based upon a set of parameters configured to maintain a size of the user-specific cache.