Virtual file system for automated data replication and review

• US 9,311,326 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alterante LLC
• Original Assignee: Alterante LLC
• Inventors: Goyen, Alejandro
• Primary Examiner(s): Rostami, Mohammad S
• Application Number:
  US13/861,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20140310241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,096 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

Various of the disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for reviewing, maintaining, and replicating data across a plurality of devices. For example, in some embodiments the system may replicate data across a plurality of internal and external storage devices connected to various computer systems in a home network. The user can review and direct replication via an interface in certain embodiments. In some embodiments, the user may use an email system to control and/or monitor the replication.

Claims

1. A computing device that automatically replicates data across a plurality of managed devices connected to one another across a network as part of a virtual file system and allows a user to review and direct replication of the data managed by the virtual file system via a user interface, the computing device comprising:

a display;

a processor communicatively coupled to the display and operable to execute instructions stored in a memory;

a central repository that hosts records of files located on a plurality of managed devices, wherein the plurality of managed devices includes the computing device and a distinct computing device;

an order database that includes replication instructions specifying how the files are to be replicated across the plurality of managed devices; and

the memory, which includes specific instructions for mirroring a virtual file system across the plurality of managed devices, wherein the specific instructions are configured to;

generate and present a user interface that allows a user to manage the files distributed across the plurality of managed devices;

install a local client process on the computing device;

scan the computing device to determine local storage resources;

identify local files stored in at least a portion of the local storage resources;

generate a local record for each identified local file;

store the local records in the central repository;

identify the distinct computing device to which the computing device is communicatively coupled;

cause a remote client process to be installed on the distinct computing device, wherein the remote client process is configured to determine whether remote storage resources are available on the distinct computing device and identify remote files stored in at least a portion of the remote storage resources;

generate a remote record for each remote file identified by the remote client process;

store the remote records in the central repository;

receive, from the distinct computing device, a checksum associated with a remote copy of a particular file, wherein transmission of the checksum indicates a modification was made to the remote copy of the particular file on the distinct computing device;

receive, from the distinct computing device, metadata associated with the remote copy of the particular file;

update a local copy of the particular file using the checksum, the metadata, or both; and

update a particular remote record in the central repository corresponding to the remote copy of the particular file using the checksum, the metadata, or both,

wherein said receiving of the checksum and the metadata requires data be transmitted by the distinct computing device through a firewall.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the local storage resources and the remote storage resources are composed of some combination of available storage, allocated backup storage, and used data storage.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the specific instructions are further configured to:

determine whether an external storage is communicatively coupled to the computing device; and

cause the remote client process to determine whether an external storage is connected to the distinct computing device.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device and the distinct computing device are communicatively coupled to one another within a local network.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the specific instructions are further configured to:

generate an indexed table of the files located on the plurality of managed devices that is composed of the local records and the remote records.

6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein each local record and each remote record includes a unique MD5 checksum and a timestamp of a most recent file modification.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein updating the local copy of the particular file and updating the particular remote record stored in the central repository occur in real-time as the checksum and the metadata are received from the distinct computing device.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the central repository includes:

a storage table that catalogs the local records and the remote records, including the checksums and the metadata; and

a search table that maps particular metadata terms to one or more checksums.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the specific instructions are further configured to:

create a local copy of the particular file using the checksum, the metadata, or both;

store the local copy of the particular file in the local storage resources;

create a new record for the particular file using the checksum, the metadata, or both; and

store the new record in the central repository.

10. A computing system configured to manage and host a virtual file system, the computing system comprising:

a display;

a processor communicatively coupled to the display and operable to execute instructions stored in a memory;

a central repository that hosts records of files located on a plurality of managed devices, wherein the plurality of managed devices includes the computing system and a distinct computer system;

an order database that includes replication instructions specifying how the files are to be replicated across the plurality of managed devices; and

the memory, which includes specific instructions for mirroring the virtual file system across the plurality of managed devices, wherein the specific instructions are configured to;

generate and present a graphical user interface (GUI) to a user on the display, wherein the GUI allows the user to interact with the virtual file system;

install a local client process on the computing system;

scan the computing system to determine local storage resources;

identify local files stored in at least a portion of the local storage resources;

generate a local record for each identified local file;

store the local records in the central repository;

identify the distinct computer system to which the computing system is communicatively coupled;

cause a remote client process to be installed on the distinct computer system, wherein the remote client process is configured to determine whether remote storage resources are available on the distinct computer system and identify remote files stored in at least a portion of the remote storage resources;

generate a remote record for each remote file identified by the remote client process;

store the remote records in the central repository;

receive, from the distinct computer system, a checksum associated with a remote copy of a file stored on the distinct computer system, wherein transmission of the checksum indicates a modification was made to the remote copy of the file on the distinct computer system; and

receive, from the distinct computer system, metadata associated with the remote copy of the file;

update a local copy of the file using the checksum, the metadata, or both; and

update a particular remote record in the central repository corresponding to the remote copy of the file using the checksum, the metadata, or both,

wherein said reception of the checksum and the metadata requires data be transmitted by the distinct computing system through a firewall.

11. A method for managing a virtual file system distributed across a plurality of devices, the method comprising:

scanning, by a local client process executed by a host computing system, the host computing system to determine local storage resources;

identifying, by the local client process, local files stored in at least a portion of the local storage resources;

generating, by the local client process, a local record for each identified local file;

storing, by the local client process, the local records in a central repository of the host computing system;

identifying, by the local client process, another computing system to which the host computing system is communicatively coupled;

establishing a connection between the host computing system and the other computing system;

scanning, by a remote client process executed by the other computing system, the other computing system to determine remote storage resources;

identifying, by the remote client process, remote files stored in at least a portion of the remote storage resources;

generating, by the local client process, a record for each remote file identified by the remote client process;

storing, by the local client process, the remote records in the central repository of the host computing system;

receiving, by the local client process and from the remote client process, a checksum associated with a remote copy of a particular file, wherein transmission of the checksum indicates a modification was made to the remote copy of the particular file on the other computing system;

receiving, by the local client process and from the remote client process, metadata associated with the remote copy of the particular file;

updating, by the local client process, a local copy of the particular file using the checksum, the metadata, or both; and

updating a particular remote record in the central repository corresponding to the remote copy of the particular file using the checksum, the metadata, or both,

wherein said receiving of the checksum and the metadata requires data be transmitted by the other computing system through a firewall.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, via an interface of the host computing system, a user command from a user, wherein the user command represents a request to modify the local copy of the particular file;

modifying the local copy of the particular file according to the user command;

determining a replication factor that represents how many copies of the particular file are to exist within the virtual file system;

determining which of the plurality of devices have available storage space; and

transmitting the local copy of the particular file, second metadata associated with the local copy, or both to a subset of the plurality of devices,

wherein quantity of the subset is determined based on the replication factor, and wherein the local copy of the particular file, the second metadata, or both are transmitted in real-time as the host computing system receives user commands from the user.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

generating a new local record for the modified local copy of the particular file, the new local record including a unique MD5 checksum and a timestamp of a most recent file modification; and

storing the new local record in an index table that catalogs all files stored across the plurality of devices using the virtual file system.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the index table includes records for files that do not have a copy on the host computing system.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the replication factor is automatically determined based on file type of the particular file.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the subset is selected based on computing device uptime, available storage, transfer speed, or some combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of devices includes one or more cloud-based server systems.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of devices includes one or more network-accessible mobile phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, servers, or some combination thereof.