Apparent cloud access for hosted content items

• US 9,537,952 B1
• Filed: 01/29/2016
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Koorapati, Nipunn, Rude, Christopher, von Muhlen, Marcio, Bunger, Nils
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Imad
• Application Number:
  US15/010,235
• Time in Patent Office: 340 Days
• Field of Search: 709/214
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/182 Distributed file systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

A technique and various aspects thereof for apparent cloud access of a hosted content item. In one embodiment, for example, a method performed at a personal computing device comprising a user agent comprises: receiving a block agent request for a content item from the user agent; determining content item block identifiers of content item blocks that make up the content item; determining which, if any, of the content item blocks that make up the content item are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device; downloading, from a block server of an online content management system, any of the content item blocks that are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device; and sending to the user agent, in a response to the block agent request, data of each of the content item blocks that make up the content item.

Claims

1. A method for apparent cloud access of a hosted content item, the method comprising:

at a personal computing device comprising one or more processors, a user agent, and storage media storing one or more computer programs executed by the one or more processors to perform the method, performing operations comprising;

receiving from a server a content item block list comprising one or more content item block identifiers of one or more content item blocks of a hosted content item to which an update has been applied at a server, the one or more content item block identifiers reflecting the update to the hosted content item;

receiving a block agent request for the hosted content item from the user agent, the block agent request comprising identification information for the hosted content item, the user agent sending the block agent request in response to activation at the personal computing device of a hyperlink of a web page presented by the user agent, the hyperlink for downloading the hosted content item;

using the identification information for the hosted content item to determine the one or more content item block identifiers of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item;

determining which, if any, of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device;

downloading, from a block server, any of the one or more content item blocks that are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device; and

sending to the user agent, in a block agent response to the block agent request, data of each of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more content item block identifiers are specified in the block agent request from the user agent.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the block agent request from the user agent specifies a content item namespace identifier for the hosted content item;

and wherein the method further comprises using the content item namespace identifier to determine which, if any, of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the one or more content item block identifiers of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item by applying a cryptographic hash function to the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item.

5. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

determining that at least one of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device; and

sending a download request to the block server to download the at least one content item block, the download request specifying the content item block identifier of the at least one content item.

6. The method of claim 5, the method further comprising:

after downloading the at least one content item block from the block server, adding the content item block identifier of the at least one content item block to content item block metadata stored in the local storage of the personal computing device to reflect that the at least one content item block is stored at the personal computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

determining a plurality of content item block identifiers of a plurality of content item blocks of the hosted content item;

determining which, if any, of the plurality of content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device;

downloading, from the block server, any of the plurality of content item blocks that are not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device; and

sending to the user agent, in the block agent response to the block agent request, data of each of the plurality of content item blocks of the hosted content item.

8. The method of claim 7, the method further comprising:

sending to the user agent, in the block agent response to the block request, data of a content item block, of the plurality of content item blocks, of the hosted content item while downloading, from the block server, another content item block, of the plurality of content item blocks, that is not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device.

9. The method of claim 7, the method further comprising:

sending to the user agent, in the block agent response to the block request, data of a particular content item block, of the plurality of content item blocks, of the hosted content item while downloading, from the block server, other data of the particular content item block.

10. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

after downloading, from the block server, a content item, of the one or more content items, that is not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device, updating metadata stored in the local storage with a content item block identifier of the hosted content item so to indicate that the hosted content item is now available locally at the personal computing device.

11. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more computer programs which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of operations comprising:

receiving from a server a content item block list comprising one or more content item block identifiers of one or more content item blocks of a hosted content item to which an update has been applied at a server, the one or more content item block identifiers reflecting the update to the hosted content item;

receiving a block agent request for the hosted content item from a user agent, the block agent request comprising identification information for the hosted content item, the user agent sending the block agent request in response to activation at a personal computing device of a hyperlink of a web page presented by the user agent, the hyperlink for downloading the hosted content item;

using the identification information for the hosted content item to determine the one or more content item block identifiers of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item;

determining which, if any, of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device;

downloading, from a block server, any of the one or more content item blocks that are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device; and

sending to the user agent, in a block agent response to the block agent request, data of each of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the one or more content item block identifiers are specified in the block agent request from the user agent.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the block agent request from the user agent specifies a content item namespace identifier for the hosted content item;

and wherein the operations further comprise using the content item namespace identifier to determine which, if any, of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in a local storage of the personal computing device.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, the operations further comprising generating the one or more content item block identifiers of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item by applying a cryptographic hash function to the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

determining that at least one of the one or more content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device; and

sending a download request to the block server to download the at least one content item block, the download request specifying the content item block identifier of the at least one content item.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

after downloading the at least one content item block from the block server, adding the content item block identifier of the at least one content item block to content item block metadata stored in the local storage of the personal computing device to reflect that the at least one content item block is stored at the personal computing device.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

determining a plurality of content item block identifiers of a plurality of content item blocks of the hosted content item;

determining which, if any, of the plurality of content item blocks of the hosted content item are not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device;

downloading, from the block server, any of the plurality of content item blocks that are not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device; and

sending to the user agent, in the block agent response to the block agent request, data of each of the plurality of content item blocks of the hosted content item.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

sending to the user agent, in the block agent response to the block request, data of a content item block, of the plurality of content item blocks, of the hosted content item while downloading, from the block server, another content item block, of the plurality of content item blocks, that is not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

sending to the user agent, in the block agent response to the block request, data of a particular content item block, of the plurality of content item blocks, of the hosted content item while downloading, from the block server, other data of the particular content item block.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

after downloading, from the block server, a content item, of the one or more content items, that is not stored in the local storage of the personal computing device, updating metadata stored in the local storage with a content item block identifier of the hosted content item so to indicate that the hosted content item is now available locally at the personal computing device.