Sharing information between tenants of a multi-tenant database

• US 9,703,799 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2016
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Kuruganti, Aditya S., Fell, Simon Z., Doshi, Kedar, Lai, Sanjaya, Pasala, Jayaprakash, Sanikommu, Samatha
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleurantin, Jean B
• Application Number:
  US15/076,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20160203157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 707608, 707769, 707770, 707827, 909203, 909217, 909219, 726 4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2453 Query optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]

Abstract

In a method, system, and computer-readable medium having instructions for sharing information between tenants of a multi-tenant database, information is received on a connection between a first tenant of a multi-tenant database and a second tenant and the connection has information on a scope of data from the first tenant shared with the second tenant, data is allowed for a record of the first tenant to be accessible to the second tenant in accordance with the connection, information is received on a file related to the record of the first tenant, and data is allowed from the file to be accessible to the second tenant in accordance with the connection.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that are capable of causing a computer system to implement operations comprising:

storing data of a first user in a first portion of a multi-tenant database and data of a second user in a second portion of the database, wherein the first portion is separate from the second portion, and wherein the data of the first user includes a file of the first user;

receiving, from the first user, information about a connection between the first user and the second user of the database, wherein the information indicates that the data of the first user is to be shared with the second user;

storing the information after notifying the second user of the connection;

in response to storing the information, replicating data of the file from the first portion to the second portion;

receiving a first request from the second user for at least a portion of the data of the first user, wherein the portion includes the file; and

in response to receipt of the first request and based on the stored information;

generating a first query to retrieve the replicated data from the second portion of the database; and

providing, to the second user, the portion of the data retrieved using the first query.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the stored information indicates that a particular record is to be shared with the second user;

and wherein the operations further comprise;

sharing the file with the second user in response to the particular record identifying a file name of the file.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing a parent record and a corresponding child record in the database, wherein the particular record is the parent record, and wherein the child record includes contents of the file shared with the second user.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

synchronizing data of the file in the first portion with the replicated data of the file in the second portion.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing a mapping table that associates a first location at which data of the file is stored in the first portion with a second location at which replicated data of the file is stored in the second portion.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the stored information indicates whether the second user is permitted to modify the data to be shared with the second user.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to notifying the second user of the connection, receiving an approval of the connection from the second user; and

storing the information in response to the received approval.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

after storing the information, storing additional data of the first user; and

determining, based on the stored information, whether to share the additional data with the second user.

9. A method, comprising:

a computer system storing data for a plurality of clients as records in separate logical portions of a database, wherein the storing includes storing records of a first client in a first portion of the database and records of a second client in a second portion of the database, and wherein the first portion is separate from the second portion;

the computer system receiving connection information indicating that the first client has authorized sharing a record of the first client with the second client, wherein the record identifies a file of the first client;

in response to storing the connection information, replicating data of the file from the first portion to the second portion;

the computer system receiving, from the second client, a request for content of the file;

in response to receiving the request;

the computer system determining, based on the connection information, that the second client is permitted to access the requested content;

the computer system querying the database for the requested content in response to the determining; and

the computer system providing the replicated data from the second portion.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

the computer system storing the connection information in a mapping table of the database, wherein the mapping table associates the record of the first client with a record of the second client.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the record of the second client includes a key corresponding to the record of the first client.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the record of the first client is a parent record that references a child record, wherein the child record includes the content of the file.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

the computer system presenting history information associated with the record of the first client to be shared with the second client.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

the computer system notifying the second client about the first client authorizing sharing the record of the first client; and

the computer system receiving authorization from the second client to store the connection information.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that are capable of causing a computer system to implement operations comprising:

receiving, from a first client, a request to share one or more records in a database with a second client, wherein the database stores records of the first client in a first portion of the database and records of the second client in a second portion of the database, and wherein the first portion is separate from the second portion;

in response to receiving an approval to grant the request from the second client, storing connection information indicating that the second client is permitted to access the one or more shared records;

in response to storing the connection information, replicating data of a file referenced by one of the shared records from the first portion to the second portion;

receiving, from the second client, a data request for content of the file;

in response to receiving the data request;

determining, based on the connection information, that the second client is permitted to access the requested content; and

providing, based on the determining, the requested content from the replicated data in the second portion of the database.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing the connection information in a mapping table that associates the shared record that references the file to a record in a logical portion associated with the second client.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

providing the requested content from a child record associated with the shared record that references the file.