Learning client preferences to optimize event-based synchronization

• US 10,721,298 B1
• Filed: 06/18/2015
• Issued: 07/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Hrebicek, Ondrej, Kumar, Srin, Basu, Hironmay, Verma, Ashwani, Rondeau, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Naji, Younes
• Application Number:
  US14/743,339
• Time in Patent Office: 1,860 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• 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 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Techniques to perform event-based synchronization of data among a plurality of endpoints are disclosed. In various embodiments, a user interaction associated with synchronization set data that has been synchronized based on synchronization events downloaded from a synchronization server configured to propagate changes via a synchronization event stream is observed. The observed user interaction is used to infer a user preference with respect to downloaded synchronization set data. Access is provided to synchronization event related data in a subsequent download in a manner determined based at least in part on the inferred user preference.

Claims

1. A method of synchronizing data, comprising:

observing, by one or more processors associated with a terminal that communicates with a synchronization server, a user interaction associated with synchronization set data that has been synchronized based on synchronization events downloaded from the synchronization server configured to propagate changes via a synchronization event stream;

using, by the one or more processors, the observed user interaction to infer a user preference with respect to downloaded synchronization set data;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, the synchronization event stream, the synchronization event stream being provided by the synchronization server, the synchronization event stream comprising one or more synchronization events and one or more corresponding event sequence identifiers that identify the one or more synchronization events, and the one or more synchronization events corresponding to changes to file management system objects synchronized across a plurality of endpoints;

determining, by the one or more processors, to synchronize one or more objects based at least in part on the one or more synchronization events comprised in the synchronization event stream and the one or more corresponding event sequence identifiers; and

providing, by the one or more processors, access to subsequently downloaded portions of data associated with the one or more objects determined to be synchronized in a manner determined based at least in part on the inferred user preference,

wherein;

the synchronization event stream further comprises an indication of an event type corresponding to the one or more synchronization events, a time associated with the one or more synchronization events, and a node associated with the one or more synchronization events corresponding to a change; and

the one or more objects determined to be synchronized is further determined based at least in part on the event type, and the inferred user preference.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interaction is observed by a synchronization client or other client side synchronization code.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the synchronization client or the other client side synchronization code is configured to report observed interactions to the synchronization server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the inferred user preference is stored in a user profile.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein using the observed user interaction to infer a user preference includes prompting a client side code to pose to a user a clarifying question.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the observed user interaction relates to one or more attributes of synchronization set objects with which a user interacted with subsequent to synchronization.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the observed user interaction relates to an amount of time that elapsed between synchronization of an object and a user'"'"'s first interaction with that object after synchronization.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the access to the subsequently downloaded portions of data associated with the one or more objects determined to be synchronized is provided in a manner determined based at least in part on the inferred user preference, including giving greater priority to downloading changes associated with an object in which a user is predicted to have interest based on the user preference.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying events of interest from the synchronization event stream; and

receiving a request, from a synchronization client, for the identified events of interest.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from one or more synchronization clients of a plurality of synchronization clients, one or more indications that an object in the synchronization set data has been modified;

in response to receiving the one or more indications that the object in the synchronization set data has been modified, updating the synchronization event stream based at least in part on the one or more indications that the object in the synchronization set data has been modified; and

communicating the synchronization event stream to at least one of the plurality of synchronization clients.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronization event stream is associated with a synchronization point and comprises synchronization events associated with a plurality of objects stored based on information provided by a plurality of synchronization clients for which the synchronization point provides synchronization.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronization event stream provides notice of changes to the synchronization set data.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more objects determined to be synchronized corresponds to a subset of all synchronization events added the synchronization event stream since the terminal last performed a synchronization with respect to the synchronization event stream.

14. A system to synchronize data, comprising:

a memory or other storage device; and

a processor coupled to the memory or the other storage device, the processor associated with a terminal that communicates with a synchronization server, and the processor configured to;

observe a user interaction associated with synchronization set data, stored in the memory or other storage device, that has been synchronized based on synchronization events downloaded from the synchronization server configured to propagate changes via a synchronization event stream;

use the observed user interaction to infer a user preference with respect to downloaded synchronization set data;

obtain the synchronization event stream, the synchronization event stream being provided by the synchronization server, the synchronization event stream comprising one or more synchronization events and one or more corresponding event sequence identifiers that identify the one or more synchronization events, and the one or more synchronization events corresponding to changes to file management system objects synchronized across a plurality of endpoints;

determine to synchronize one or more objects based at least in part on the one or more synchronization events comprised in the synchronization event stream and the one or more corresponding event sequence identifiers; and

provide access to subsequently downloaded portions of data associated with the one or more objects determined to be synchronized in a manner determined based at least in part on the inferred user preference,

wherein;

the synchronization event stream further comprises an indication of an event type corresponding to the one or more synchronization events, a time associated with the one or more synchronization events, and a node associated with the one or more synchronization events corresponding to a change; and

the one or more objects determined to be synchronized is further determined based at least in part on the event type, and the inferred user preference.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the user interaction is observed by a synchronization client or other client side synchronization code.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the synchronization client or the other client side synchronization code is configured to report observed interactions to the synchronization server.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the inferred user preference is stored in a user profile.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein using the observed user interaction to infer a user preference includes prompting a client side code to pose to a user a clarifying question.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the observed user interaction relates to one or more attributes of synchronization set objects with which a user interacted with subsequent to synchronization.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the observed user interaction relates to an amount of time that elapsed between synchronization of an object and a user'"'"'s first interaction with that object after synchronization.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the access to the subsequently downloaded portions of data associated with the one or more objects determined to be synchronized is provided in a manner determined based at least in part on the inferred user preference, including giving greater priority to downloading changes associated with an object in which a user is predicted to have interest based on the user preference.

22. A computer program product to synchronize data, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

observing, by one or more processors associated with a terminal that communicates with a synchronization server, a user interaction associated with synchronization set data that has been synchronized based on synchronization events downloaded from the synchronization server configured to propagate changes via a synchronization event stream;

using, by one or more processors, the observed user interaction to infer a user preference with respect to downloaded synchronization set data;

obtaining, by one or more processors, the synchronization event stream, the synchronization event stream being provided by the synchronization server, the synchronization event stream comprising one or more synchronization events and one or more corresponding event sequence identifiers that identify the one or more synchronization events, and the one or more synchronization events corresponding to changes to file management system objects synchronized across a plurality of endpoints;

determining, by one or more processors, to synchronize one or more objects based at least in part on the one or more synchronization events comprised in the synchronization event stream and the one or more corresponding event sequence identifiers; and

providing, by one or more processors, access to subsequently downloaded portions of data associated with the one or more objects determined to be synchronized in a manner determined based at least in part on the inferred user preference,

wherein;

the synchronization event stream further comprises an indication of an event type corresponding to the one or more synchronization events, a time associated with the one or more synchronization events, and a node associated with the one or more synchronization events corresponding to a change; and

the one or more objects determined to be synchronized is further determined based at least in part on the event type, and the inferred user preference.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the user interaction is observed by a synchronization client or other client side synchronization code.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the synchronization client or the other client side synchronization code is configured to report observed interactions to the synchronization server.

25. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the inferred user preference is stored in a user profile.