Cross-scope synchronization of data item knowledge and corresponding metadata

• US 8,284,803 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2009
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Piwonka, Philip Daniel, Novik, Lev, Chitre, Sudarshan, Tambaram Kailasam, Gayathri
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Frank
• Application Number:
  US12/649,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20110158260A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,014 Days
• Field of Search: 370/350, 370/503, 375354-356, 707/609, 707/610, 707620-623
• US Class Current: 370/503
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

The subject disclosure relates to cross scope synchronization among different sets of nodes that synchronize the same data item(s) according to different synchronization scopes. In one aspect, create and update versions are defined for a scope in which a data item was created and updated, respectively, and create and update versions are defined for a local node shared for different groups of nodes synchronizing according to the different synchronization scopes (e.g., a server node).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

synchronizing a set of objects between a node of a plurality of nodes and at least one other node of the plurality of nodes communicatively coupled via one or more networks, where at least two different synchronization scopes apply to at least two different nodes of the plurality of nodes, the node having at least one object of the set of objects shared across at least two different synchronization scopes, synchronizing the set of objects comprising;

using a processing unit, determining first versioning information of the node for the at least one object of the set of objects pertaining to a synchronization scope applicable to a set of nodes of the plurality of nodes where the at least one object at least one of changed or was created, and determining second versioning information of the node for the at least one object applicable to at least one synchronization scope of at least a second set of nodes other than the synchronization scope; and

using the processing unit, synchronizing the at least one object of the set of objects between the node and the at least one other node including determining whether to base the synchronizing on the first versioning information or the second versioning information depending upon a present scope of the synchronizing between the node and the at least one other node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronizing includes synchronizing based on the first versioning information if the present scope of the synchronizing between the node and the at least one other node is the same as the synchronization scope applicable to the set of nodes where the at least one object at least one of changed or was created.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronizing includes synchronizing based on the second versioning information if the present scope of the synchronizing between the node and the at least one other node is different than the synchronization scope applicable to the set of nodes where the at least one object at least one of changed or was created.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronizing includes determining if the synchronization scope of the first versioning information represents that the at least one object at least one of was changed by, or was created on, the node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the synchronizing includes synchronizing based on the second versioning information if the determining yields that the at least one object at least one of was changed by, or was created on, the node.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining includes determining if a synchronization scope identification of the first versioning information or second versioning information is none or null.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each synchronization scope defines data to be synchronized and another node with which the data is to be synchronized.

8. A method for defining metadata for synchronizing among a plurality of devices and according to different synchronization scopes for different sets of devices of the plurality of devices, comprising:

for a device of the plurality of devices having data shared across the different synchronization scopes, synchronizing the data comprising;

defining first versioning information for the device for data of a first community of devices that changed the data under conditions of a first scope defined for the first community of devices;

defining second versioning information for the device for the data for other devices of the plurality of devices that are outside the first community of devices; and

synchronizing the data among the device and another device of the plurality of devices based on at least one of the first versioning information or the second versioning information depending on a present scope of synchronization applying to the device and the another device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the defining of the first versioning information includes defining created versioning information for the data applicable to a created scope in which the data was created.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the defining of the first versioning information includes defining updated versioning information for the data applicable to an updated scope in which the data was updated.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the defining of the second versioning information includes defining created versioning information for the other devices.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the defining of the second versioning information includes defining updated versioning information for the other devices.

13. A node connectable to a plurality of nodes via one or more networks and configured to synchronize a set of data items between the node and at least one other node of the plurality of nodes, comprising:

a synchronization component configured to synchronize the set of data items between the node and the at least one other node and configured to synchronize at least one data item of the set of data items according to at least two different synchronization scopes applying to at least two different groups of nodes of the plurality of nodes and encompassing the at least one data item, the synchronization component including;

a synchronization communications component configured to initiate synchronization with the at least one other node via a synchronization protocol that defines, independent of data type, metadata structure for a knowledge exchange between the at least one other node and the node, configured to transmit to the at least one other node a request to synchronize with the at least one data item within scope for the at least one other node based on the synchronization protocol and configured to receive external knowledge of the at least one data item within the scope for the at least one other node and corresponding versioning information from the at least one other node, wherein the metadata structure for the knowledge exchange includes versioning information for the scope for the at least one other node and versioning information for nodes outside the scope; and

a synchronization analysis component configured to update local knowledge of the at least one data item represented on the node and corresponding node versioning information by comparing the external knowledge of the at least one data item and the corresponding versioning information from the at least one other node with the local knowledge of the at least one data item and the corresponding node versioning information to determine what changes to reflect in revised local knowledge of the at least one data item and the corresponding node versioning information.

14. The node of claim 13, wherein the metadata structure for the knowledge exchange includes created versioning information for a created scope in which the at least one data item was created.

15. The node of claim 14, wherein the created versioning information includes a created node version corresponding to a creating node that created the at least one data item in the created scope.

16. The node of claim 14, wherein the created versioning information includes a local node version based on a created node version corresponding to a creating node that created the at least one data item in the created scope and applicable to nodes of the plurality of nodes outside the created scope.

17. The node of claim 13, wherein the metadata structure for the knowledge exchange includes updated versioning information for an updated scope in which the at least one data item was most recently updated.

18. The node of claim 17, wherein the updated versioning information includes an updated node version corresponding to an updating node that updated the at least one data item in the updated scope.

19. The node of claim 17, wherein the updated versioning information includes a local node version based on an updated node version corresponding to an updating node that updated the at least one data item in the updated scope and applicable to nodes of the plurality of nodes outside the updated scope.

20. The node of claim 13, wherein the synchronization analysis component is further configured to analyze the external knowledge of the data items and the corresponding versioning information from the at least one other node with the local knowledge of the data items and the corresponding node versioning information to determine what second changes to send to additional nodes of the plurality of nodes about which the additional nodes do not know.

21. The node of claim 13, further comprising a metadata management component configured to at least one of tombstone or delete the portions of the versioning information from the local knowledge.

22. The node of claim 13, wherein the synchronization protocol does not prescribe any schema of the actual data being synchronized between the node and the Web service node.