Data transfer and synchronization between mobile systems using change log

• US 8,442,943 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2008
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Synchronoss Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synchronoss Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Multer, David L., Garner, Robert E., Ridgard, Leighton A., Stannard, Liam J., Cash, Donald W., Onyon, Richard M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Le H
• Application Number:
  US12/228,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20090055464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• Field of Search: 707/201, 707/200, 707/203, 707/204, 707/609, 707/610, 707/621, 707/638, 707/646, 707/648, 713/400, 713/401, 709/248, 709/203, 340/5.92, 710/20, 717/170, 455/423, 714/15
• US Class Current: 707/621
• 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: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system and method for synchronizing devices which can couple to the Internet, or any network. In one aspect a system for synchronizing data between a first system and a second system is provided. The system includes a first sync engine on the first system interfacing with data on the first system to provide difference information. A data store is coupled to the network and in communication with the first and second systems. A second sync engine is provided on the second system coupled to receive the difference information from the data store via the network, and interface with data on the second system to update said data on the second system with said difference information. Difference information is transmitted to the data store by the first sync engine and received from the data store from the second sync engine.

Claims

1. A system implemented on a wireless telephone having a plurality of application data destinations each having an application data format, comprising:

a difference engine in the wireless telephone, the difference engine configured for receiving a change log comprising difference information associated with the plurality of application data destinations, wherein the difference information comprises a data file containing change transactions, including a transaction reflecting a change to at least one application data destination, the transaction stored in a universal data format; and

an application interface in the wireless telephone, the application interface configured for applying the difference information to the at least one application data destination.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the application interface receives change information in the universal data format.

3. The system of claim 1 further including a decryption routine configured for decrypting the difference information prior to input to the difference engine.

4. The system of claim 1 further including a compression routine configured for decompressing the difference information prior to input to the difference engine.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the mobile telephone is configured to operatively couple to multiple networks.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a versioning module configured for determining a version of the difference information.

7. The system of claim 1 further including an event trigger configured for enabling receipt of the difference information.

8. A method for updating application data files each having an application data file type on a wireless telephone, comprising:

receiving difference information from a change log file for a plurality of the application data files on the wireless telephone, wherein each item of difference information comprises a transaction for an application data file of the plurality of application data files and the transaction is stored in a universal data format;

converting the transaction from the universal data format to the application data file type of the application data file, and

applying the transaction to the appropriate one of the plurality of application data files on the wireless telephone.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein

the change log details changes to a second set of data files on a device and the method further comprises:

applying the changes to a data store containing data identical to the data files to generate changed data.

10. A system for synchronizing data between a first system and a second system, comprising:

a first sync engine on the first system interfacing with a first set of application data files each having an application data file type and a previous state of application data files associated with the first system to generate a first change log comprising difference information for a plurality of the first set of application data files, each item of difference information comprising a transaction for an application data file, and the transaction is stored in a universal data format;

a data store coupled to a network and in communication with the first and second systems storing the first change log from the first sync engine; and

a second sync engine on the second system coupled to receive the first change log from the data store, and interfacing with a second set of application data files on the second system to update the second set of application data files on the second system with difference information in the first change log, wherein the second synch engine is configured to convert a transaction of difference information from the universal file format to the application data type of an application data file to be updated.

11. The system of claim 10 further including a third device having a third sync engine interfacing with a third set of application data files and a previous state of application data associated with the third set of application data files on the third device to generate a second change log.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein a data store stores the first and second log changes.

13. The system of claim 12 where the first and second change logs contain the difference information for a particular user.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the second sync engine is coupled to receive the first and second change logs from the data store and interfaces with the second set of application data files on the second system to update data on the second system with the difference information in the first and second change logs.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the change log is transmitted to the data store at a first point in time, and received from the data store at a second, subsequent point in time.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the second sync engine interfaces with the data on the second system to provide a third change log.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the first sync engine couples to the data store to retrieve the third change log and interfaces with the data on the first system to update the data on the first system with the third change log.

18. The system of claim 10 further including a management server coupled to the network and in communication with the first sync engine, the second sync engine and the data store.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the management server authorizes access of the difference information on the data store by the first and the second sync engines.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the data comprises changes to a previous state of the data, and the difference information comprises the changes in an encoded, universal format.

21. The system of claim 10 wherein the first sync engine and the second sync engine each comprise:

an application data interface; and

a difference transaction generator.

22. The system of claim 10 wherein the first system includes a processing device and a data storage apparatus, and the previous state of data is provided on the data storage apparatus.

23. The system of claim 10 wherein the previous state of application data files is provided on a storage device in communication with the first system.

24. A method of synchronizing data between a first device and a second device, comprising:

receiving at least one change log from a first sync engine on the first device reflecting changes to a first set of application data files on the first device between the first set of application data files and a data store reflecting a previous state of data on the first device;

storing the at least one change log in a data storage server coupled to the network and in communication with the first device and the second device; and

providing the at least one change log to a second sync engine on the second device coupled to receive the change log from the data store, and interfacing with a second set of application data files on the second device to update the second set of application data files on the second device with difference information in the change log, wherein the at least one change log comprises difference information for a plurality of the first set of application data files, each application data file having an application data file type, each item of difference information comprising a transaction for an application data file and the transaction is stored in a universal data format.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein receiving occurs at a first point in time, and providing occurs at a second, subsequent point in time.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein providing is performed in response to a call from the second device for at least one change log.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein receiving includes receiving at least a first and a second change log from at least a respective first and second device, each change log including changes for a respective first and second user.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein receiving includes receiving a plurality of change logs.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein providing includes providing at least one of the plurality of change logs to the second device.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein each of the plurality of change logs includes changes for a user.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the plurality of change logs includes changes for at least two users, each change log containing changes for one of the at least two users.

32. A method of transmitting changes between a first device and a second device on a network, comprising:

providing to a first device, code operable to extract a change log of differences between at least a first data file on the first device and a first data store associated with the first device;

storing one of the change logs on a data storage device coupled to the network, the change logs being segregated by user; and

providing, to a second device, code operable to apply the differences in the change log from the first device to at least a first data file on the second device, and code operable to extract a second change log of differences between a second data file on the second device and a second data store associated with the second device,

wherein a difference in a change log comprises data stored in a universal data format, and applying a difference in a change log comprises converting the difference from the universal data format to a data format of the first data file.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the first change transactions are transmitted to the first data store by the first device at a first point in time and received from the second data store by the second device at a second, subsequent point in time.

34. The method of claim 32 wherein the first differencing code receives second change transactions from the first data store to and interfaces with at least the first data file on to update the data with said second change log.

35. The method of claim 32 further comprising receiving a plurality of change logs from the code on the first device and the second device, each change log reflecting changes to data for a user on one of the devices, the changes being between application data on the first device and a data store reflecting a previous state of data on the first device.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising providing one or more of the plurality of change logs for the user to a requesting one of the devices including code interfacing with data on the first device to update data on the first device with difference information in the change log.

37. A method of performing a pull synchronization of a plurality of application data files on a mobile telephone, each application data file having an application data file format, comprising:

operatively coupling the mobile telephone with a device that comprises a change log of difference information when the pull synchronization is triggered, the difference information associated with the plurality of application data files and a user having a user identification, the difference information comprising change transactions stored in a universal data format;

authenticating a user identification;

initiating a management server lock;

determining whether a new version of an application data file of the plurality of application data files exists on the device;

retrieving the change log of difference information from the device; and

converting a transaction of the difference information associated with the user to the application data file format, and applying the transaction to the application data file on the mobile telephone, thereby updating the application data file with the new version.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein a trigger event triggers a synchronization request.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the synchronization request is confirmed.

40. The method of claim 37 wherein authenticating the user identification occurs at a management server.

41. The method of claim 37 wherein the management server lock prevents conflicting device engines from coupling to same data at the same time.

42. The method of claim 37 further comprising resolving conflicts between a first version of data on the mobile phone and a second version of data on the device.

43. The method of claim 37 wherein applying the difference information includes at least one of updating an item, updating an application, updating a device and updating a network.

44. A method of performing a push synchronization of a plurality of application data files on a mobile telephone, each application data file having an application data file format, comprising:

determining if a synchronization event occurred;

determining if difference information exists;

operatively coupling the mobile telephone to a device that comprises a change log of difference information when the synchronization event occurs, the difference information associated with the plurality of application data files and a user having a user identification, the difference information comprising change transactions stored in a universal data format;

authenticating a user identification;

initiating a management server lock;

uploading the change log of difference information from the device;

converting a transaction of the difference information associated with the user to the application data file format, and applying the transaction to the application data file on the mobile phone;

releasing the management server lock; and

terminating the coupling of the mobile telephone to the device.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein authenticating the user occurs at a management server.

46. The method of claim 44 wherein the management server lock prevents conflicting device engines from coupling to same data at the same time.

47. The method of claim 44 wherein the device is a storage server.

48. The method of claim 44 wherein the difference information includes at least one of an item information, an application information, a device information and a network information.