Method and system for synchronizing data shared among peer computing devices
US7743022B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 28, 2003 |
| Grant date | Jun 22, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 4, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/1787
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Disclosed is a data synchronization service for use in a peer-to-peer computing environment. Selected data objects are copied onto selected computing devices. A service running on each device monitors data objects for changes. When a change is detected, the service sends a change notification to the other devices so that they can update their copies of the data object. A user can access a data object from any device, knowing that he will retrieve the latest version of the data object. Instead of incurring the costs of storing a large file on every device, a user “ghosts” the file on some devices. A ghosting device stores only metadata about the file rather than the entire file. The user accesses the file through the ghost: access requests are sent to a device that holds the actual contents, and those contents are presented to the user as if they were stored locally.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.