Archive Tracking System for Message Compliance Verification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current message archiving systems lack the ability to record and verify the actions taken during the archiving process, making it difficult to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and identify issues with archiving protocols.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a system that captures and stores archive tracking information, including process history, to track the actions taken on messages, whether archived or not, and provides a detailed audit trail to verify the proper operation of archiving processes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If message archiving systems store backup copies of messages to ensure availability and free up storage space, then message redundancy and storage capacity are improved, but the ability to track and verify archiving actions is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemessage availabilityVSAvoidarchive processing history
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the archiving system into distinct functional components: the message archiving system that performs archiving operations, and the archive tracking system that records processing history. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component - the archiving system focuses on message storage and retrieval while the tracking system maintains detailed records of all archiving actions, thereby resolving the contradiction between ensuring message availability and preserving processing information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary component - the archive tracking system - that acts as a mediator between the message archiving system and external verification mechanisms. This tracking system captures and stores detailed information about archiving actions without interfering with the core archiving function, enabling both reliable message storage and comprehensive process verification to coexist.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Device complexity

If archiving systems operate without detailed tracking, then system complexity is reduced, but compliance verification and issue identification become difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem structureVSAvoidarchiving protocol verification
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary action by having the archive tracking system capture and record archiving processing information in real-time as archiving operations occur. This proactive tracking approach ensures that all archiving actions are documented before compliance verification or issue identification is needed, eliminating the need for complex post-hoc analysis while maintaining verification capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where the archive tracking system continuously monitors and records archiving operations, providing ongoing information about system performance and compliance status. This feedback loop enables automatic detection of issues and facilitates verification without requiring complex manual inspection procedures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If comprehensive archive tracking information is captured and stored, then compliance verification and issue identification are improved, but data storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvearchive verification accuracyVSAvoidtracking data volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential and relevant information from the archiving process for storage in the archive tracking system. Rather than storing complete message content or all possible metadata, the system selectively captures specific processing information such as archiving status, timestamps, and key event data. This extraction approach provides sufficient verification accuracy while minimizing data storage requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9235641B1Method and apparatus for archive processing of electronic messages
Publication Date: 2016.01.12 EMC IP HLDG CO LLC
  • US9235641B1 patent drawing
  • US9235641B1 patent drawing
  • US9235641B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A method and system for detection, storage and/or display of archive tracking information regarding archiving process history for archived and/or non-archived messages (e.g., email messages). Such information may be useful in determining reasons why a message, or group of messages, was archived or not, and thereby assessing the functioning of an archiving system. The process history information may include a processing type for the electronic message indicating whether the message was archived or not, and if the message was not archived, may indicate whether the message is a duplicate of another archived message, the message was filtered, or the archiving of the message failed. Event data may be recorded indicating a detailed reason why a message was not archived, a current location of the message, one or more rules applied to the electronic message during an archival filtering operation, and/or one or more rules that caused the electronic message to be selected for archiving.