Client Backup Status Files for Remote Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional online backup services rely on server-based directories or file systems to determine the storage location of backed-up files, limiting remote access and user experience, especially in mobile environments where network delays are prevalent.
Innovation Solution
The client software application generates and maintains backup status files to locate and piece together encrypted file segments, enabling asynchronous cache validation for fast remote data access, allowing users to retrieve data from local caches before validating cache entries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If server-based directories or file systems are used to determine storage location of backed-up files, then centralized control and management are achieved, but remote access speed and user experience deteriorate due to network delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the storage location determination function from the server-based system and places it in client-side backup status files. Each client device maintains local metadata including file paths, directory structures, and storage location information, eliminating the need for server-based directory lookups during file retrieval operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining backup status files that cache storage location information before actual file access occurs. These status files are updated during backup operations, so when files need to be retrieved or validated, the location information is already available locally without requiring real-time server communication.
2Reliability
If cache validation is performed synchronously before data retrieval, then data consistency is ensured, but access time increases due to network delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs cache validation asynchronously in the background after data retrieval begins, rather than blocking the access operation. The validation process checks whether cached files match current backup status by comparing hashes or metadata, and updates the backup status if inconsistencies are found, all without preventing the user from accessing the data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an asynchronous validation mechanism that acts as an intermediary between data access and consistency verification. The validation process runs in parallel threads or background tasks, allowing the main data access operation to proceed while consistency checks are performed separately, thus eliminating the blocking effect.
3Reliability
If all backed-up data is stored and validated on the server, then centralized data integrity is maintained, but network bandwidth consumption increases in mobile environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the data validation function from the server and implements it locally on client devices. The backup status files stored on each client device enable local validation of cached files by comparing file hashes or metadata against the backup status information, eliminating the need to continuously validate all backed-up data on the server.
Solution Approach 2:
Each client device performs self-validation of its cached backed-up data using locally stored backup status files. The system automatically checks whether cached files are current by comparing their metadata or hashes with the backup status, and updates the backup status when changes are detected, all without requiring server involvement for each validation operation.
Data Source
AI summary
The remote access to backed-up user data techniques include a method, a system, and/or an apparatus. In some embodiments of these techniques, the method includes receiving a request from a user interface to view a backed-up data. The method further includes retrieving a cache entry corresponding to the backed-up data from a cache, displaying contents of the backed-up data in the user interface using the retrieved cache entry, and validating the cache entry after displaying the contents of the backed-up data.