Cloud Storage Aggregator for Policy-Based File Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face complexity in managing multiple cloud storage accounts due to limited storage sizes and varying policies across providers, requiring manual synchronization and file management across different services.
Innovation Solution
A storage manager aggregates multiple cloud storage providers into a single virtual storage device, enabling file distribution and management through load balancing, fragmentation, and pipelined processing to leverage provider-specific features and policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If users manually manage synchronization between multiple cloud storage providers, then file storage capacity is maximized, but user complexity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a local storage aggregator that acts as an intermediary between the user's device and multiple cloud storage providers. This aggregator presents a unified virtual file system to the user while automatically managing file distribution across multiple cloud accounts, eliminating the need for manual synchronization and reducing user complexity significantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple cloud storage accounts into a single virtual storage space through the local aggregator. By merging the interfaces and management of multiple providers into one unified system, the user experiences simplified file management while the system leverages the total storage capacity of all connected providers.
2Speed
If files are stored in a single cloud storage provider, then access speed is improved, but reliability and security decrease when the service is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments files into multiple fragments and distributes them across different cloud storage providers. This segmentation ensures that no single provider holds the complete file, so even if one service is compromised or becomes unavailable, the file can still be reconstructed from fragments stored at other providers, thereby improving reliability and security.
3Reliability
If files are fragmented and distributed across multiple providers, then security and reliability are enhanced, but file access complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The local storage aggregator automatically handles the complexity of file fragmentation and distribution without requiring user intervention. The system self-manages the reconstruction of fragmented files when accessed, transparently coordinating with multiple cloud providers to assemble complete files from their fragments, thereby maintaining simplicity for the end user while achieving enhanced security.
4Quantity of substance
If multiple cloud storage providers are used, then total storage capacity increases, but synchronization management time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The local storage aggregator performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing a unified virtual file system structure before actual file operations occur. This allows the system to pre-calculate optimal file distribution strategies and maintain real-time knowledge of available storage capacity across all providers, enabling rapid file placement decisions without time-consuming synchronization delays.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes systems and methods for aggregation and management of cloud storage to leverage third-party storage policies. Some cloud storage providers may allow users to store some types of files for free, without counting the files against a storage quota or limit, such as photos. Other providers may allow users to store music files, and may automatically replace lower quality recordings with high quality versions (improving quality for the user while performing deduplication and storage mitigation by the server). These policies may be utilized by a storage manager to direct corresponding types of files to specific storage providers to take advantage of free storage or further processing. The files may be excluded from load balancing algorithms, such that storage quotas are not unbalanced as a result of policies of one provider.