Complex Object Retention via Child Snapshot Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Content management systems face challenges in applying retention policies flexibly and effectively to complex objects, which consist of a root object and child objects, as existing methods often unnecessarily retain subsequent versions of child objects.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves creating a snapshot of child objects and extending the retention policy from the root object to this snapshot, ensuring that only the root object and child objects in their initial form are retained, without applying retention to subsequent versions of the child objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If retention policy is applied to all child objects of a complex object, then completeness of retention is improved, but storage space is wasted due to unnecessary retention of subsequent versions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the retention management into two distinct parts: (1) retention policy applied to the root object of the complex object, and (2) snapshot created for child objects at a specific point in time. This segmentation allows the system to retain only the necessary versions of child objects (those in the snapshot) rather than all subsequent versions, thus completing the retention requirement while avoiding storage waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a snapshot of child objects before applying the retention policy. This preliminary action captures the state of child objects at a specific point in time, allowing the system to subsequently retain only these captured versions rather than continuously retaining all new versions that may be created afterward, thereby preventing storage waste while ensuring retention completeness.
2Adaptability or versatility
If retention is applied to each child object separately, then retention flexibility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the retention management of multiple child objects into a unified approach by creating a single snapshot that encompasses all child objects of the complex object. Instead of managing retention for each child object independently (which would increase system complexity), the snapshot provides a consolidated mechanism that maintains retention flexibility while reducing the complexity of tracking and managing individual child object retainers.
Solution Approach 2:
The snapshot serves as a universal mechanism that can be applied to any complex object regardless of the number or type of child objects it contains. This multi-functional approach allows the same snapshot structure to handle retention for diverse child objects (documents, images, videos, etc.), providing retention flexibility without requiring separate complex retention management systems for each object type.
3Loss of information
If all versions of child objects are retained, then data completeness is improved, but retrieval time increases due to larger data volume
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a snapshot of child objects at a specific point in time before retention is applied. This preliminary action captures only the necessary versions of child objects that need to be retained, rather than retaining all versions that may ever be created. As a result, data completeness is maintained for the required retention period while retrieval time is reduced because the system does not need to search through and filter out unnecessary subsequent versions.
Data Source
AI summary
Retention of complex objects is disclosed. An indication is received that retention applied to a root object of a complex object is to be extended to child objects, such as attachments or included files or other content. A snapshot of at least the child objects is stored and the retention that is applied to the root object is extended to the snapshot. Retention of the snapshot ensures that the child objects are retained, so long as and in the same manner as the root object, in the form (e.g., version) in which they are stored at the time retention is applied to the snapshot.