Cross-Machine File Viewer for Network Resource Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current file systems lack an automated tool to analyze and correlate resources across machines in a network, making it difficult to identify common or unique files and apply consistent security policies.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that provides a tree-type interface for users to select and compare files across machines, identifying and presenting common or unique resources, allowing users to apply security policies uniformly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If current file viewing mechanisms display files on each machine separately, then users can view files on individual machines, but there is no automated tool to compare resources across machines and identify common or unique files
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the file comparison task by first identifying common files across machines, then separately identifying unique files. This segmentation allows the complex task of cross-machine file analysis to be broken down into manageable steps: gathering file lists from each machine, comparing them to identify intersections, and presenting results in organized views.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary file viewer system that acts as a mediator between users and the complex task of comparing files across multiple machines. This intermediary provides automated comparison capabilities, common/unique file identification, and consolidated viewing without requiring users to manually analyze each machine's file system individually.
2Ease of operation
If administrators manually analyze files on each machine separately, then they can view file details, but it becomes difficult to apply consistent security policies across the network
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the file viewing functionality into a unified interface that simultaneously displays file information from multiple machines. By combining individual machine file views into a consolidated perspective, administrators can see which files are common across machines and which are unique, enabling consistent security policy application while preserving contextual information about file distribution.
3Loss of information
If the system presents detailed file information from all machines, then users have complete information, but the interface becomes complex and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The interface segments file information into distinct categories: common files and unique files. This segmentation organizes the potentially overwhelming amount of detailed file information from multiple machines into manageable groups, making the interface easier to navigate while preserving complete information about file distribution across the network.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for identifying and presenting various views of files of a set of computers. In one preferred embodiment, the present invention presents a user with an explorer type interface that allows a user to view, for example, all computers of a network, and to select particular ones of the computers for analysis. The present invention allows a user to select specific computers and compare, for example, all files that are common to all those computers, or to display all files unique to each of those computers. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also allows the user to take action on the presented information, such as to apply a common security policy to the group of machines.