Data Synchronizer Failover Using Universal Format Caching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing data management systems face challenges in synchronizing data stored in disparate formats and recovering from synchronization failures, leading to errors and difficulties in maintaining data consistency across different applications.

Innovation Solution

A data management system with a universal synchronizer that caches data updates in a universal format and uses a failover mechanism with standby synchronizers to identify and recover from synchronization failures, ensuring seamless data synchronization across multiple disparate formats.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If data is synchronized across multiple disparate formats using a single active synchronizer, then data consistency is maintained, but the system reliability deteriorates when synchronization failures occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization reliabilityVSAvoidsynchronizer architecture complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements standby synchronizers that are pre-configured and ready to take over if the active synchronizer fails. This preliminary preparation ensures that failover can occur immediately without waiting for failure detection and system reconfiguration, thereby maintaining high reliability without requiring complex real-time switching mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a failover mechanism as an intermediary layer between the active synchronizer and the data stores. This mediator monitors the active synchronizer's health and automatically switches to a standby synchronizer when failures are detected, resolving the contradiction by adding a simple monitoring and switching layer rather than redesigning the entire synchronization architecture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If synchronization failures are not detected, then the system operates continuously, but errors persist and spread across data stores

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization continuityVSAvoiddata consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where standby synchronizers monitor the active synchronizer's performance and data consistency. When inconsistencies or failures are detected through this feedback loop, the system automatically triggers a failover to a standby synchronizer, ensuring both continuous operation and data consistency are maintained simultaneously

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The failover mechanism operates autonomously without requiring external intervention. The standby synchronizers self-monitor the system health and automatically activate when needed, enabling the system to detect and correct its own failures while maintaining continuous synchronization operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Device complexity

If manual intervention is required to recover from synchronization failures, then system complexity is reduced, but recovery time and operational burden increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem architecture simplicityVSAvoidrecovery time

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements an automated failover mechanism where standby synchronizers automatically detect failures and take over synchronization operations without requiring manual intervention. This self-service approach eliminates recovery delays and operational burden while maintaining relatively simple system architecture through the use of pre-configured standby instances

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Reliability

If multiple synchronizers are deployed for failover capability, then system reliability improves, but monitoring and managing synchronization progress becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefailover capabilityVSAvoidsynchronization progress tracking

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the monitoring and progress tracking functions into a unified mechanism that works across both active and standby synchronizers. The synchronization progress and status are centralized and accessible to all synchronizer instances, allowing automatic failover while maintaining simple and consistent progress tracking without requiring complex multi-instance coordination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS7693888B2Data synchronizer with failover facility

Publication Date: 2010.04.06 UNIFY BETEILIGUNGSVERWALTUNG GMBH & CO KG

AI summary

A data management system with data stored in multiple disparate formats in synchronized stores, method of synchronizing the data and recovering from synchronization failures and program product therefor. Data changes in one data store are cached in a universal format in an active synchronizer and forwarded to a second store from the universal format cache. Standby synchronizers provide failover handling by identifying synchronization failures and self-selecting a replacement synchronizer to serve as the active synchronizer.