Federated Library for Cross-Server Content Hierarchy Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users interacting with multiple content servers must separately access and manage content items stored on different servers, leading to inconsistencies and inefficiencies, as each server has its own management hierarchy, requiring manual download and recreation of hierarchies to maintain consistency.
Innovation Solution
A federated content management system utilizing a federated library and federated metadata propagation, where a federated library stores content items from multiple servers as accessible federated content items, and a federated database manages metadata, with agents communicating metadata between content servers and the database, enabling seamless access and management across servers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users access multiple content servers separately to manage content items, then each server maintains its own content management hierarchy, but users must manually download and recreate hierarchies across servers, increasing time consumption and manual effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a federated library as an intermediary component that sits between multiple content servers and provides unified access to federated content items. The federated library receives content items from different content servers, stores them with federated identifiers, and enables cross-server access without requiring manual hierarchy recreation. This intermediary abstracts the complexity of multiple server hierarchies into a single unified interface.
2Adaptability or versatility
If each content server maintains its own content management hierarchy, then server independence is preserved, but consistency across servers requires manual intervention, reducing operational efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content management system into independent content servers that each maintain their own hierarchies, while introducing a separate federated library layer that provides unified access. This segmentation allows servers to remain independent and maintain their own management structures, while the federated library enables efficient cross-server operations without compromising server autonomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The federated library acts as a mediator that enables consistent content access across independent servers. It receives content items from various servers, assigns federated identifiers, and provides a unified interface for accessing federated content items across the distributed system, thereby improving operational efficiency without requiring servers to lose their independence.
3Quantity of substance
If content items are stored on separate content servers with different hierarchies, then distributed storage is maintained, but users must separately access each server, increasing system complexity and reducing ease of operation
Solution Approach 1:
The federated library serves as an intermediary that provides a unified access interface to distributed content items stored on multiple servers. Users interact with the federated library through a single interface rather than separately accessing each content server. The federated library handles the complexity of locating and retrieving content items from the appropriate servers, thereby maintaining distributed storage while significantly improving ease of operation.
4Stability of the object's composition
If manual download and recreation of hierarchies is required across content servers, then data consistency can be maintained, but manual effort and potential for errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The federated library acts as an intermediary that automatically manages hierarchy consistency across content servers. Instead of requiring manual download and recreation of hierarchies, the federated library receives content items from various servers, assigns federated identifiers, and maintains consistent access patterns. This automated intermediary process reduces manual effort and minimizes the potential for human error while maintaining data consistency.
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with an embodiment, a system and method is described for enabling federated content management using a federated library and federated metadata propagation. The system can include a plurality of content servers, each including a processor and configured to store content items at a respective content database. The system can also include a federated library configured to store content items received from the plurality of content servers, as federated content items accessible to each content server of the plurality of content servers, and a federated database configured to receive and store metadata associated with the federated content items. The system can also include a federative agent associated with each content server and configured to communicate the metadata between the plurality of content servers and the federated database. In an embodiment, the system can be provided as a reusable, pluggable component for use with existing content management systems.