File System Placeholders for Remote Content Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in accessing and storing large collections of files across multiple devices due to limited storage capacity, high bandwidth costs, and time-consuming data transfer, especially when devices have limited storage or unreliable network connectivity.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of file system placeholders that represent remote file system objects, allowing for metadata and partial or full content storage locally, enabling efficient data streaming and reducing storage requirements, while maintaining accessibility even when remote storage is unavailable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If all user content is downloaded to each computing device, then file accessibility is improved, but storage requirements and bandwidth consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments file content into two parts: metadata (stored locally in the placeholder) and actual content (stored remotely). This allows the system to provide file accessibility through local metadata while avoiding the need to store complete content copies on each device, thus resolving the contradiction between accessibility and storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces placeholders as intermediary objects that represent remote files locally. These placeholders contain metadata and enable file access operations without requiring the actual content to be present on the local device, thereby providing accessibility while minimizing local storage usage.
2Ease of operation
If all user content is downloaded to each computing device, then file accessibility is improved, but bandwidth consumption and transfer time increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting file access into metadata retrieval (local) and content retrieval (remote on-demand), the patent minimizes bandwidth consumption. Only metadata needs to be transferred and stored locally, while actual content remains remote and is only transferred when specifically accessed, resolving the contradiction between accessibility and bandwidth usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by storing metadata locally in placeholders during initial setup or synchronization. This preliminary local storage of access information eliminates the need for repeated full content downloads, reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining accessibility.
3Quantity of substance
If placeholders store only metadata without content, then storage requirements are reduced, but file access capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The placeholder acts as an intermediary that bridges local metadata storage and remote content storage. It contains sufficient metadata to identify and access the remote file, enabling file access operations without storing the actual content locally, thus maintaining access capability while minimizing storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent shifts from a single-dimension local storage model to a two-dimension model combining local metadata storage and remote content storage. This dimensional change allows the system to maintain file access capability through the coordination of local placeholders and remote content repositories.
4Speed
If complete content is stored locally, then file access speed is improved, but storage requirements and synchronization complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the file system into local placeholders (metadata) and remote content repositories. This segmentation simplifies synchronization by reducing the amount of data that needs to be synchronized (only metadata in placeholders) while maintaining fast access through local metadata operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of synchronizing complete file content, the patent synchronizes only the necessary metadata portion locally in placeholders. This partial action approach reduces synchronization complexity and data transfer requirements while maintaining sufficient access capability through the placeholder-remote content relationship.
Data Source
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AI summary
Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to file system placeholders. In aspects, placeholders may be used by a client to represent remote file system objects. The placeholders may include metadata and may also include none, some, or all of the content of the represented remote file system objects. In response to a request to access content of a file system object represented by a placeholder, a client may obtain needed data from a remote storage system and stream or not stream the data to the requesting application based on whether the requesting application is capable of streaming the data.