Group Synchronization Mechanism for Cross-Device Data Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in synchronizing data across multiple machines, such as laptops and desktops, leading to lost bookmarks, browsing history, and instant message history, due to the lack of seamless integration and synchronization of applications and data across different devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a synchronization mechanism where each machine in a group has information to identify other members, allowing for synchronization of activities, data, and user presence across machines within the group, using multicast Domain Name Service (mDNS) for service discovery and heuristic algorithms to determine active and inactive machines, enabling real-time data sharing and notification forwarding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple machines are used for different locations and purposes, then user mobility and flexibility are improved, but data synchronization and consistency across machines deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple machines into a unified group where data and user presence are shared across all members. The system combines information from multiple sources (machines) to create a synchronized state, allowing users to access their data and presence information from any machine in the group without manual re-entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal synchronization mechanism that works across different machine types and locations. The group synchronization system provides multi-functional capability to handle various data types (bookmarks, browsing history, instant message history) and presence information uniformly across all machines in the group.
2Ease of operation
If manual re-entry of data is required when switching machines, then data portability is reduced, but system complexity is minimized
Solution Approach 1:
The synchronization system operates autonomously without requiring user intervention. The machines automatically detect user presence, exchange data, and synchronize information in the background. The system serves itself by automatically managing the synchronization process, eliminating the need for manual data re-entry while keeping the user experience simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary synchronization mechanism that mediates between multiple machines. This intermediary system handles the complex data exchange and coordination tasks, allowing individual machines to remain relatively simple while achieving sophisticated synchronization across the group.
3Reliability
If synchronization occurs in real-time across all machines, then data consistency is improved, but network bandwidth and processing energy are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The synchronization system uses periodic updates triggered by user presence detection rather than continuous real-time synchronization. Data is synchronized periodically when users activate or deactivate machines, reducing network traffic while maintaining data consistency. This periodic action occurs at meaningful intervals rather than continuously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting user presence and pre-synchronizing data before the user actually needs to switch machines. This preliminary synchronization ensures data consistency is maintained proactively, reducing the need for reactive data transfers and optimizing network bandwidth usage.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to support synchronizing machines in groups. In some embodiments, synchronization is implemented by receiving an indication to activate a selected machine of a group of sync-aware machines connected to a subnet of a network, where each member of the group has information identifying all members of the group. Further activities include transmitting an activation message from the selected machine to the remainder of the group to notify the remainder that the selected machine is active, capturing a record of activities conducted at the selected machine while the selected machine is active, and transmitting information, based on the record, to the remainder of the group from the selected machine to synchronize results of the activities with the remainder after the selected machine becomes inactive. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.