Hosted LAN Search Crawler for Private Network Information Discovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional search engines are limited in their ability to efficiently search and organize information within private local area networks (LANs), as they typically copy entire documents and index them by document metadata rather than items of interest, and are restricted to searching only within a user's computer, failing to discover and collect information from other devices.
Innovation Solution
A hosted searching system that employs a LAN crawler to automatically collect descriptive information from multiple devices across a private LAN, using a discovery module, generic-probing module, and specific-probing plug-ins to gather relevant data, which is then reported and organized by items of interest, and a centralized-search server system to create and synchronize search databases and provide user interfaces for searching this information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional search engines copy entire documents and index by document metadata, then complete information is collected, but processing time and storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary descriptive information and metadata from documents rather than copying entire documents. The collection module identifies and collects only relevant fields such as document metadata, descriptive information, and items of interest, eliminating unnecessary data processing and storage overhead while maintaining search capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the document information into distinct components: document metadata, descriptive information, and items of interest. This segmentation allows the system to process and index only the essential elements needed for searching, rather than handling complete documents, thereby reducing processing time and resource consumption.
2Speed
If desktop search tools search only local computer files, then search speed is fast, but the scope of searchable information is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal search system that can operate across multiple information sources including local computers, private LANs, and external networks. The hosted search engine provides multi-functional capability to search diverse information sources while maintaining efficient search performance through standardized information collection and indexing methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hosted search engine as an intermediary between users and multiple information sources. This intermediary collects and indexes information from various sources including local computers and private LANs, enabling users to search across expanded scopes without directly accessing each source, thus maintaining search speed while increasing versatility.
3Stability of the object's composition
If search engines organize information by documents, then document integrity is maintained, but retrieval efficiency for specific items decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a new organizational dimension to information storage by creating indexes based on items of interest rather than just document structure. This multi-dimensional indexing allows the system to maintain document integrity while enabling efficient retrieval of specific items across multiple documents through alternative access paths.
4Adaptability or versatility
If LAN crawlers collect information from multiple devices, then information coverage increases, but system complexity and deployment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms in the LAN crawler that automatically discover devices, adapt to different network configurations, and collect information without extensive manual configuration. The system performs self-diagnosis and automatic setup, reducing deployment complexity while maintaining comprehensive information coverage across multiple devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Hosted searching of private LAN information is described. The apparatus includes a LAN crawler to automatically and repeatedly crawl a LAN having multiple devices, using a discovery module to discover the devices, a generic-probing module to attempt to collect the descriptive information according to a first set of probing requirements, and multiple specific-probing plug-ins each of which attempt to collect the descriptive information according to a second set of specific probing requirements. In another embodiment, the apparatus also includes a hosted on-demand search system including a centralized-search server to create and synchronize a private search database. The centralized-search server includes an application interface to receive a request to access the private search database from a third-party add-on application, to provide the accessed information to the third-party add-on application, and to receive from the third-party add-on application an application rendered component to be displayed on the user interface.