Identity Mapping for Entity Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage and management systems, such as WinFS, face challenges in identifying corresponding entities across different entity stores during synchronization, leading to conflicts and inconsistencies, particularly in maintaining entity identifications and metadata.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an identity mapping mechanism that allows entities to be mapped across various entity stores, enabling the synchronization of new or updated entity identities and metadata within the same operation, while also handling entity merges, deletions, and resurrection, ensuring data consistency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate synchronization and identification processes are used, then data consistency can be maintained, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the synchronization process and the identity mapping process into a single integrated operation. When synchronizing entities between stores, the system simultaneously performs data synchronization and maintains identity mappings, eliminating the need for separate processes and reducing overall system complexity while preserving data consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The synchronization mechanism is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it synchronizes data changes between stores, maintains entity identity mappings, and handles conflict resolution all in one operation. This multi-functional approach reduces the number of separate components needed in the system.
2Measurement precision
If entity identities are maintained across stores, then synchronization accuracy improves, but operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically generates and maintains identity mappings for entities across stores without requiring manual intervention. The synchronization process self-manages the complexity of tracking and updating entity identities, making the operation transparent to users while maintaining high identification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an identity mapping mechanism that acts as an intermediary layer between entity stores. This mediator automatically handles the complex task of tracking entity identities across different stores, simplifying the operational interface while ensuring precise entity identification and matching.
3Reliability
If comprehensive metadata is tracked, then data integrity is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential metadata and identity information needed for synchronization, rather than tracking all possible data attributes. This selective extraction approach maintains data integrity by focusing on critical identification and change-tracking metadata while reducing the processing overhead associated with comprehensive data tracking.
Data Source
AI summary
Mechanisms are provided for identity mapping in synchronization systems. For example, entities can be mapped across various entity stores, such that an entity in one store can be identified with an entity in another store even if such entities are of different types. When entities are being synchronized across various entity stores, new or updated entity identities (and associated metadata) can be supplied to these stores as part of the same operation as that used for supplying changes during synchronization: entities can be merged and associated identity information and metadata can be changed accordingly; entities can be resurrected and new identity information can be created; metadata can be utilized even though entities are deleted, and so on.