Shadow Item Storage for Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content management systems face challenges in efficiently managing storage allocation for synchronized content items, leading to reduced space for other items and applications on client devices due to large shared content storage requirements.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a constrained synchronization system that uses shadow items to represent content items, allowing selective storage of metadata without the actual content data, thereby reducing storage needs and increasing available space on client devices, while maintaining access to all shared content items through a content management system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If content management system synchronizes all shared content items to client devices, then content availability and synchronization completeness are improved, but storage space consumed on client devices increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content items into two distinct types: full content items (with actual data) and shadow items (metadata only). This segmentation allows the system to store complete content items on some devices while representing the same content as shadow items on other devices, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining content availability and reducing storage consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates shadow items as lightweight copies that contain only metadata (name, location, attributes) without the actual content data. These shadow item copies enable the system to maintain content references and synchronization information while consuming minimal storage space on client devices.
2Speed
If client devices store full copies of all shared content items, then access speed and offline availability are improved, but storage allocation for other items and applications is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by allowing different client devices to have different storage representations of the same content items based on their specific needs and capabilities. Some devices store full content items for fast offline access, while others store only shadow items to conserve storage space, with each device optimized for its particular use case.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically determines whether to store full content items or shadow items on each client device based on factors such as device storage capacity, user access patterns, and network connectivity. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt storage strategies in real-time, balancing access speed requirements against storage allocation constraints.
3Quantity of substance
If shadow items are used to represent content items, then storage efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases due to managing both full items and shadow items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a content synchronization system that acts as an intermediary between full content items and shadow items. This intermediary manages the conversion between the two forms, handles synchronization logic, and maintains the relationship between shadow items and their corresponding full content items, thereby reducing the perceived complexity for end users and applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where shadow items automatically convert to full content items when needed, and the synchronization system autonomously manages the conversion process based on detected conditions such as user access requests or storage requirements, reducing manual intervention and simplifying user interaction.
4Quantity of substance
If selective synchronization is implemented to reduce storage usage, then storage burden is reduced, but synchronization completeness and content accessibility may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-creating shadow items for all shared content items before actual content access occurs. This allows the system to maintain complete content references and metadata in advance, enabling fast content discovery and selection without requiring full content items to be pre-synchronized, thus maintaining content accessibility while reducing storage burden.
Data Source
AI summary
A content management system synchronizes content items across client computing systems connected by a network. If a storage allocation for shared content items on a client device is exceeded by the request to add or edit a content item such that it is enlarged, a client application or the host of content management system selects content items to remove from residence on the client device but keep remotely on content management system. Upon removal of the selected content items, the client application creates shadow items, representing the content item but only containing the metadata of the content item. This creates sufficient space while maintaining user access to all synchronized shared content items. Entries in a file journal may be used to track and manage whether a stored item is a content item or a shadow item.