Thumbnail Prefetching via Predictive Sort Order Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional remote-based content management systems face limitations in accuracy, efficiency, and functionality due to their inability to generate accurate thumbnails for partial content items, leading to user confusion and significant network latency and resource wastage when retrieving thumbnails from remote servers.
Innovation Solution
A thumbnail prefetching system that predicts file requests based on previous requests and sort orders, allowing for bulk prefetching of thumbnails from a remote server to a client device, reducing the need for individual requests and improving response times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional remote-based content management systems retrieve thumbnails from remote servers upon request, then thumbnails can be provided to client devices, but significant network latency and time delays occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by predicting which thumbnails the client device will request next based on previous requests and sort order analysis, and retrieves these thumbnails in advance before they are actually requested. This eliminates the network latency that would otherwise occur when thumbnails are retrieved on-demand from the remote server.
2Reliability
If client devices serially request thumbnails for partial content items, then each thumbnail can be retrieved individually, but the process takes minutes due to repeated network overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple individual thumbnail retrieval operations into a single bulk retrieval operation. By predicting multiple future thumbnail requests and fetching all predicted thumbnails in one network call, the system eliminates repeated network overhead and significantly accelerates the overall thumbnail provisioning process while maintaining accurate thumbnail delivery.
3Ease of operation
If remote-based content management systems use generic preview icons for partial content items, then client devices can display content existence, but user confusion and inaccurate selections occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary retrieval of accurate thumbnails for partial content items based on predicted client requests. By obtaining and providing the actual thumbnail images from the remote server in advance, the system replaces generic placeholder icons with accurate visual representations of the content, eliminating user confusion while maintaining the ability to display content existence.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to systems, non-transitory computer-readable media, and methods for predicting and prefetching relevant thumbnails from remote servers to client devices based on a dynamic determination of file display criteria. For example, a thumbnail prefetching system utilizes previous thumbnail requests to predict a file directory sort order and determine thumbnails the operating system at the client device will next request. The thumbnail prefetching system can then prefetch the thumbnails prior to the operating system at the client device making thumbnail requests for the files. Thus, when the operating system does request thumbnails for the pertinent files, the thumbnail prefetching system can provide the thumbnails efficiently and quickly while leaving thumbnails for other (unrequested) files stored at the remote server (and not downloaded to the client device).