Virtual Email Storage for Distribution List Bottlenecks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Corporate email systems face significant storage challenges due to large email distribution lists, as a single email sent to thousands of recipients can consume substantial database resources, leading to increased storage demands and costs, especially when attachments are included.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where emails sent to distribution lists are stored in a designated location on the server, and virtual emails are sent to recipients containing only header information and a link to the original email, allowing recipients to access and view the original email without storing a copy locally, thereby reducing storage requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If emails are sent to large distribution lists, then communication reach is improved, but storage space consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy mechanism where a single physical email is replicated into multiple virtual instances across recipient mailboxes. Each recipient receives a virtual email that references the master copy rather than containing duplicate content, enabling wide distribution while maintaining single-instance storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual email intermediary layer between the sender and recipients. This virtual email acts as a mediator that contains references to the original email stored in the sender's mailbox, allowing recipients to access the content without creating physical duplicates in the database.
2Adaptability or versatility
If email database size is increased to accommodate distribution lists, then email distribution capability is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses virtual copying to create multiple email instances that reference a single physical storage location. This approach maintains distribution capability without requiring proportional increases in database size, avoiding the need for complex scalable storage solutions like RAID.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs lightweight virtual email objects that consume minimal storage resources compared to full email copies. These virtual emails act as disposable references that can be created and deleted without impacting the underlying storage infrastructure.
3Loss of information
If attachments are included in emails, then information completeness is improved, but email size and storage demands increase greatly
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual email mechanism ensures that attachments are stored only once in the sender's mailbox rather than being copied to each recipient's mailbox. The virtual email references the original email with its attachments, maintaining information completeness while eliminating redundant storage of large attachment data.
4Quantity of substance
If emails are moved to local storage, then server storage burden is reduced, but local storage availability becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables recipients to access email content and attachments from the sender's mailbox through virtual email references, eliminating the need to copy emails to local PST files. This approach reduces server storage burden while avoiding the limitation of local storage capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for distributing email includes receiving an email generated by a sender and addressed to a plurality of intended recipients. The generated email is stored in a designated location. A virtual email is sent to the plurality of intended recipients. The virtual email contains information for viewing the stored email from the designated location.