Virtual Repository Management for Legacy Content Systems

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing content management systems struggle to uniformly manage content across multiple systems with different characteristics, especially legacy systems, due to the time-consuming and costly process of migration, which prevents owners from leveraging the native functionality and desirable characteristics of these systems.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method for virtual repository management that generates and populates reference objects to enable content management functionality across external content items in legacy systems, allowing these systems to be managed as if they were native to the content management system, through adapters that translate and normalize requests and responses.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If content is migrated to a common content management system, then centralized management capability is improved, but time consumption and cost increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecentralized management capabilityVSAvoidmigration time

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a virtual repository as an intermediary layer between the content management system and multiple legacy repositories. This virtual repository provides centralized management capabilities without requiring actual data migration, thereby resolving the contradiction between centralized control and migration time/cost.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates virtual copies (reference objects) of content items from legacy repositories within the virtual repository. These reference objects enable centralized management operations without moving the actual content, thus achieving centralized control while avoiding migration overhead.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Ease of operation

If content is migrated to a common content management system, then centralized management capability is improved, but cost increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecentralized management capabilityVSAvoidmigration cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The virtual repository acts as a cost-effective intermediary that provides centralized management functionality without the high costs associated with full data migration to a new system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of expensive physical migration, the system creates lightweight virtual copies (reference objects) that enable centralized management at minimal cost while preserving the original content in legacy systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Ease of operation

If legacy systems are replaced with a new content management system, then uniform management is improved, but native functionality and desirable characteristics are lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuniform managementVSAvoidnative functionality

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the management functionality from the storage functionality. The virtual repository provides uniform management operations, while legacy repositories retain their native storage and functionality characteristics, resolving the contradiction between uniformity and adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The virtual repository provides universal management capabilities that work uniformly across multiple legacy repositories with different native functionalities, allowing the system to maintain both uniform management and system-specific adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Ease of operation

If multiple legacy systems are integrated into a single system, then centralized management is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecentralized managementVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The virtual repository serves as a simplifying intermediary layer that manages the complexity of integrating multiple legacy systems. It provides a unified interface to users while handling the complexity of communicating with multiple underlying repositories through adapters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates simplified reference objects in the virtual repository that abstract away the complexity of the underlying legacy systems, providing centralized management without directly exposing the complexity of multiple system integrations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP1979817B1Virtual repository management to provide functionality

Publication Date: 2019.08.14 DELL EMC

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

AI summary

Virtual repository management to provide functionality is disclosed. An indication is received that a content management functionality is desired to be performed with respect to one or more external content items stored in a repository that does not provide the content management functionality as a native functionality. The repository is caused to perform one or more native repository operations that enable a result associated with the content management functionality to be achieved.