Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

J Peter Hansen

Vincent H Curley

Neil Warren Black

Jennifer Ruth Mead

A system and method for efficiently synchronizing multiple databases stored on multiple computing devices. The method and system provides a duplicated database configuration where a database can either be stored only on a plurality of client computers, or on at least a client computer and a server computer. This duplicated database configuration allows users to access a database from a plurality of client computers that are communicatively connected to a server computer.

System and method for synchronizing multiple database files

A system and method for efficiently synchronizing multiple databases stored on multiple computing devices while maintaining parent-child relationships between related database objects. The method and system allows a client computer to update a server database while minimizing the number of network connections between the client and server computers. The method and system provides the generation of object ID numbers for database objects by the server computer, thus allowing multiple clients to store the same database. In one embodiment, the method and system synchronizes the databases of client and server computers by selectively uploading objects from the client computer database, thereby minimizing the amount of data transferred between the client and server computers. The synchronization routine selectively uploads primary objects based on the status code of the objects. The status code of each object is updated by an update routine that verifies if the related parent and grandparent objects have been successfully uploaded. If a parent object has been successfully uploaded, then its children, grandchildren and successors are also uploaded. If any particular object is not successfully uploaded from the client computer to the server computer, the related child and grandchildren objects are all bypassed and not uploaded to the server computer.

System and method for optimizing the data transfer between mirrored databases stored on both a client and server computer

A system and method for efficiently synchronizing multiple databases stored on multiple computing devices. The method and system provides a duplicated database configuration where a database can either be stored only on a plurality of client computers, or on at least client computer and a server computer. This duplicated database configuration allows users to access a database from a plurality of client computers that are communicatively connected to a server computer. In one embodiment, the method and system synchronizes the databases of a client computer to the database of a server computer by downloading selected database objects from the server computer database, thereby minimizing the amount of data transferred between the client and server computers. The synchronization routine selectively downloads database objects based on a comparison of server access time indicators stored in the databases. If the server access time stored in the server computer database is earlier than the access time stored in the client computer database, the server computer downloads the entire server computer database to the client computer. If the server access time stored in the client computer database is earlier than the server access time stored in the server computer database, the server computer only downloads new database objects from the server computer to the client computer. The synchronization routine also provides for reducing the likelihood of synchronization errors by detecting expired client computer databases. If a particular client computer database is expired, the server computer replaces the client computer database with the server computer database.

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Bellevue, WA, United States of America

J Peter Hansen