Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Patrick E Bozeman

Dan Teodosiu

Ravisankar V Pudipeddi

Nikolaj Skallerud Bjorner

Scott Colville

David C Steere

Yuri Gurevich

Muthukaruppan Annamalai

Daniel Edward Lovinger

Ramesh Shankar

Nikolaj S Bjørner

Huisheng Liu

Supriya Wickrematillake

Michael J Bohlander

Mukul Gupta

Various embodiments introduce the notion of a replication entity which implements a highly scalable file replication system. In one embodiment, the replication entity resides in the form of a scalable replication service. In at least some embodiments, the replication service provides a 'drive in the sky' facility that can be used by individuals, such as subscribers, to synchronize their individual machines, such that their files are automatically replicated to a safe and always-on location. Alternatively or additionally, individuals such as subscribers can also access their files via a web-based interface when they are away from their machines.

Scalable file replication and web-based access

A system and method for organizing and sorting targets received in a referral response and for realizing a target fail-back and a target priority policy in a distributed file system is provided. In one embodiment, a sorting method includes receiving a referral response in the form of a list of targets that are sorted into bounded sets. Having a sorted referral response in bounded sets provides a basis for implementing a target fail-back and a target priority policy. The computer system may select a target from a sorted list of targets sorted according to site-cost and/or target priority. Then, the computer system may determine if the set target is associated with a more preferred target when compared to all available targets in the sorted list and if not, switch back to a more preferred target.

System and method for determining target failback and target priority for a distributed file system

A method and system are related to updating objects over limited bandwidth networks. Objects are updated between two or more computing devices using remote differential compression (RDC) techniques such that required data transfers are minimized. In one aspect, efficient large object transfers are achieved by recursively applying the RDC algorithm to its own metadata; a single or multiple recursion step(s) may be used in this case to reduce the amount of metadata sent over the network by the RDC algorithm. Objects and/or signature and chunk length lists can be chunked by locating boundaries at dynamically determined locations. A mathematical function evaluates hash values associated within a horizon window relative to potential chunk boundary. The described method and system is useful in a variety of networked applications, such as peer-to-peer replicators, email clients and servers, client-side caching systems, general-purpose copy utilities, database replicators, portals, software update services, file/data synchronization, and others.

Efficient algorithm and protocol for remote differential compression

Growing community of inventors

Sammamish, WA, United States of America

Patrick E Bozeman