U.S. patent application number 14/155067 was filed with the patent office on 2014-05-08 for dynamic data prefetching.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEXTBIT SYSTEMS INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is NEXTBIT SYSTEMS INC.. Invention is credited to Michael A. Chan, Michael K. Fleming, Justin Quan.
Application Number | 20140129665 14/155067 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50623425 |
Filed Date | 2014-05-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140129665 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chan; Michael A. ; et
al. |
May 8, 2014 |
DYNAMIC DATA PREFETCHING
Abstract
Technology is disclosed for data prefetching on a computing
device utilizing a cloud based file system. The technology can
receive a current execution state and a data access pattern
associated with an instance of an application executing on a
computing device. The technology can further receive a data access
pattern associated with another instance of the application
executing on another computing device. The technology can utilize
the received data access patterns to determine one or more future
access requests for a subset of data associated with the
application, where the one or more future access requests is a
function of the current execution state of the application
executing on the computing device. The technology can generate a
prefetching profile utilizing the determined subset of data.
Inventors: |
Chan; Michael A.; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Quan; Justin; (San Francisco,
CA) ; Fleming; Michael K.; (San Francisco,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
NEXTBIT SYSTEMS INC. |
San Francisco |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
NEXTBIT SYSTEMS INC.
San Francisco
CA
|
Family ID: |
50623425 |
Appl. No.: |
14/155067 |
Filed: |
January 14, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14043082 |
Oct 1, 2013 |
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14155067 |
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61708794 |
Oct 2, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/212 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/172 20190101;
H04L 67/289 20130101; H04L 67/2847 20130101; H04L 67/22 20130101;
H04L 67/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/212 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08 |
Claims
1. A method for generating a prefetching profile for storage
objects associated with an application executing on a computing
device, the method comprising: receiving, by a profile manager, a
first storage object access pattern associated with a first
instance of the application executing on the computing device, a
given storage object access pattern including information regarding
an access request for a given storage object from a given instance
of the application, the given storage object access pattern
including information regarding a current execution state of the
given instance of the application during at least one of one or
more access requests for storage objects by the given instance of
the application; receiving, by the profile manager, a second
storage object access pattern associated with a second instance of
the application executing on another computing device; receiving,
by the profile manager, a current execution state of the first
instance of the application executing on the computing device;
utilizing the first storage object access pattern and the second
storage object access pattern, determining, by the profile manager,
one or more future access requests for a subset of storage objects
associated with the application, the one or more future access
requests being a function of the current execution state of the
first instance of the application; and generating, by the profile
manager, the prefetching profile utilizing the determined subset of
storage objects, wherein the computing device utilizes the
prefetching profile and a metadata associated with the storage
objects to gather content associated with one or more storage
objects of the subset of storage objects, the content associated
with the given storage object being stored in a storage server, the
metadata associated with the given storage object being stored in
the computing device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes a
first mobile phone, wherein another computing device includes a
second mobile phone, wherein the application includes a video game
with a plurality of levels, wherein the given execution state
includes a given level being played within the video game.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the current execution state
includes a current level being played within the video game,
wherein the current level being played in the first mobile phone is
different from the current level being played in the second mobile
phone, wherein a storage object access pattern associated with the
current level being played in the second mobile phone is utilized
to determine the prefetching profile provided to the first mobile
phone.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the given data access pattern
includes information regarding a number of access requests to a
given data block.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more future access
requests being a function of a time of a given day.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes a
first mobile phone, wherein another computing device includes a
second mobile phone, wherein the application includes a music
player, wherein the given execution state includes a given
soundtrack being played from a given album with a plurality of
soundtracks.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the current execution state
includes a current soundtrack being played from an album, wherein
the prefetching profile is determined as a function of the current
soundtrack being played in the first mobile phone and an order
associated with the plurality of soundtracks in the album.
8. A method for prefetching storage objects associated with an
application executing on a computing device, the method comprising:
gathering, by a prefetching module, a first storage object access
pattern associated with a first instance of the application
executing on the computing device, a given storage object access
pattern including information regarding an access request for a
given storage object from a given instance of the application, the
given storage object access pattern including information regarding
a current execution state of the given instance of the application
during at least one of one or more access requests for one or more
storage objects by the given instance of the application;
providing, by the prefetching module, the first storage object
access pattern to a profile manager being utilized to gather
storage object access patterns from a plurality of computing
devices executing an instance of the application; providing, by the
prefetching module, a current execution state of the first instance
of the application executing on the computing device to the profile
manager, the profile manager utilizing a plurality of storage
object access patterns gathered from the plurality of computing
devices and the current execution state of the first instance of
the application to determine one or more future access requests for
a subset of storage objects associated with the application, the
one or more future access requests being a function of the current
execution state of the first instance of the application, wherein
the profile manager generates a prefetching profile utilizing the
determined subset of storage objects; receiving, by the prefetching
module, the prefetching profile from the profile manager, the
prefetching module utilizing the prefetching profile and a metadata
associated with the storage objects to prefetch one or more storage
objects of the subset of storage objects, the prefetching including
gathering content associated with the one or more storage objects
of the subset of storage objects, the content associated with the
given storage object being stored in a storage server, the metadata
associated with the given storage object being stored in the
computing device.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of computing
devices include a first mobile phone and a second mobile phone,
wherein the application includes a video game with a plurality of
levels, wherein the given execution state includes a given level
being played within the video game.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the current execution state
includes a current level being played within the video game,
wherein the current level being played in the first mobile phone is
different from the current level being played in the second mobile
phone, wherein a storage object access pattern associated with the
current level being played in the second mobile phone is utilized
to determine the prefetching profile provided to the first mobile
phone.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the given data access pattern
includes information regarding a number of access requests to a
given data block.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more future access
requests being a function of a time of a given day.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of computing
devices include a first mobile phone and a second mobile phone,
wherein the application includes a music player, wherein the given
execution state includes a given soundtrack being played from a
given album with a plurality of soundtracks.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the current execution state
includes a current soundtrack being played from an album, wherein
the prefetching profile is determined as a function of the current
soundtrack being played in the first mobile phone and an order
associated with the plurality of soundtracks in the album.
15. A computer readable storage medium storing computer executable
instructions for generating a prefetching profile for storage
objects associated with an application executing on a computing
device, comprising: instructions for receiving a first storage
object access pattern associated with a first instance of the
application executing on the computing device, a given storage
object access pattern including information regarding an access
request for a given storage object from a given instance of the
application, the given storage object access pattern including
information regarding a current execution state of the given
instance of the application during at least one of one or more
access requests for one or more storage objects by the given
instance of the application; instructions for receiving a second
storage object access pattern associated with a second instance of
the application executing on another computing device; instructions
for receiving a current execution state of the first instance of
the application executing on the computing device; instructions for
utilizing the first storage object access pattern and the second
storage object access pattern to determine one or more future
access requests for a subset of storage objects associated with the
application, the one or more future access requests being a
function of the current execution state of the first instance of
the application; and instructions for generating the prefetching
profile utilizing the determined subset of storage objects, wherein
the computing device utilizes the prefetching profile and a
metadata associated with the storage objects to gather content
associated with one or more storage objects of the subset of
storage objects, the content associated with the given storage
object being stored in a storage server, the metadata associated
with the given storage object being stored in the computing
device.
16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
computing device includes a first mobile phone, wherein another
computing device includes a second mobile phone, wherein the
application includes a video game with a plurality of levels,
wherein the given execution state includes a given level being
played within the video game.
17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the
current execution state includes a current level being played
within the video game, wherein the current level being played in
the first mobile phone is different from the current level being
played in the second mobile phone, wherein a storage object access
pattern associated with the current level being played in the
second mobile phone is utilized to determine the prefetching
profile provided to the first mobile phone.
18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
given data access pattern includes information regarding a number
of access requests to a given data block.
19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
one or more future access requests being a function of a time of a
given day.
20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
computing device includes a first mobile phone, wherein another
computing device includes a second mobile phone, wherein the
application includes a music player, wherein the given execution
state includes a given soundtrack being played from a given album
with a plurality of soundtracks.
21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the
current execution state includes a current soundtrack being played
from an album, wherein the prefetching profile is determined as a
function of the current soundtrack being played in the first mobile
phone and an order associated with the plurality of soundtracks in
the album.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/043,082, filed on Oct. 1, 2013, entitled
"CLOUD BASED FILE SYSTEM SURPASSING DEVICE STORAGE LIMITS", which
claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
61/708,794, filed on Oct. 2, 2012, entitled "CLOUD COMPUTING
INTEGRATED OPERATING SYSTEM", which are incorporated by reference
herein in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] At least one embodiment of the present invention pertains to
cloud storage service, and more particularly, performing dynamic
data prefetching on a computing device utilizing a cloud based file
system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Cloud storage service is popular nowadays for providing
online storage space to host user files. Users of a cloud storage
service can upload files to the cloud and later access the uploaded
files over the internet from the same or a different computing
device.
[0004] A cloud storage service can provide client applications for
different types of computing devices. A user can use a computing
device to download and install a client application of the cloud
storage service at the device. The client application can enable
the user to drop any file into a designated folder. Any file in the
designated folder is synchronized with the cloud storage service.
The user can then use the device or other devices having a client
application installed to access these synchronized files stored the
cloud storage service. The cloud storage service can further
provide a web interface. Through the web interface, a user can
upload files to and download files from the cloud storage service,
without the need of installing the client application.
[0005] The user needs to manually decide which files to be
synchronized by dropping the files into the designated folder or
drive. The designated folders or drives are generally treated as
external folders or drives by the operating systems of the
computing devices. The operating systems do not rely on the
designated folders or drives to perform, and do not utilize the
designated folders or drives to perform any operating system
related tasks.
SUMMARY
[0006] Technology introduced herein provides a mechanism to enable
data prefetching on a computing device utilizing a cloud based file
system. According to at least one embodiment, a computing device
includes a file system having multiple storage objects (e.g.,
files). The metadata of the storage objects are stored in local
storage of the computing device. A remote storage server is
responsible for storing the content data of the storage objects.
The computing device presents the storage objects via an output
device as if the content data are stored locally in the computing
device. The computing device can further identify some of the
storage objects that have a high possibility of being accessed by
computer applications of the computing device, and caches the
content data of these storage objects locally.
[0007] In accordance with the techniques introduced here,
therefore, a method for generating a prefetching profile for
storage objects associated with an application executing on a
computing device is disclosed. The computing device can utilize the
prefetching profile for storage objects to prefetch data. The
method includes receiving, by a profile manager, a first storage
object access pattern associated with a first instance of the
application executing on the computing device, where a given
storage object access pattern includes information regarding an
access request for a given storage object from a given instance of
the application.
[0008] Further, the given storage object access pattern includes
information regarding a current execution state of the given
instance of the application during at least one of one or more
access requests for storage objects by the given instance of the
application. The method includes receiving, by the profile manager,
a second storage object access pattern associated with a second
instance of the application executing on another computing
device.
[0009] The method further includes receiving, by the profile
manager, a current execution state of the first instance of the
application executing on the computing device. The method includes
utilizing the first storage object access pattern and the second
storage object access pattern to determine, by the profile manager,
one or more future access requests for a subset of storage objects
associated with the application, where the one or more future
access requests is a function of the current execution state of the
first instance of the application.
[0010] The method further includes generating, by the profile
manager, the prefetching profile utilizing the determined subset of
storage objects. The computing device utilizes the prefetching
profile and a metadata associated with the storage objects to
gather content associated with one or more storage objects of the
subset of storage objects, where the content associated with the
given storage object is stored in a storage server while the
metadata associated with the given storage object being stored in
the computing device.
[0011] Other aspects of the technology introduced here will be
apparent from the accompanying figures and from the detailed
description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] These and other objects, features and characteristics of the
present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the
art from a study of the following detailed description in
conjunction with the appended claims and drawings, all of which
form a part of this specification. In the drawings:
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system for computing devices
connected to a cloud storage server.
[0014] FIG. 2 contains a diagram illustrating an example operating
system of a computing device.
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of photo devices connected to
a cloud-based server.
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process for managing a
device file system integrated with a storage server.
[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an alternative process for
a cloud based file system that can surpass device storage
limit.
[0018] FIG. 6A contains a block diagram illustrating example
components of a local prefetching module for an electronic
device.
[0019] FIG. 6B contains a diagram illustrating an example usage
profile maintained by a local profile manager.
[0020] FIG. 6C contains a diagram illustrating an example
prefetching profile received by a local profile manager.
[0021] FIG. 6D contains a block diagram illustrating example
components of the global prefetching module.
[0022] FIG. 7 contains a flowchart illustrating an example
operation of a global profile manager.
[0023] FIG. 8 contains a flowchart illustrating an example
operation of the local prefetching module.
[0024] FIG. 9 contains a high-level block diagram showing an
example architecture of a computer server, which may represent any
computer described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] References in this specification to "an embodiment," "one
embodiment," or the like, mean that the particular feature,
structure, or characteristic being described is included in at
least one embodiment of the present invention. Occurrences of such
phrases in this specification do not all necessarily refer to the
same embodiment, however.
[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system for computing devices
connected to a cloud storage server. The system includes a cloud
server 110 configured to communicate with the computing devices. In
one embodiment, the cloud server 110 can be a server cluster having
computer nodes interconnected with each other by a network. The
cloud server 110 can contain storage nodes 112. Each of the storage
nodes 112 contains one or more processors 114 and storage devices
116. The storage devices can include optical disk storage, RAM,
ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, phase change memory, magnetic cassettes,
magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or any other computer storage
medium which can be used to store the desired information.
[0027] The computing devices 130 and 140 can each communicate with
the cloud server 110 via network 120. The network 120 can be, e.g.,
the Internet. Although FIG. 1 illustrates two computing devices 130
and 140, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readily
understand that the technology disclosed herein can be applied to a
single computing device or more than two computing devices
connected to the cloud server 110.
[0028] The computing device 130 includes an operating system 132 to
manage the hardware resources of the computing device 130 and
provides services for running computer applications 134 (e.g.,
mobile applications running on mobile devices). The computer
applications 134 stored in the computing device 130 require the
operating system 132 to properly run on the device 130. The
computing device 130 includes at least one local storage device 138
to store the computer applications and user data. The computing
device 130 or 140 can be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a
tablet computer, an automobile computer, a game console, a smart
phone, a personal digital assistant, or other computing devices
capable of running computer applications, as contemplated by a
person having ordinary skill in the art.
[0029] The computer applications 134 stored in the computing device
130 can include applications for general productivity and
information retrieval, including email, calendar, contacts, and
stock market and weather information. The computer applications 134
can also include applications in other categories, such as mobile
games, factory automation, GPS and location-based services,
banking, order-tracking, ticket purchases or any other categories
as contemplated by a person having ordinary skill in the art.
[0030] The operating system 132 of the computing device 130 can
include a file system manager 136 to manage the file system of the
computing device 130. Instead of storing all content data of the
files of the file system directly in the local storage device 138
of the computing device 130, the file system manager 136 can
identify certain portions of the files suitable to be stored at the
cloud server 110. The file system manager can store metadata of the
files in the local storage device 138 and sends out content data of
the files to the cloud server 110 so that the cloud server 110
stores the content data.
[0031] The computer applications 134 running at the computing
device 130 need not be aware that the content data of the files are
stored in the cloud server 110, instead of the local storage device
138. The computer applications 134 can read data from or write data
to the files as if the files are stored in the local storage device
138. For instance, the computer applications 134 can generate read
or write request having a location link of the file, in order to
read or write data from a specific location of the file. The file
system manager 136 is responsible to retrieve the content data of
the file from the cloud server 110 to satisfy the read or write
requests. The file system manager 136 can further cache certain
content data of one or more files, when the file system manager 136
determines that these files has a high probability to be read or
written by the applications 134 of the computing device 130.
[0032] In order to manage the files with content data stored in a
remote cloud storage server, the operating system of the computing
device can include a file manager module and a local prefetching
module. FIG. 2 illustrates an example operating system 200
including a file manager module 220 and a local prefetching module
230. In one embodiment, the operating system 200 includes a kernel
204. The kernel 204 controls the computer applications running on
top of the kernel 204. It provides interfaces to the hardware of
the electronic device, thereby isolating the computer applications
from the hardware. It may also include one or more intervening
sources that can affect the execution of a computer application.
For example, the kernel 204 may include a network I/O module 206, a
file I/O module 208, a multi-threading module 210, a user input
module 214, a system interrupts module 216, and a shared memory
access module 218.
[0033] In one embodiment, the file system manager 220 is
responsible for managing a file system including files with content
data stored in a remote cloud storage server. The file system
manager 220 can run on top of the kernel 204 as illustrated in the
FIG. 2, or run as a part of the customized kernel 204. The local
prefetching module 230 can also run on top of the kernel 204, or
run as a part of the customized kernel 204. As one example, the
local prefetching module 230 can run in a user space file system
(e.g. FUSE) on top of a Linux or Android kernel. The local
prefetching module 230 can be a module of the operating system 200
separate from the file system manager 220, or alternatively
performs as a part of the file system manager 220.
[0034] The file system manager 220 maintains a file system
including multiple files. The metadata of the files are stored in
the local storage, while the content data of the files are stored
in a remote cloud storage server. The file system manager 220
presents the files to the applications and users of the computing
device, as if the content data are stored locally. The local
prefetching module 230 is responsible to retrieve content data from
the storage server as cache data based on the access pattern and
other factors.
[0035] The technology disclosed herein can be applied to various
computing devices including, e.g., photo devices. For instance,
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of photo devices connected to a
cloud-based server. As depicted in FIG. 3, a server 300 may provide
a cloud-based service for storing content data of the photo files
of the photo devices 311-313. The server 300 can further storing
content data of other files of the photo devices, e.g., user
profile files, application program files or operating system files.
The network 320 can be, e.g., the Internet. Examples of photo
devices 311, 312 and 313 may include, but are not limited to, a
mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a
tablet, a mobile game console, a laptop computer, a desktop
computer, or any other devices having communication capability.
[0036] The photo device 311-313 stores the metadata, e.g., the
exchangeable image file format (EXIF) information and thumbnails of
the photo files locally. The server 300 stores the content data of
the photo files.
[0037] In some embodiments, server 300 may also monitor the file
access patterns of the photo devices 311-313 and send content data
of the files as cache data. For example, in some embodiments,
server 300 may determine or identify, a photo file of photo device
311 that is frequently accessed and likely will be read again in
near future. The server 300 may notify the device 311 and send the
content data of the photo device 311. The photo device 311 caches
the content data of that photo file so that a read request of the
photo file can be satisfied locally without sending a request to
the server 300.
[0038] A person having ordinary skill in the art can readily
understands that the types of device illustrated in FIG. 3 can be
different. For example, photo devices 311, 312 and 313 can be,
e.g., tablets, smart phones or laptop computers respectively. The
server 300 is capable of storing content data of files designed for
these different types of devices.
[0039] In order to achieve a file system exceeding the storage
limit of local storage, the file system of the computing device is
integrated with a storage server so that content data of the files
can be stored in the storage server. The storage server acts as a
remote high-performance scalable surrogate hardware resource for
storing the content data of the files. FIG. 4 illustrates an
example of a process 400 for managing a device file system
integrated with a storage server. The process 400 starts at step
405, where the computing device stores metadata of a plurality of
storage objects (e.g. files) in a file system of the computing
device, wherein a storage server stores content data of the
plurality of storage objects. The computing device may store some
of the content data as cache data. At least one of the content data
of the plurality of storage objects is not stored locally in the
computing device such that a maximum size of the file system can
exceed a physical storage limit of the computing device.
[0040] The metadata of a storage object can include, e.g., means of
creation of data in the storage object, purpose of data in the
storage object, time and date of creation of the storage object,
creator or author of data of the storage object, location on the
storage server where the content data of the storage object are
stored, title of the content data of the storage object, an inode
data structure of the storage object, version information, or a
sample presentation of the content data of the storage object. The
sample presentation of the content data of the file can include,
e.g., a reduced-size version of the content data, a sample clip or
image of the content data, first few bytes of a set of streaming
data, or a reduced-data-rate version of the content data.
[0041] At step 410, the computing device presents one or more of
the plurality of storage objects to a user of the computing device
as if the content data of the storage objects are stored locally in
the computing device. For instance, the computing device can use an
output component to visualize a preview of at least one file of the
files using the metadata of the file as if the content data of the
file are stored locally in the storage component.
[0042] At step 415, the computing device determines at least one
storage object of the plurality of storage objects that has a high
possibility to be read by computer applications of the computing
device. For instance, the at least one storage object that has the
high possibility to be read by the computer applications can be
determined based on an access pattern to the plurality of storage
objects on the computing device. At step 420, the computing device
caches the content data of the at least one storage object.
[0043] The cached content data can be used for satisfying future
read requests. For instance, at step 425, the computing device
receives a read request for a storage object from one of the
computer applications running at the computing device. At step 430,
the computing device determines whether the content data of the
storage object is cached at the computing device. If the content
data of the storage object is cached at the computing device, at
step 435, the computing device reads the content data of the
storage object from its cached location at the computing device. If
the content data of the storage object is not cached at the
computing device, at step 440, the computing device requests the
content data of the storage object from the storage server.
[0044] At step 445, the computing device receives a write request
for a storage object from one of the computer applications. At step
450, the computing device determines whether the content data of
the storage object is cached at the computing device. If the
content data of the storage object is cached at the computing
device, at step 455, the computing device updates the storage
object based on the write request. At step 460, the computing
device synchronizes the updated storage object with the content
data of the storage object in the storage server. If the content
data of the storage object is not cached at the computing device,
at step 465, the computing device records a sequential list of
changes to the storage object based on the write request into a log
data structure. At step 470, the computing device sends the log
data structure to the server so that the server applies the
sequential list of changes to one or more storage objects stored in
the server based on the log data structure.
[0045] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the logic
illustrated in FIG. 4 and described above, and in each of the flow
diagrams discussed below if any, may be altered in a variety of
ways. For example, the order of the logic may be rearranged,
substeps may be performed in parallel, illustrated logic may be
omitted, other logic may be included, etc. For instance, the write
request may be received and handled by the computing device before
receiving and handling the read request. Alternatively, the write
and read requests can be received and handled in separate
processes.
[0046] A file system manager of a computing device can be
responsible for creating the files in a way that metadata are
stored in the local storage and that content data of the files are
stored remotely. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an alternative
process 500 for a cloud based file system that can surpass device
storage limit. The process 500 starts at step 505, where a file
system manager of a computing device receives an instruction from a
first application running at the computing device to create a file
stored at the computing device. The file system manager maintains a
file system including files for the computing device having a total
size larger than a storage limit of the local storage device of the
computing device.
[0047] At step 510, the file system manager creates the file by
storing metadata of the file in a local storage device of the
computing device and transmitting content data of the file to a
storage server, wherein he metadata include a link to a location
where the storage server stores the content data of the file.
Applications running at the computing device can read files managed
by the file system manager of the computing device as if the
content data of the files are stored in the local storage device of
the computing device. In some embodiments, the storage server
stores at least a portion of the metadata of the file as well. For
instance, the storage server may store file information data
structures (e.g. inodes) for the content data, so that the storage
server can identify the files to which the content data belong.
[0048] At step 515, the computing device presents, via an output
device (e.g. display) of the computing device, the file as a file
stored in the local storage device of the computing device based on
the metadata of the file. The computing device may display or
present, e.g., the filename, the directory in which the file is
located, and a preview content (e.g., a thumbnail image or a
preview clip) of the file. The user of the computing device
perceives that the content of the file is locally stored in the
computing device.
[0049] At step 520, the file system manager identifies a file
having a tendency to be read by the computing device in future
based on a file access pattern discovered by the file system
manager. The file system manager can identify such tendency in
different ways, e.g., as illustrated in diagrams discussed below.
At step 525, the file system manager caches the identified file in
the local storage device by retrieving the content data of the
identified file from the storage server.
[0050] At step 530, the file system manager receives an instruction
to read the file from a second application running at the computing
device. The first application which instructs to create the file
and the second application which instructs to read the file may be
the same application or different applications. For example, the
first and second applications can be the same word processing
application that instructs to create and later to read a document
file. Alternatively in another example, the first application can
be a file explorer application controlled by a user to create a new
document file, while the second application can be a separate word
processing application to read the document file.
[0051] At step 535, the file system manager determines whether the
content data of the file is cached locally in the computing device.
If so, at step 540, the file system manager provides the location
of the locally cached content data to the second application.
Otherwise, at step 545, the file system manager retrieves the
content data of the file from the storage server based on the
metadata including the link to the location. For instance, the file
system manager may examine the metadata of the file to identify the
location on the storage server where the content data of the file
is stored, and then request the content data with the location from
the storage server. At step 550, the file system manager provides
the content data to the application as if the local storage device
stores the content data of the file.
[0052] The file system manager may use a local prefetching module
to determine the content data of the files to be cached. FIG. 6A
contains a block diagram illustrating example components of a local
prefetching module 630 for an electronic device. In one embodiment,
the local prefetching module 630 includes a local data manager 632,
a local profile manager 634 and a request handler 636.
[0053] In one embodiment, the local profile manager 634 maintains
one or more usage profiles in the primary store and sends them to
the prefetching server. It can send the usage profiles
periodically, as soon as there is an update, in response to a
request from the prefetching server, and so on. FIG. 6B contains a
diagram illustrating an example usage profile. A usage profile can
contain any information about the activities performed on the
electronic device in terms of required files. In one embodiment,
the usage profile contains any information on access to the files
stored in the primary store. Such information can include the name
of a file, the type of the file (partial computer application, full
computer application, application data, etc.), the size of the
file, the time of access to the file, the type of access (read,
write, etc.), the location of the electronic device at the time of
access, and so on.
[0054] In one embodiment, the local profile manager 634 also
receives prefetching profiles from the prefetching server and
stores them in the primary store. It can also send requests to the
prefetching server for the prefetching profiles periodically, when
it has extra bandwidth available, and so on. FIG. 6C contains a
diagram illustrating an example prefetching profile. A prefetching
profile specifies files to be preloaded on an electronic device in
anticipation of the user performing activities which require the
files. For each of the specified files, information regarding the
name, the type, the size, the access type, the likelihood that it
is to be accessed within a predetermined timeframe, etc. can be
included.
[0055] In one embodiment, the local data manager 632 sends requests
to the cloud service to retrieve specific computer applications or
application data. It can also send requests to whichever separate
servers are hosting the computer applications or application data.
In addition, the local data manager 632 receives the requested
computer applications or application data and stores them in the
primary store or the secondary store on the electronic device. The
pace of sending the requests and storing the requested computer
applications or application data can depend on where the requested
computer applications or application data are to be stored, When
they are to be stored in the primary store on the electronic
device, it generally means that they are to be accessed immediately
and the sending and storing could be performed without much delay,
while when they are to be stored in the secondary store, it
generally means that they are likely to be accessed in the near
future and the sending and storing can be performed with some
flexibility in timing.
[0056] In one embodiment, given a prefetching profile, the local
data manager 302 determines which requests for file retrieval to
send and in what order. It may first filter the prefetching profile
to remove any file that is already present in the primary store.
Next, in one example, it may decide that requests are to be sent
for all the files specified in the prefetching profile as the
number of such files is small. In another example, it may decide
that requests would first be sent for a predetermined number of
files with the highest likelihoods or with the shortest time
frames. On the other hand, when the size of the secondary store is
limited, the local data manager 632 can enforce overwrite policies,
such as cache algorithms known to someone of ordinary skill in the
art.
[0057] In one embodiment, the request handler 636 accepts user
requests for certain files and ultimately serves those files from
the primary store. In general, it may first look in the primary
store, which has pre installed or previously installed files. If
the requested file is not there, it looks in the secondary store,
which has prefetched files. It saves the requested file in the
primary store before serving it in response to user requests.
[0058] The prefetching server hosts a global prefetching module.
FIG. 6D contains a block diagram illustrating example components of
the global prefetching module 660. In one embodiment, the global
prefetching module 660 includes a global data manager 662, a global
profile manager 664 and an analysis engine 666.
[0059] In one embodiment, the global data manager 662 receives
requests for computer applications or application data from the
electronic devices and forwards them to the cloud service or other
sources. The global data manager 662 also receives the requested
computer applications or application data from the cloud service or
other sources and forwards them to the electronic devices. The pace
of forwarding the requests and the requested computer applications
or application data can similarly depend on where the requested
computer applications or application data are to be stored, as
discussed above.
[0060] In one embodiment, the global profile manager 664 receives
usage profiles from the electronic devices and forwards them to the
cloud service for storage. It can forward a usage profile to the
cloud service immediately upon receiving it from an electronic
device. It can also forward the usage profiles received from an
electronic device according to a preset schedule. In addition, it
can forward the usage profiles received from multiple electronic
devices in batches of a predetermined size or periodically. The
global profile manager also maintains a global index of usage
profiles in the local storage device indicating how to access the
usage profiles stored with the cloud service.
[0061] In one embodiment, the global profile manager 664 also
receives prefetching profiles from the cloud service and forwards
them to the electronic devices. Similarly, it can forward a
prefetching profile to the appropriate electronic device
immediately or in response to a request from the electronic device
for a prefetching profile. It can also wait to forward the
prefetching profile together with a response to the next request
from the electronic device, such as a request to retrieve certain
computer application or application data. In addition, it can
forward the prefetching profiles to one or more electronic devices
according to a predetermined schedule.
[0062] In one embodiment, the analysis engine 666 manages
analytical algorithms, the input to which are usage profiles and
the output from which are prefetching profiles. Many types of
analysis can be performed on the usage profiles, individually and
collectively, to detect usage patterns (also referred to as data
access patterns). According to various embodiments, the usage
profiles may indicate that on an electronic device, a computer
application or a part thereof is often executed or a piece of
application data is often used on a certain day or at a certain
time, when the computer application or the piece of application
data has a certain size, immediately before or after another
computer application or piece of application data, when the
electronic device is at a certain location, when another electronic
device is connected to the prefetching server, etc. The lack of
execution or use can also be incorporated into the usage
patterns.
[0063] An example usage pattern may include playing video games and
the order in which the different levels within the video games are
played/accessed. Different levels of a game may often be accessed
in an increasing order. The last few very difficult levels may
never be accessed, and the levels before the currently accessed
levels may also never be accessed again. So, by utilizing the usage
profiles, different files can be associated with different access
patterns and pre-fetched accordingly without knowing the nature of
the files.
[0064] In one embodiment, the analysis engine 666 may utilize usage
profiles of a computer application executing on multiple electronic
devices (e.g., mobile phone) to generate a prefetching profile. For
example, the computer application may be a video game with multiple
levels, where each level of the game involves accessing a
particular subset of files. As part of tracking the usage pattern,
the electronic device may track the subset of files being accessed
by the video game when a particular level of the game is being
played.
[0065] In some embodiments, the electronic device may determine the
particular level of the game being played (i.e. a current state of
the application) by analyzing the data being accessed by the video
game. For example, when a video game creates log files to track a
player's actions, the data being written to the log file can be
analyzed to determine the particular level of the game being
played. The electronic device may then track the subset of files
being accessed by the video game in association with the particular
level of the game being played during the access.
[0066] In some embodiments, the analysis engine 666 may utilize
usage profiles of a computer application executing on one
electronic device to generate a prefetching profile for the
computer application executing on a different electronic device.
For example, when different levels of the video game are being
played in each of the two or more electronic devices, the analysis
engine 666 may utilize the usage pattern observed with a previously
played game level in one electronic device to generate a
prefetching profile for the video game being played on the other
electronic devices.
[0067] When the game level being played in one electronic device is
lower than the previously played game level in another electronic
device, the data associated with the later game levels yet to be
played in the one electronic device can be prefetched using the
data usage pattern observed with the previously played game level
in the other electronic device. For example, when a given level in
the video game is about to be played, the video game application
may fetch a subset of files, e.g., new animated content, game
settings file, etc., to setup the game level about to be played. By
utilizing the usage pattern from one electronic device, the
analysis engine 666 can dynamically learn and update the
prefetching profile to be utilized by the application in another
electronic device.
[0068] Some additional example usage patterns are described as
follows. The usage pattern may include photos or soundtracks in an
album which are often accessed in the listed order. More recent
albums may be accessed more frequently. Larger files may often be
accessed on devices with better resources. Business-related files
may often be accessed during the day or on an electronic device in
the office, while files pertaining to entertainment may often be
accessed at night or on an electronic device at home. Best-selling
books in a city may be frequently accessed in that city and
surrounding cities. Therefore, different files can be associated
with different access patterns, which can be learned from the usage
profiles without knowing the nature of the files.
[0069] In one embodiment, each analytical algorithm takes into
consideration one or more of the usage patterns and selects a set
of files for an electronic device that are likely to be accessed in
the near future on the electronic device. It can assign different
weights to different usage patterns. For example, it can prefer
usage patterns reflecting more recent activities across electronic
devices. It can also give more weight to usage patterns specific to
the electronic device and/or those electronic devices owned by
users similar to the owner of the electronic device. Furthermore,
it can apply any classification, pattern-recognition and other
techniques known to someone of ordinary skill in the art.
[0070] In one embodiment, the analysis engine 666 chooses one of
the analytic algorithms, based on predetermined rules, user input,
etc., and submits a request to the cloud service for executing the
chosen analytic algorithm. In response, the cloud service executes
the chosen analytic algorithm on the stored usage profiles in a
distributed manner and generates resulting prefetching profiles for
the electronic devices. The analysis engine 666 can submit a
request as soon as a predetermined number of updated usage profiles
are stored with the cloud service, according to a preset schedule,
when the rate of file retrieval is high indicating a low degree of
prefetching success, and so on.
[0071] FIG. 7 contains a flowchart illustrating an example
operation of a global profile manager. In one embodiment, the
global profile manager receives usage profiles from the electronic
devices at step 702. It forwards the usage profiles to the cloud
service for storage at step 704. Subsequently, the global profile
manager submits a request to execute an analytical algorithm
maintained by the analysis engine to the cloud service at step 706.
When the execution is complete, the global profile manager receives
prefetching profiles for the electronic devices at step 708.
Finally, it forwards each of the prefetching profiles to the
appropriate electronic device at step 710.
[0072] FIG. 8 contains a flowchart illustrating an example
operation of a local prefetching module. In one embodiment, the
request handler accepts a user request and determines whether a
requested file is present in the primary store at step 802. If the
file is present, it serves the file at step 804. If the file is not
present, it determines whether the file is present in the secondary
store at step 806. If the file is present, it moves the file to the
primary store at step 808 and serves the file at step 810. If the
file is not present, the local data manager retrieves the file from
a source at step 712 and stores the retrieved file in the primary
store at step 714.
[0073] FIG. 9 contains a high-level block diagram showing an
example architecture of a computer, which may represent any device,
any server, or any node within a cloud service as described herein.
The computer 900 includes one or more processors 910 and memory 920
coupled to an interconnect 930. The interconnect 930 shown in FIG.
9 is an abstraction that represents any one or more separate
physical buses, point to point connections, or both connected by
appropriate bridges, adapters, or controllers. The interconnect
930, therefore, may include, for example, a system bus, a
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or PCI-Express bus, a
HyperTransport or industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a small
computer system interface (SCSI) bus, a universal serial bus (USB),
IIC (I2C) bus, or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394 bus, also called "Firewire".
[0074] The processor(s) 910 is/are the central processing unit
(CPU) of the computer 900 and, thus, control the overall operation
of the computer 900. In certain embodiments, the processor(s) 910
accomplish this by executing software or firmware stored in memory
920. The processor(s) 910 may be, or may include, one or more
programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors,
digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable controllers,
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable
logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),
trusted platform modules (TPMs), or the like, or a combination of
such devices.
[0075] The memory 920 is or includes the main memory of the
computer 900. The memory 920 represents any form of random access
memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, or the like, or
a combination of such devices. In use, the memory 920 may contain
code 970 containing instructions according to the techniques
disclosed herein.
[0076] Also connected to the processor(s) 910 through the
interconnect 930 are a network adapter 940 and a storage adapter
950. The network adapter 940 provides the computer 900 with the
ability to communicate with remote devices, over a network and may
be, for example, an Ethernet adapter or Fibre Channel adapter. The
network adapter 940 may also provide the computer 900 with the
ability to communicate with other computers. The storage adapter
950 allows the computer 900 to access a persistent storage, and may
be, for example, a Fibre Channel adapter or SCSI adapter.
[0077] The code 970 stored in memory 920 may be implemented as
software and/or firmware to program the processor(s) 910 to carry
out actions described above. In certain embodiments, such software
or firmware may be initially provided to the computer 900 by
downloading it from a remote system through the computer 900 (e.g.,
via network adapter 940).
[0078] The techniques introduced herein can be implemented by, for
example, programmable circuitry (e.g., one or more microprocessors)
programmed with software and/or firmware, or entirely in
special-purpose hardwired circuitry, or in a combination of such
forms. Software or firmware for use in implementing the techniques
introduced here may be stored on a machine-readable storage medium
and may be executed by one or more general-purpose or
special-purpose programmable microprocessors.
[0079] A "machine-readable storage medium", as the term is used
herein, includes any mechanism that can store information in a form
accessible by a machine (a machine may be, for example, a computer,
network device, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA),
manufacturing tool, any device with one or more processors, etc.).
For example, a machine-accessible storage medium includes
recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM);
random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical
storage media; flash memory devices; etc.), etc.
[0080] In addition to the above mentioned examples, various other
modifications and alterations of the invention may be made without
departing from the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure is
not to be considered as limiting and the appended claims are to be
interpreted as encompassing the true spirit and the entire scope of
the invention.
* * * * *