Policy-based computation and storage of cloud-based collaboration objects

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10454778-B2
Application number	US-201615240875-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2016
Priority date	Jun 3, 2014
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

One or more servers are deployed in a cloud-based environment such that the cloud-based servers are configured to interface with one or more object processing target sites. In response to an object processing command, various combinations of feasible activities to perform at feasible target sites (e.g., object processing sites) are considered so as to generate object processing scenarios capable of executing object processing commands while observing constraints that may derive from the nature of, and/or attributes pertaining to the object processing sites. A scenario including a determination of one or more target sites is selected from the considered object processing scenarios. The selected one or more target sites are used to activate the object processing commands (e.g., for computation and/or for storage activities). A target site may be a country or state or other jurisdiction that inures benefits (e.g., tax benefits) and/or limitations (e.g., import/export limitations) pertaining to specific activities.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
configuring a server in a cloud-based environment, wherein the server is configured to interface with one or more content management resource sites that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to an object processing command;
receiving, by the server, the object processing command comprising at least one object processing activity and at least one object storage activity;
identifying a policy that pertains to selection of both an object processing site and an object storage site; and
processing the object processing command based at least in part on the policy to produce an object processing sequence, wherein a first operation of the object processing sequence is performed at the object processing site and a second operation of the object processing sequence is performed at the object storage site, the object processing site and the object storage site being different sites, the selection of both the object processing site and the object storage site is performed by:
determining, based at least in part on the first operation of the object processing sequence and the policy, by a first evaluation of one or more first metrics pertaining to one or more object processing sites, one or more feasible object processing sites capable of executing at least a portion of the object processing activity, and
determining, based at least in part on the second operation of the object processing sequence and the policy, by a second evaluation of one or more second metrics pertaining to one or more object storage sites, one or more feasible object storage sites capable of executing at least a portion of the object storage activity, wherein the determining of the one or more feasible object processing sites is performed independently from the determining of the one or more feasible object storage sites.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating one or more object processing scenarios wherein the one or more object processing scenarios comprise at least one object processing site and at least one object storage site.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising selecting at least one selected scenario from the object processing scenarios, the selecting being based at least in part on one or more objectives.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising determining one or more predicted object processing metrics for at least some of the object processing scenarios.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the predicted object processing metrics pertain to at least one of, a cost, or a latency, or an availability or any combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the objectives correspond to a respective one of the predicted object processing metrics.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising scoring the object processing scenarios, wherein the scoring is based at least in part on at least one of the predicted object processing metrics.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising comparing at least some of the object processing scenarios according to the predicted object processing metrics.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluation of the feasible object processing sites is based at least in part on at least one of, a storage object data type, or a nature of derived data of the storage object.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining one or more feasible object storage sites further comprises determining a data storage site independently from determining a site to store the derivative data of the storage object.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein a first processing site of the one or more object processing sites at a first geographical location executes a first processing activity and a second processing site of the one or more object processing sites at a second geographical location is restricted from executing the first processing activity, the second processing site being restricted from executing the first processing activity based at least in part on one or more policies pertaining to the second geographical location, the second geographical location being different than the first geographical location.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cloud-based environment comprises a plurality of regions, the plurality of regions comprising:
a first region having a first set of compute sites and storage sites, and
a second region having a second set of compute sites and storage sites, wherein the policy restricts the object processing activity and the object storage activity to the first region.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein an engine is configured to:
receive the object processing command,
receive source attributes corresponding to an object of the object processing command,
identify the policy to apply from one or more policies based at least in part on the object processing command and the source attributes, and
generate both storage commands for the object storage site and feasible object processing sites for selecting the object processing site, based at least in part on the policy identified.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the policy is associated with a metadata, the metadata comprising a data structure that references both a storage location and a processing location.

15. A computer readable medium, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a set of acts the acts comprising:
configuring a server in a cloud-based environment, wherein the server is configured to interface with one or more content management resource sites that are accessible over a network by the server to provide cloud-based storage services in response to an object processing command;
receiving, by the server, the object processing command comprising at least one object processing activity and at least one object storage activity;
identifying a policy that pertains to selection of both an object processing site and an object storage site; and
processing the object processing command based at least in part on the policy to produce an object processing sequence, wherein a first operation of the object processing sequence is performed at the object processing site and a second operation of the object processing sequence is performed at the object storage site, the object processing site and the object storage site being different sites, the selection of both the object processing site and the object storage site is performed by:
determining, based at least in part on the policy, by a first evaluation of one or more first metrics pertaining to one or more object processing sites, one or more feasible object processing sites, the one or more feasible object processing sites capable of executing at least a portion of the object processing activity, and
determining, based at least in part on the policy, by a second evaluation of one or more second metrics pertaining to one or more object storage sites, one or more feasible object storage sites, the one or more feasible object storage sites capable of executing at least a portion of the object storage activity, wherein the determining of the one or more feasible object processing sites is performed independently from the determining the one or more feasible object storage sites.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by the one or more processors

Assignees

• Box Inc

Inventors

• Rizqi Muhammad Ashar
• Queisser Jeffrey R
• Smith Benjamin C
• Greenan Kevin M

Classifications

• H04L67/289

  Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network · CPC title

• H04L67/06

  specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP] · CPC title

• G06F9/44505

  Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files · CPC title

• G06F3/0659

  Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling · CPC title

• H04L41/0803

  Configuration setting · CPC title