Cursor with last observed access state

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11314774-B2
Application number	US-202016897884-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2020
Priority date	Dec 28, 2017
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

The present technology pertains to an organization directory hosted by a synchronized content management system. The corporate directory can provide access to user accounts for all members of the organization to all content items in the organization directory on the respective file systems of the members' client devices. Members can reach any content item at the same path as other members relative to the organization directory root on their respective client device. In some embodiments novel access permissions are granted to maintain path consistency.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, when executed the instructions are effective to cause a content management system to:
send, to a client device, information regarding a latest revision to a namespace, wherein the client device is authorized to access a user account on the content management system;
send, to the client device, a cursor including last known revision data associated with the namespace and a token identifying one or more signed rights identifiers associated with a previously-authorized session, a previously-authorized account, or a previously-authorized client device;
receive, from the client device, a request to commit a change to the namespace, wherein the request includes the cursor; and
commit the change to the namespace, the change being an update to the namespace.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the content management system to:
determine, before the committing the change, that the cursor does not reflect the latest revision; and
send, to the client device, revisions subsequent to the latest revision sent associated with the cursor, wherein the change to the namespace is committed subsequently.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2 , wherein the cursor identifies an entry when recorded access was last confirmed.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the determining that the cursor does not reflect the latest revision is based on an identification of a mount revision that is subsequent to the entry identified by the cursor.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the content management system to:
include any namespace to which the user account has access in the cursor or a list of paths to which the user account has partial access in the cursor.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the content management system to:
encrypt and sign the cursor.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the content management system to:
receive, from the client device, a second request to read further revisions from the namespace, the request includes the cursor; and
send, to the client device, any further revisions when the cursor identifies access permission to the namespace as part of the last known revision data.

8. A method comprising:
sending, to a client device from a content management system, information regarding a latest revision to a namespace, wherein the client device is authorized to access a user account on the content management system;
sending, to the client device, a cursor including last known revision data associated with the namespace and a token identifying one or more signed rights identifiers associated with a last previously-authorized session;
receiving, from the client device, a request to commit a change to the namespace, wherein the request includes the cursor; and
committing the change to the namespace, the change being an update to the namespace.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determine, before the committing the change, that the cursor does not reflect the latest revision; and
send, to the client device, revisions subsequent to the latest revision sent associated with the cursor, wherein the change to the namespace is committed subsequently.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the cursor identifies an entry when recorded access was last confirmed.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the determining that the cursor does not reflect the latest revision is based on an identification of a mount revision that is subsequent to the entry identified by the cursor.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
including any namespace to which the user account has access in the cursor or a list of paths to which the user account has partial access in the cursor.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
encrypt and sign the cursor.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
receive, from the client device, a second request to read further revisions from the namespace, the request includes the cursor; and
send, to the client device, any further revisions when the cursor identifies access permission to the namespace as part of the last known revision data.

15. A content management system comprising: one or more processors; and
memory having instructions stored thereon, that when executed the instructions are effective to cause the one or more processors to:
send, to a client device, information regarding a latest revision to a namespace, wherein the client device is authorized to access a user account on the content management system;
send, to the client device, a cursor including last known revision data associated with the namespace and a token identifying one or more signed rights identifiers associated with a previously-authorized session, a previously-authorized account, or a previously-authorized client device;
receive, from the client device, a request to commit a change to the namespace, wherein the request includes the cursor; and
commit the change to the namespace, the change being an update to the namespace.

16. The content management system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
determine, before the committing the change, that the cursor does not reflect the latest revision; and
send, to the client device, revisions subsequent to the latest revision sent associated with the cursor, wherein the change to the namespace is committed subsequently.

17. The content management system of claim 16 , wherein the determining that the cursor does not reflect the latest revision is based on an identification of a mount revision that is subsequent to the latest revision identified by the cursor.

18. The content management system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
include any namespace to which the user account has access in the cursor or a list of paths to which the user account has partial access in the cursor.

19. The content management system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
encrypt and sign the cursor.

20. The content management system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:
receive, from the client device, a second request to read further revisions from the namespace, the request includes the cursor; and
send, to the client device, any further revisions when the cursor identifies access permission to the namespace as part of the last known revision data.

Assignees

• Dropbox Inc

Inventors

• Kleinpeter Thomas
• Albert Akos
• Lu Helen
• Staley Aaron

Classifications

• G06F16/27 Primary

  Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor · CPC title

• G06F16/11 Primary

  File system administration, e.g. details of archiving or snapshots (error detection or correction of the data by redundancy in operations G06F11/14) · CPC title

• H04L67/01

  Protocols · CPC title

• H04L63/08

  for authentication of entities (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32) · CPC title

• G06F16/162

  Delete operations (erasing in storage systems G06F3/0652) · CPC title