CA2323275A1 - System and method for mobile data management - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for mobile data management wherein a remote computer requests files from a cached file list on a computer server, the server retrieves the files from files hosts by issuing a request of the file host.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOBILE DATA MANAGEMENT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to remote file access. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for mobile data management.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Wireless Internet access is a rapidly growing market. Estimates show that the number of subscribers to wireless Internet services should expand to almost three quarters of a billion users from the current levels of less than 4 million subscribers by 2004. Much of this growth will occur in the cellular phone market which is forecast to grow from 300 million handsets to 1 billion handsets in the same time frame.
Content available to these users is widely seen as the present stumbling block to growth in this market. Currently most wireless access is limited, due to bandwidth and device limitations, to trivial information such as limited e-mail functionality, stock quotes and transactions, and weather forecasts. Without persuasive content or functionality the wireless Internet will fail to be a persuasive tool for businesses. The next generation of wireless Internet access will only be successful if there is an application that offers functionality presently lacking form current applications.
Currently the proliferation of electronic devices to assist people has spurred a desire for the convergence of these devices. Manufacturers of laptop computers, cellular phones, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) such as PaImTM and PocketPCTM devices are all seeking to promote their devices as the tool of choice for accessing the Internet wirelessly. In conjunction with computers at home and at work, networked storage solutions and virtual hard drive these devices have fragmented the available data storage leading to data sprawl, the spreading of important data across disjoint storage spaces. This phenomenon is an impediment to people who want uninterrupted access to their data.
Recently online storage providers have created mobile and web based interfaces to allow access to stored data. The access offered permits the attachment of files stored by the provider to outgoing email. This could conceivably allow users of these services to use a mobile Internet device, such as a cellular phone, to email files to third parties without access to the computers that the file originally resided on. Unfortunately these services have several

-2-important drawbacks. The first of the drawbacks is that the data to be accessed must reside upon the storage provided by the storage provider. This drawback requires the user of the service to plan ahead for all contingencies, and ensure that before travelling away from the computer, upon which the data resides, that all data that will be needed is transferred to the online storage provider. This is not feasible in the business world where needs for documents and information is not always foreseeable. Additionally placing data in the hands of an online storage provider means that the data is available anyone who penetrates the security of the central server. Having a centralized server architecture provides a single point of failure whereby an attack designed to obtain one user's data could make every users' data available.
In addition the requirement to place all needed data on the online storage provider's site assumes that an adequate amount of storage is available in the user's online account. These limitations render these systems of limited use in real world business situations.
In an attempt to provide a better solution to the problems noted above other attempts have been made to make data available to mobile professionals. These services offer access to the data stored on a local computer, through access to their front end web sites. Software is typically installed on a host computer that makes the host computer act as a file server.
Upon making a request to the web site, the web site sends the file request to the server software installed on the host computer. The host computer locates the data and transmits the data to the web server, which then sends to a destination. Typically the destination is an email address, though it can also be the device requesting the information.
Some of these servers attempt to synchronize the data between the host computer and the requesting device, a process fraught with difficulties, while others simply allow file transfers.
Because these system transform the host computer into a server they rely upon the host computer to be attached to an always on Internet connection, with a fixed address. Without a fixed address, the server has no way of connecting to the host computer and cannot access the data.
Without an always on Internet connection, the server may have no way to access the data. If the host computer is not connected at the time of a request the server will be forced to either continually poll the address of the host computer, a process that places a strain on the server, or will discontinue its attempt to connect to the host computer causing the transaction to fail.
Turning the host computer into a server is a difficult proposition in many circumstances, as many host computers reside behind firewalls. Firewalls can obscure the IP
address of the

-3-host computer, prevent access to the desired ports on the host computer, or block all access except that which arises as a result of a local request. These limitations are especially important to many business users whose systems reside behind firewalls for security.
Additionally turning the host computer into a server has the inadvertent effect of making the system vulnerable to attacks, as the system is already designed to accept request for data.
Another result of these systems is that they are typically designed to access only one host computer. The overhead of checking multiple servers is a limiting factor in their ability to manage multiple data sources.
The current technologies and services provide limited help to mobile professionals whose success depends on speed of execution and effectiveness. Mobile professionals need more than third party content or solutions that require them to know in advance of leaving the office, the information to which they might need access.
Current methods of implementing file-sharing systems require users to input user IDs and passwords as a form of verification. On many WAP enabled phones inputting an alphanumeric user ID is a time consuming process that is fraught with errors.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a method and system for mobile data management that allows remote data management from multiple sources, without requiring user initiated data transfers in advance of data access.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one disadvantage of previous systems and methods for mobile data management.
Benefits to users of the system may include the ability to operate in "real time" and get needed information, when needed, improve time management and accomplish more with limited precious time by leveraging the latest technologies, raise output and make more money by closing more deals, Increase speed and move faster than the competition, make life easier and complete tasks immediately reducing "task burden", no matter where they are, and lighten their load by avoiding having to carry around paper, floppies and laptops.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides a system for mobile data management comprising a remote computer system, a file hosting systems and a computer server for accepting connections to the remote computer system and the file hosting system, to allow

-4-the remote computer system to request data from the file hosting system, said data transferred to the computer server in response to a request made of the file hosting system after an update of the computer server performed by the file hosting system.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
Fig. 1 is an architecture overview;
Fig. 2 is a server architecture overview; and Fig. 3 is an implementation of a WAP connection to the MDM server.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Generally, the present invention provides a method and system for mobile data management (MDM). Typically MDM is provided to users with an Internet connection through the use of industry standard interfaces such as Hypertext mark-up Language (HTML) pages and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) sites. The servers hosting these sites connect to a mobile data management server which tracks the location and availability of files accessible to the remote user. The interface, though described here as an HTML
page or a WAP site, can take numerous other embodiments such as interactive voice response (IVR) telephone systems or other data or telephone based solutions.
An overview of the system architecture is provided in Figure 1. In Figure 1 the remote user connects to the server through one of a number of system with a connection to the MDM server. These connections can be through the Internet using a web or WAP server, or through an IVR with a gateway to the MDM server.
The MDM server hosts a list of files available to the users. This list of files is updated periodically by the devices hosting the files. The file hosts are conventional computer system that may or may not reside behind a firewall, but must have a connection to the MDM server, typically this connection is through the Internet.
Through the architecture of Figure 1, users are provided a single point of access to numerous file repositories. Interaction between the remote users and the MDM
server can be

-5-conducted through the user of industry standard protocols and methods. Through interactions with the file hosting systems the MDM server allows the user to remotely retrieve, copy, move, and transmit files. Through interaction with a facsimile server, or email server, the MDM server can allow users to remotely fax or email files to third parties.
A novel method of accessing the files hosted by the file hosts is employed to allow interaction with computer systems without fixed addresses, permanent connections or that reside behind a firewall. Typically firewalls block transmissions to computer systems behind the wall if the transmission was not requested, this effectively blocks the MDM server from polling the file hosts to determine the files that are available, or to request the files themselves. One possible solution to this is that the firewalls can be designed to allow access to the protected systems by opening a specified port to outside traffic. This is a security risk that most system administrators deem excessive. A novel solution employed in this invention is that the MDM server treats the file hosts as clients instead of attempting to use them as servers. Each file host uses software that periodically connects to the MDM
server through industry standard methods and updates the list of files available. The response to the update message is always permitted by the firewalls because it is a reply to a client message. In this response message, the MDM server encodes a message to the file host if there are files that must be sent. The requests from the MDM server are thus disguised as responses and pass through the firewall without any trouble.
This architecture also allows other features. Since the MDM server is not polling the file hosts, then there is no need for the MDM server to know the IP address of the file host.
Typically without the address of the host the MDM server would not know how to get the files, but since the request is in the form of a response the MDM server is simply replying to an IP address that initiated the request. This allows the use of the system with firewalls that mask the originating IP address, and allows the use of the system with systems that do not have a fixed IP address. Mobile systems will check with the server periodically whenever they are connected to the Internet, and will considered unavailable at the other times.
Requests for files from mobile systems, or systems that do not have permanent Internet connections can be cached by the server until the file host with the file connects to the MDM
server.

-(-The MDM server increases the response time to queries by caching a list of files made accessible by the file hosts, and maintains this list for searching. When a search indicates the system that the desired file is on, the next time that the system having the file updates the server it will be informed that the file is requested and the file will be transferred to the MDM
server. Once the file is transferred to the MDM server, the specified action, email, facsimile or file transfer will be performed.
The MDM server can also be implemented in such a way as to provide users the ability to create communities of trust, wherein certain users can share files with other users of the system. Files made available in this manner are also available in the searches, and will be accessed from the system that they originally reside on, so that files can be updated without the need to synchronize them.
To overcome the problem of allowing users with limited text entry abilities to log into the system using WAP enabled devices a novel method of user identification is employed.
Instead of requesting a user input a user ID, the system creates a unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that can be bookmarked by the user. The user can go to the URL
specific to them and simply input a password, which simplifies the login process.
Some of the features included in the invention are document management features which allow single point access to documents contained in a mobile briefcase, a virtual hard drive or personal computer via any Internet device, manage documents including the ability to find, browse, move, copy and delete documents, share documents with other users. Other features include email access including ability to email documents, fax documents to any fax address, contact managment to simplify tracking contact information, alert management for important messages and global 24 hour access to services.
The architecture is designed in a mufti-tier approach using industry standard protocols for communication between tiers. This mufti-tier design enables rapid deployment of new service offerings with little or no impact to clients. The layered architecture is scalable, and can accommodate high usage and throughput when needed. This mufti-tier design also facilitates integration of external services and components. Integrated components and systems can be interchanged with little impact to other layers.
Clients can be any browser or device that has a direct, or indirect, connection to the MDM server. The MDM server supports Internet Explorer (IE) and Netscape browsers, _7_ WAP/Wireless Markup Language (WML) enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and pagers. To ensure privacy, all communication to the server will be via the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol where supported.
The server side presentation tier isolates business logic that is specific to handling various client presentation types, such as HTML and WML. The MDM server can include support for cHTML (iMode devices), mufti-lingual support including Asian character sets, as well as easily accommodate any new Internet enabled device types.
The server side business logic layer contains the core Enterprise Services.
Industry standard protocols and standard Application Programming Interfaces (API) are used to communicate with these services. This standard based approach enables underlying implementations and components to be swapped in and out with no impact to the core business logic. An additional benefit to utilizing standard protocols and APIs when communicating with the service layer means clients and system components can evolve and be interchanged with little or no impact to the core business logic.
1 S The Systems tier details the diverse set of external systems that integrate with the Server Side Business logic layer to support of the offered services.
Supported client platforms include IE 4 version and later, Netscape 3.x version and greater (desktop browsers must support RFC 1867 in order for he File Upload feature to work (Netscape 3.0+ and Microsoft IE 4.0+ are RFC 1867-compliant)), device browsers supporting WML1.1 and HDML 3.0, client supported presentations include WML 1.1, HDML 3.0, HTML 3.0, SMS, and CHTML. Communication protocols used can include client platform to server through http and https, Server to Systems through hops, XML, SMTP
and Server to client through SMS, http and https. Authentication is provided so that System defined user administration with self enrolment and an industry standard Certificate provider can be utilized.
Security and privacy are critical issues. This is addressed by encrypting communication between the client and server using industry standard protocols, ensuring appropriate service layer controls are in place to protect a user's account access and content.
System scalability issues are addressed by ensuring the MDM server meets performance expectations and is designed to scale as the client base grows.

_$_ User requirements demand 7x24 hour access to services. This requirement has implications for the system in terms of the fault tolerance level of the system, windows for system maintenance and the implementation platform.
The fault tolerance level of the system is high, i.e. the rate of failure of the system Is low. Lack of system availability directly impacts sales and system credibility. To address this requirement, the system implementation can use the web server farm model for system deployment. This implementation would use the request-based routing method (as opposed to session-based) where each http request is routed to a server for processing, by way of a routing server. This implementation has two primary benefits. First, the routing server determines the http request destination, at the time of the request. If a server failure occurs, the routing server can be notified of server unavailability, with subsequent requests being redirected to other machines. Second, this configuration has been shown to better utilize hardware in terms of performance and also has been shown to scale upwards as demand increases. Adding more machines to the configuration can accommodate additional load.
The system offers a wireless access gateway that enables business people to access their own information universe, including personal and business documents and files stored on their home PC, office PC, public storage areas, or any number of private virtual storage devices.
The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (2)

What is claimed is:

1. A system for mobile data management comprising:
a remote computer system;
a file hosting system; and a computer server for accepting connections to the remote computer system and the file hosting system, to allow the remote computer system to request data from the file hosting system, said data transferred to the computer server in response to a request made of the file hosting system by the computer server.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein the file hosting system periodically polls the computer server.