초록 ▼

Access to content addressable data on a network is facilitated using digital information storing devices or data repositories ("silos") that monitor broadcast data requests over the network. A number of silos automatically monitor both data requests and data itself that are broadcast over a network.

Access to content addressable data on a network is facilitated using digital information storing devices or data repositories ("silos") that monitor broadcast data requests over the network. A number of silos automatically monitor both data requests and data itself that are broadcast over a network. The silos selectively store data. Each silo responds to data requests broadcast over the network with data the silo has previously intercepted. A content addressable file scheme is used to enable the data repositories to reliably identify data being requested. When a data request is received, each silo evaluates whether it has all or a portion of the data being requested and responds to requests when it has the data. Requests for data are implemented by broadcasting a cryptographic hash data identifier of the data file needed. The data identifier is used by a silo to determine which data to receive and store.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A method of managing a computer system comprising a plurality of nodes connected via at least one communication medium, the computer system storing a plurality of digital assets, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital assets comprises content and is identified

The invention claimed is: 1. A method of managing a computer system comprising a plurality of nodes connected via at least one communication medium, the computer system storing a plurality of digital assets, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital assets comprises content and is identified in the computer system via an identifier that is based, at least in part, on at least some of the content of the at least one of the plurality of digital assets, the plurality of nodes comprising at least a first node and a second node, wherein the identifier is the only identifier that can be used to identify the at least one of the plurality of digital assets in any communication between the first node and the second node, the method comprising acts of: (A) storing each of the plurality of digital assets via at least one of the plurality of nodes according to a distribution scheme that provides distributed storage of the plurality of digital assets among the plurality of nodes; and (B) in response to a request to access at least one of the plurality of digital assets; (B1) performing a determination via the first node to determine whether the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets; and (B2) performing a determination via the second node to determine whether the second node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one communication medium comprises at least one network. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes comprises a silo that manages storage of at least some of the plurality of digital assets. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a content addressable storage system. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a storage system. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nodes are peer computers that are coupled by the at least one communication medium. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises storing at least one of the plurality of digital assets on at least one of the plurality of nodes. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises storing at least one of the plurality of digital assets on a storage device managed by at least one of the plurality of nodes. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises an act of storing each of the plurality of digital assets according to a distribution scheme enabling at least one of the plurality of digital assets to be stored in a manner that is not prearranged and is dependent upon at least one performance parameter of the computer system. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of: (C) managing the distribution of the plurality of digital assets among the plurality of nodes, at least in part, via node-to-node communications among the plurality of nodes. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises an act of storing each of the plurality of digital assets on at least one of the plurality of nodes according to a distribution scheme that evaluates at least one performance parameter of the computer system in determining on which of the plurality of nodes to store at least one of the plurality of assets. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) comprises an act of storing at least one of the plurality of digital assets on two or more of the plurality of nodes in accordance with the distribution scheme. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is initiated from one of the plurality of nodes. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the determinations performed in acts (B1) and (B2) are performed in parallel. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the determinations performed in acts (B1) and (B2) are performed serially. 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the determinations performed in acts (B1) and (B2) are performed using the identifier for the at least one of the plurality of digital assets. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (B) comprises an act of determining that both the first node and the second node store the at least one of the plurality of assets. 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (B) comprises an act of determining that the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of assets, and wherein the method further comprises an act of: (C) responding to the request by providing the at least one of the plurality of assets from the first node. 19. At least one computer readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions for execution on a computer system, the computer system comprising a plurality of nodes connected via at least one communication medium, the computer system storing a plurality of digital assets, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital assets comprises content and is identified in the computer system via an identifier that is based, at least in part, on at least some of the content of the at least one of the plurality of digital assets, the plurality of nodes comprising at least a first node and a second node, wherein the identifier is the only identifier that can be used to identify the at least one of the plurality of digital assets in any communication between the first node and the second node, the plurality of instructions, when executed on the computer system, performing a method comprising acts of: (A) storing each of the plurality of digital assets via at least one of the plurality of nodes according to a distribution scheme that provides distributed storage of the plurality of digital assets among the plurality of nodes; and (B) in response to a request to access at least one of the plurality of digital assets; (B1) performing a determination via the first node to determine whether the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets; and (B2) performing a determination via the second node to determine whether the second node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets. 20. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the at least one communication medium comprises at least one network. 21. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes comprises a silo that manages storage of at least some of the plurality of digital assets. 22. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the computer system comprises a content addressable storage system. 23. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the computer system comprises a storage system. 24. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the plurality of nodes are peer computers that are coupled by the at least one communication medium. 25. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (A) comprises storing at least one of the plurality of digital assets on at least one of the plurality of nodes. 26. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (A) comprises storing at least one of the plurality of digital assets on a storage device managed by at least one of the plurality of nodes. 27. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (A) comprises an act of storing each of the plurality of digital assets according to a distribution scheme enabling at least one of the plurality of digital assets to be stored in a manner that is not prearranged and is dependent upon at least one performance parameter of the computer system. 28. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises an act of: (C) managing the distribution of the plurality of digital assets among the plurality of nodes, at least in part, via node-to-node communications among the plurality of nodes. 29. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (A) comprises an act of storing each of the plurality of digital assets on at least one of the plurality of nodes according to a distribution scheme that evaluates at least one performance parameter of the computer system in determining on which of the plurality of nodes to store at least one of the plurality of assets. 30. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (A) comprises an act of storing at least one of the plurality of digital assets on two or more of the plurality of nodes in accordance with the distribution scheme. 31. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the request is initiated from one of the plurality of nodes. 32. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the determinations performed in acts (B1) and (B2) are performed in parallel. 33. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the determinations performed in acts (B1) and (B2) are performed serially. 34. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the determinations performed in acts (B1) and (B2) are performed using the identifier for the at least one of the plurality of digital assets. 35. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (B) comprises an act of determining that both the first node and the second node store the at least one of the plurality of assets. 36. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the act (B) comprises an act of determining that the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of assets, and wherein the method further comprises an act of: (C) responding to the request by providing the at least one of the plurality of assets from the first node. 37. A computer system for storing a plurality of digital assets, the computer system comprising: a plurality of nodes comprising at least a first node and a second node; at least one communication medium that couples the plurality of nodes; and at least one processor programmed to store each of the plurality of digital assets via at least one of the plurality of nodes according to a distribution scheme that provides distributed storage of the plurality of digital assets among the plurality of nodes, the plurality of digital assets comprising at least one first digital asset which is identified by the at least one processor via a first identifier that is based, at least in part, on at least some of the content of the at least one first digital asset, and at least one second digital asset which comprises the first identifier and metadata relating to the at least one first digital asset, the at least one second digital asset being identified by the at least one processor via a second identifier that is based, at least in part, on the content of the at least one second digital asset, the at least one processor being programmed to, in response to a request to access at least one of the plurality of digital assets; perform a determination via the first node to determine whether the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets; and perform a determination via the second node to determine whether the second node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets. 38. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one communication medium comprises at least one network. 39. The computer of claim 37, wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes comprises a silo that manages storage of at least some of the plurality of digital assets. 40. The computer of claim 37, wherein the computer system comprises a content addressable storage system. 41. The computer of claim 37, wherein the computer system comprises a storage system. 42. The computer of claim 37, wherein the computer system makes the plurality of digital assets available to at least one client, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital assets comprises content and is identified by the at least one client and the computer system via the first identifier. 43. The computer of claim 42, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine whether the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets and to determine whether the second node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets using the first identifier for the at least one of the plurality of digital assets. 44. The computer of claim 37, wherein the plurality of nodes are peer computers that are coupled by the at least one communication medium. 45. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to store at least one of the plurality of digital assets on at least one of the plurality of nodes. 46. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to store at least one of the plurality of digital assets on a storage device managed by at least one of the plurality of nodes. 47. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to store each of the plurality of digital assets according to a distribution scheme enabling at least one of the plurality of digital assets to be stored in a manner that is not prearranged and is dependent upon at least one performance parameter of the computer system. 48. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to manage the distribution of the plurality of digital assets among the plurality of nodes, at least in part, via node-to-node communications among the plurality of nodes. 49. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to store each of the plurality of digital assets on at least one of the plurality of nodes according to a distribution scheme that evaluates at least one performance parameter of the computer system in determining on which of the plurality of nodes to store at least one of the plurality of assets. 50. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to store at least one of the plurality of digital assets on two or more of the plurality of nodes in accordance with the distribution scheme. 51. The computer of claim 37, wherein the request is initiated from one of the plurality of nodes. 52. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine whether the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets and to determine whether the second node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets in parallel. 53. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine whether the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets and to determine whether the second node stores the at least one of the plurality of digital assets serially. 54. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine that both the first node and the second node store the at least one of the plurality of assets. 55. The computer of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to determine that the first node stores the at least one of the plurality of assets and to respond to the request by providing the at least one of the plurality of assets from the first node. 56. The computer system of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor is disposed on at least one of the plurality of nodes. 57. The computer system of claim 37, wherein the at least one processor comprises a plurality of processors distributed among the plurality of nodes.