EP0366341A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Reliable database administration arrangement
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1989-10-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-10-18
Abstract
Abstract In a distributed system, such as a PBX, which uses a database for its operation, a master copy (22) of the database having a first format is stored at a central node (10) and cache copies (32) of database portions (24) but having a different format are stored at peripheral nodes (11-12). A change to the database is made to the master copy, is recorded in a change table (26) corresponding to the affected database portion, and is sent to affected peripheral nodes. At initialization, a boot copy (25) is made of each database portion by translating the database portion from the master database format to the cache copy format. Periodically thereafter, each boot copy is replaced with a new boot copy that reflects changes presently recorded in the corresponding change table. When the new boot copy is generated, the present change table contents are erased. When a peripheral node calls for a new cache copy (e.g., upon reboot), it is sent the corresponding boot copy and any changes presently recorded in the corresponding change table.
Inventors
- 👤 Frederick Peter Block
- 👤 Norman Chin-Hung Chan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 16:59
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F13/00; H; H04; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/42; H04Q3/54; H04Q3/545; H04Q3/54508; H04Q3/54516; G06F16/00; G06F16/20; G06F16/27; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/1305; H04Q2213/13109; H04Q2213/13376; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99951; Y10S707/99952
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
83 words
An apparatus comprising: means for maintaining a database having a plurality of modifiable portions, the portions having a first format; means for storing records of modifications made to the database portions; means for generating boot copies of the database portions, the boot copies having a second format; and means responsive to a request from a requester for a database portion, for sending to the requester the boot copy of the requested portion and the presently-stored records of modifications made to the requested portion.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
83 words
An apparatus comprising: means for maintaining a database having a plurality of modifiable portions, the portions having a first format; means for storing records of modifications made to the database portions; means for generating boot copies of the database portions, the boot copies having a second format; and means responsive to a request from a requester for a database portion, for sending to the requester the boot copy of the requested portion and the presently-stored records of modifications made to the requested portion.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: means for occasionally generating a new boot copy of a database portion based on then-present contents of that portion and for deleting previously-stored records of modifications made to that portion.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for generating boot copies include means for translating the database portions from the first format to the second format.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
138 words
An apparatus comprising: a database having a plurality of modifiable portions having a first format; a plurality of storage means, each corresponding with a different one of the database portions, each for storing records of modifications made to the corresponding database portion; a plurality of boot copies of the database portions, each corresponding with a different one of the database portions and having a second format different from the first format; means responsive to modification of a database portion, for making a record of the modification in the storage means corresponding to the modified database portion; and means responsive to a request from a requester for a cache copy of database portion, for sending to the requester the boot copy of the requested portion and the modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to the requested portion.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
138 words
An apparatus comprising: a database having a plurality of modifiable portions having a first format; a plurality of storage means, each corresponding with a different one of the database portions, each for storing records of modifications made to the corresponding database portion; a plurality of boot copies of the database portions, each corresponding with a different one of the database portions and having a second format different from the first format; means responsive to modification of a database portion, for making a record of the modification in the storage means corresponding to the modified database portion; and means responsive to a request from a requester for a cache copy of database portion, for sending to the requester the boot copy of the requested portion and the modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to the requested portion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
62 words
The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising: means for occasionally generating a new boot copy of a database portion, the new boot copy reflecting modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to that database portion, and for deleting from the storage means corresponding to a database portion the records of the modifications reflected in the boot copy of that database portion.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 5 wherein a boot copy initially comprises an up-to-date copy of the corresponding database portion.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the boot copy generating means include means for translating the database portions from the first format to the second format.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
42 words
The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising: cache copies of the database portions, the cache copies having the second format; and means responsive to a modification of a database portion, for notifying of the modification the cache copy of the database portion.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
282 words
A distributed system comprising: a plurality of system nodes interconnected for communications; a database having a plurality of portions and located at a first location, the database portions having a first format; cache copies of the database portions located at a plurality of the nodes, the cache copies having a second format; means connected to the database for making changes in the database portions; a plurality of storage means each corresponding with a different one of the database portions, each for storing records of changes made to the corresponding database portion; a plurality of boot copies of the database portions, each corresponding with a different one of the database portions, the boot copies having the second format; means connected to the plurality of storage means and responsive to the change making means, for making a record of a change in a database portion in the storage means corresponding to the modified database portion, and for notifying of the change the node at which a cache copy of the database portion is located; means connected to the plurality of boot copies, for occasionally regenerating a boot copy to reflect in the boot copy changes that are presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to a same database portion as the boot copy, and for deleting from that storage means the records of the changes that were reflected in the regenerated boot copy; and means located at the first node and responsive to a request from a node for a new cache copy of a database portion, for sending to the requesting node the boot copy of the requested portion and the changes presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to the requested portion.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
282 words
A distributed system comprising: a plurality of system nodes interconnected for communications; a database having a plurality of portions and located at a first location, the database portions having a first format; cache copies of the database portions located at a plurality of the nodes, the cache copies having a second format; means connected to the database for making changes in the database portions; a plurality of storage means each corresponding with a different one of the database portions, each for storing records of changes made to the corresponding database portion; a plurality of boot copies of the database portions, each corresponding with a different one of the database portions, the boot copies having the second format; means connected to the plurality of storage means and responsive to the change making means, for making a record of a change in a database portion in the storage means corresponding to the modified database portion, and for notifying of the change the node at which a cache copy of the database portion is located; means connected to the plurality of boot copies, for occasionally regenerating a boot copy to reflect in the boot copy changes that are presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to a same database portion as the boot copy, and for deleting from that storage means the records of the changes that were reflected in the regenerated boot copy; and means located at the first node and responsive to a request from a node for a new cache copy of a database portion, for sending to the requesting node the boot copy of the requested portion and the changes presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to the requested portion.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the boot copy regenerating means include means for translating the database portion from the first format to the second format.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the regenerating means comprise means for occasionally making changes that are presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to a database portion in the boot copy of that database portion.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 9 wherein the regenerating means comprise means for replacing a boot copy of a database portion with a new boot copy that is formed anew from the corresponding database portion.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
81 words
A method of administering a database having a plurality of modifiable mortions, the portions having a first format, comprising the steps of: generating boot copies of the database portions, the boot copies having a second format; modifying a database portion; storing a record of the modification; and sending to a requester the boot copy of a requested portion and the presently-stored records of modifications made to the requested portion, in response to a request from the requester for the database portion.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
81 words
A method of administering a database having a plurality of modifiable mortions, the portions having a first format, comprising the steps of: generating boot copies of the database portions, the boot copies having a second format; modifying a database portion; storing a record of the modification; and sending to a requester the boot copy of a requested portion and the presently-stored records of modifications made to the requested portion, in response to a request from the requester for the database portion.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of: occasionally generating a new boot copy of a database portion based on then-present contents of that portion; and deleting previously-stored records of modifications made to that portion.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the step of generating boot copies include the step of translating the database portion from the first format to the second format.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of administering a database having a plurality of modifiable portions, comprising the steps of: (A) making a boot copy of each of the database portions, the database portions having a first format and the boot copies having a second format different from the first format; (B) modifying a database portion; (C) making a record of the modification in a storage means corresponding to the modified database portion; (D) selectively repeating steps B and C; and (E) in response to a request from a requester for a database portion, sending to the requester the boot copy of the requested portion and the modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to the requested portion.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
115 words
A method of administering a database having a plurality of modifiable portions, comprising the steps of: (A) making a boot copy of each of the database portions, the database portions having a first format and the boot copies having a second format different from the first format; (B) modifying a database portion; (C) making a record of the modification in a storage means corresponding to the modified database portion; (D) selectively repeating steps B and C; and (E) in response to a request from a requester for a database portion, sending to the requester the boot copy of the requested portion and the modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to the requested portion.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of: (F) occasionally generating a new boot copy of a database portion to reflect in the new boot copy modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to that database portion; and (G) deleting from the storage means corresponding to a database portion the records of the modifications reflected in the boot copy of that database portion.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 16 wherein step (A) includes the step of: translating each of the database portions from the first format into the second format.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 16 in an apparatus having a first node including the database and a plurality of other nodes including cache copies of the database portions, the method further comprising the step of: in response to modifying a database portion, notifying the node at which a cache copy of the database portion is located of the modification.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 16 in an apparatus having a first node including the database and a plurality of other nodes, the method further comprising the steps of: initially sending cache copies of the database portions to the other nodes for storage at the other nodes; and in response to modifying a database portion, notifying the node at which a cache copy of the database portion is located of the modification.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the step (F) comprises the step of occasionally modifying the boot copy of a database portion with modifications presently recorded in the storage means corresponding to that database portion.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the step (F) comprises the step of replacing a boot copy of a database portion with a new boot copy that is formed anew from the corresponding database portion.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the step (F) comprises the step of translating the database portion from the first format into the second format.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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