Aggregation of file/directory structures

Abstract

In general, in one aspect, the disclosure describes a method that includes maintaining a superset of data available to a client having non volatile memory (NVM) on a distant hard drive. A subset of the data is maintained in the NVM on the client. The client controls the data maintained on the distant hard drive and the data maintained in the NVM. A single merged directory/file structure is generated from a directory/file structure of the superset and a directory/file structure of the subset. The directory/file structures overlap and the single merged directory/file structure merges the overlapping directory/file structures so only the directory/file structure of the subset is presented for the overlap. The single merged directory/file structure is presented to a user of the client and applications running thereon.

1 . A method comprising
 maintaining a superset of content available to a client having non volatile memory (NVM) on a distant hard drive, wherein the client controls the content maintained on the distant hard drive, and wherein the superset is maintained in a first directory/file structure;   maintaining a subset of the content in the NVM on the client, wherein the client controls the content maintained in the NVM, and wherein the subset is maintained in a second directory/file structure; and   generating a single merged directory/file structure from the first directory/file structure of the superset and second directory/file structure of the subset, wherein the first directory/file structure and the second directory/file structure overlap, wherein the single merged directory/file structure merges the overlapping directory/file structures so only the second directory/file structure is presented for the overlapping directory/file structure, wherein the single merged directory/file structure presents portions of the first directory/file structure and the second directory/file structure, and wherein the single merged directory/file structure is presented to a user of the client and applications running thereon.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the single merged directory/file structure identifies to the user of the client the subset of content contained on the client that will be available when the distant hard drive is not available. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the maintaining a superset includes copying content from the NVM to the distant hard drive whenever the client determines that it has content that is not contained on the distant hard drive and the client has a usable connection to the distant hard drive, wherein the copying is controlled by the client. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the maintaining a subset includes deleting content from the NVM when additional storage is needed, wherein the deleting is controlled by the client, and wherein the content deleted from the NVM is maintained in the distant hard drive. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the maintaining a superset includes maintaining the superset over a plurality of distant hard drives networked to the client. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the maintaining a superset includes maintaining redundant copies of content over the plurality of distant hard drives so that failure of a single distant hard drive will not result in loss of content. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the generating includes
 generating a single aggregated directory/file structure for the plurality of distant hard drives; and   generating the single merged directory/file structure for the second directory/file structure of the subset and the single aggregated directory/file structure.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 generating a single aggregated directory/file structure for a plurality of distant hard drives networked together and storing the superset, wherein the single aggregated directory/file structure is generated by a computer networked to the plurality of distant hard drives; and   presenting the single aggregated directory/file structure to the client, wherein the generating a single merged directory/file structure includes generating the single merged directory/file structure for the second directory/file structure of the subset and the presented single aggregated directory/file structure of the superset.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the maintaining a superset includes maintaining a superset of content for a plurality of clients. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the generating includes generating the single merged directory/file structure for each client, and wherein the single merged directory/file structure is same for each client. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generating includes generating the single merged directory/file structure that includes virtual directory/file structures based on parameters about the content, wherein the virtual directory/file structures are presented to the user and the applications but are not stored. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising
 a client having limited storage capability to store a subset of a users dataset;   distant storage, connectable to the client, to store a superset of the users dataset, wherein the client is to copy content making up the superset to the distant storage;   a directory/file aggregator to generate a single merged directory/file structure from directory/file structures of content within the subset and directory/file structures of content within the superset, wherein the single merged directory/file structure is accessible to a user of the client and applications running thereon.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the distant storage is a plurality of storage devices connectable to the clients, wherein the superset is to be stored on some combination of the plurality of storage devices. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the client is a plurality of clients each containing a subset of the dataset. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the directory/file aggregator is to operate on each client to generate the single merged directory/file structure therefore, and wherein the single merged directory/file structure is same for each client. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the directory/file aggregator is to generate the single merged directory/file structure and to share it over a network connecting the client and the distant storage. 
     
     
         17 . A method comprising
 aggregating multiple actual directory/file structures accessible to a device to create a single actual directory/file structure;   creating a virtual directory/file structure for content contained within the single actual directory/file structure, wherein the virtual directory/file structure is not stored; and   aggregating the virtual directory/file structure and the single actual directory/file structure to create a unified directory/file structure that is accessible to users of the device and programs running on the device.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the creating includes creating the virtual directory/file structure based on parameters associated with the content. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the parameters are gathered from the content, data within the content, or metadata associated with the content. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the multiple actual directory/file structures are maintained on a plurality of devices networked together.