Distributed scalable policy based content management

Abstract

A method for defining and constraining the behavior of a shared, mobile content management system is disclosed. The method includes providing an admin console for defining, modifying, and managing declarative policies. Declarative policies are defined based on an XML policy model. The XML policy model dictates the policies that can be expressed by the admin console. The defined declarative policies are enacted without requiring the content management system to be restarted, reconfigured, or re-implemented. An XML-based policy wizard definition language is provided to define policy wizards in the admin console that guide an administrator through the steps of creating and editing the policies. Additionally, at least one policy repository based on LDAP is provided. The at least one policy repository has an interface and is adapted to store a plurality of declarative policies. The policy repository has scalable and distributed capabilities.

1 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A distributed, scalable policy filter architecture for a content management system comprising:
 a computer comprising a processor and a memory;   a policy repository for storing a plurality of policies stored in the memory, the policy repository comprising an interface for allowing a content management engine run on the processor to retrieve the stored policies via a plurality of indexes of the stored policies, the indexes including a system trigger index and a condition index, each of the plurality of indexes being tied to a specific domain name in a directory;   the content management engine comprising:
 a plurality of filters that act as policy decision points, the plurality filters retrieving the relevant policies from the policy repository, the filters being adapted to retrieve and evaluate the policies via the interface of the policy repository, the evaluation of the policies by the plurality of filters to determine what system transactions are required in response to a content request; and the evaluation of the policies being performed in at least one of an outsourcing mode and a provisioning mode; and 
 a systems transactions processor that requires every content request to pass through the plurality of policy filters before the request is processed. 
   
     
     
         28 . The policy filter architecture of  claim 27 , wherein the plurality of filters are instantiated in parallel to enable load balancing and increased throughput. 
     
     
         29 . The policy filter architecture of  claim 28 , wherein the plurality of filters are distributed on a plurality of different machines. 
     
     
         30 . The policy filter architecture of  claim 29 , wherein multiple policies are applied to the same transaction across a plurality of security domains, the plurality of security domains being on the plurality of different machines. 
     
     
         31 . The policy filter architecture of  claim 28  wherein the outsourcing mode uses information from multiple sources to evaluate the policy. 
     
     
         32 . The policy filter architecture of  claim 31  wherein the multiple sources relate to at least one of a user's device and a connecting network. 
     
     
         33 . The policy filter architecture of  claim 28  wherein the provisioning mode uses policy rules compiled into specific policy parameters to evaluate the policy. 
     
     
         34 . A mobile content management system including a plurality of transient mobile devices, the mobile content management system adapted to generate internal transient policies, the system comprising:
 a computer comprising a processor and a memory;   a mobile content management engine executed on the processor, the mobile content management engine generating internal transient policies in response to events within or external from the system, the content management engine comprising a system transactions processor and an event notification component, wherein the content management engine uses the generated internal transient policies to configure the behavior of the system transactions processor and the event notification component; and   wherein the content management engine supports version control on digital content by instantiating transient policies which allows for a first mobile device to access the digital content and stops other mobile devices from accessing the digital content until the first mobile device returns the digital content.   
     
     
         35 . The content management system of  claim 34 , wherein the content management engine supports the locking of the digital content by instantiating a transient locked policy when the digital content needs to be locked. 
     
     
         36 . The content management system of  claim 35 , wherein the transient locked policy is turned off or deleted when the system no longer requires locking. 
     
     
         37 . A mobile shared content management system comprising:
 a computer comprising a processor and a memory;   a plurality of mobile devices having periodic communications within the system within a network;   a policy repository in the memory of the computer for storing a plurality of system policies;   a content management engine running on the processor comprising:
 a plurality of filters that act as policy decision points, the filters retrieving policies from the policy repository and adapted to retrieve and evaluate the policies of the policy repository, wherein the evaluation of the policies by the plurality of filters determine what system transactions are required in response to a content request; and 
 a systems transactions processor that requires the content request to pass through the plurality of policy filters before the content request is processed; 
   an interface for allowing the content management engine to run on the processor to retrieve stored policies via a plurality of indexes of the stored policies, the indexes including a system trigger index and a condition index, each of the plurality of indexes being tied to a specific domain name in a directory; and   a policy wizard user interface in the memory of the computer, the policy wizard user interface in communication with the plurality of mobile devices for guiding a user through a sequence of steps to create a policy, the sequence of steps comprising:   a system trigger specifying when at least one condition should be evaluated, and   evaluating whether the at least one condition is true in order for the policy to be applied.   
     
     
         38 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 37 , wherein the plurality of filters are instantiated in parallel to enable load balancing and increased throughput. 
     
     
         39 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 38 , wherein the plurality of filters are distributed on a plurality of different machines. 
     
     
         40 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 39 , wherein multiple policies are applied to multiple systems transactions across a plurality of security domains, the plurality of security domains being on a plurality of different machines. 
     
     
         41 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 37 , wherein the content management engine further comprises a protocol for:
 discovering a relevant resource;   checking the feasibility of the resource;   identifying content that is new; and   distributing the content to the plurality of mobile devices at a specified time.   
     
     
         42 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 41 , wherein the relevant resource is selected from an available network, available device, content type, and file system adapter. 
     
     
         43 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 41 , wherein the policy can be applied dynamically while the system is running. 
     
     
         44 . The mobile shared content management system of  claim 41 , wherein the policy repository uses an LDAP protocol and directory for storage of system policies.