Systems and methods for third-party policy-based file distribution in an aggregation of cloud storage services

Abstract

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for aggregation and management of cloud storage to leverage third-party storage policies. Some cloud storage providers may allow users to store some types of files for free, without counting the files against a storage quota or limit, such as photos. Other providers may allow users to store music files, and may automatically replace lower quality recordings with high quality versions (improving quality for the user while performing deduplication and storage mitigation by the server). These policies may be utilized by a storage manager to direct corresponding types of files to specific storage providers to take advantage of free storage or further processing. The files may be excluded from load balancing algorithms, such that storage quotas are not unbalanced as a result of policies of one provider.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a storage manager from a client device over a computer network, information of a first file stored at the client device;   identifying, by the storage manager, that the first file is a first type of file based on the information;   identifying, by the storage manager, a first cloud storage provider based on the first cloud storage provider providing enhanced file processing on files matching the first type of file, relative to file processing provided by other cloud storage providers on files matching the first type of file; and   transmitting, by the storage manager to the client device, the identification of the first cloud storage provider.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first cloud storage provider performs the enhanced file processing to generate a processed item, and wherein the method further comprises:
 causing, by the storage manager, the client device to retrieve the processed item from first cloud provider;   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to instruct the first cloud provider to delete the processed item; and   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to transmit the processed item to a second cloud provider that has different storage policies relative to the first cloud provider.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying, by the storage manager, a second file associated with the client device and stored at a second cloud storage provider, wherein the second file is the first type of file; and   transferring, by the storage manager, the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider, responsive to the second file matching the first type of file.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein transferring the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider comprises:
 transmitting, by the storage manager to the client device, a second identification of the second cloud storage provider and the second file, wherein receipt of the second identification causes the client device to retrieve the second file from the second cloud storage provider; and   transmitting, by the storage manager to the client device, the identification of the first cloud storage provider, wherein receipt of the identification of the first cloud storage provider causes the client device to transmit the second file to the first cloud storage provider.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising identifying, by the storage manager, that an account associated with the client device at the second cloud storage provider is above a data storage threshold; and wherein transferring the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider is performed responsive to identification that the second cloud storage provider is above the data storage threshold. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising balancing, by the storage manager, amounts of files of the client device that are stored within multiple storage providers with which the client device maintains accounts by:
 causing, by the storage manager, the client device to retrieve synchronized files from, and delete retrieved files within, ones of the multiple storage providers with storage utilization rates above a threshold; and   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to transmit the retrieved files to ones of the multiple storage providers with storage utilization rates below the threshold.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the enhanced file processing performed by the first cloud storage provider comprises at least one of:
 for audio files: replacing low bitrate audio files with corresponding high bitrate audio files; and   for image files: geolocation, image analysis and tagging, facial recognition, and image processing.   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a storage manager from a client device over a computer network, metadata of a first file stored at the client device;   identifying, by the storage manager, that the first file is a first type of file based on the metadata;   identifying, by the storage manager, a first cloud storage provider based on the first cloud storage provider providing enhanced file processing on files matching the first type of file, relative to file processing provided by other cloud storage providers on files matching the first type of file;   transmitting, by the storage manager to the client device, the identification of the first cloud storage provider;   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to transfer the first file to the first cloud storage provider responsive to the client device receiving the identification of the first cloud storage provider; and   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to retrieve the first file from the first cloud storage provider and transfer the first file to a second cloud storage provider after the first cloud storage provider has performed the enhanced processing on the first file.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first cloud storage provider performs the enhanced file processing to generate a processed item, and wherein the method further comprises:
 causing, by the storage manager, the client device to retrieve the processed item from first cloud provider;   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to instruct the first cloud provider to delete the processed item; and   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to transmit the processed item to a second cloud provider that has different storage policies relative to the first cloud provider.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 identifying, by the storage manager, a second file associated with the client device and stored at a second cloud storage provider, wherein the second file is the first type of file; and   transferring, by the storage manager, the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider, responsive to the second file matching the first type of file.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein transferring the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider comprises:
 transmitting, by the storage manager to the client device, a second identification of the second cloud storage provider and the second file, wherein receipt of the second identification causes the client device to retrieve the second file from the second cloud storage provider; and   transmitting, by the storage manager to the client device, the identification of the first cloud storage provider, wherein receipt of the identification of the first cloud storage provider causes the client device to transmit the second file to the first cloud storage provider.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising identifying, by the storage manager, that an account associated with the client device at the second cloud storage provider is above a data storage threshold; and wherein transferring the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider is performed responsive to identification that the second cloud storage provider is above the data storage threshold. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising balancing, by the storage manager, amounts of files of the client device that are stored within multiple storage providers with which the client device maintains accounts by:
 causing, by the storage manager, the client device to retrieve synchronized files from, and delete retrieved files within, ones of the multiple storage providers with storage utilization rates above a threshold; and   causing, by the storage manager, the client device to transmit the retrieved files to ones of the multiple storage providers with storage utilization rates below the threshold.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the enhanced file processing performed by the first cloud storage provider comprises at least one of:
 for audio files: replacing low bitrate audio files with corresponding high bitrate audio files; and   for image files: geolocation, image analysis and tagging, facial recognition, and image processing.   
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 a server, in communication with a client device over a computer network, comprising a processor executing a storage manager, wherein the storage manager is configured to:
 receive, from the client device, information of a first file stored at the client device; 
 identify that the first file is a first type of file based on the information; 
 identify a first cloud storage provider based on the first cloud storage provider providing enhanced file processing on files matching the first type of file, relative to file processing provided by other cloud storage providers on files matching the first type of file; and 
 transmit, to the client device, the identification of the first cloud storage provider. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the first cloud storage provider performs the enhanced file processing to generate a processed item, and wherein the storage manager is further configured to:
 instruct the client device to retrieve the processed item from first cloud provider;   instruct the client device to instruct the first cloud provider to delete the processed item; and   instruct the client device to transmit the processed item to a second cloud provider that has different storage policies relative to the first cloud provider.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to:
 identify a second file associated with the client device and stored at a second cloud storage provider, wherein the second file is the first type of file; and   transfer the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider responsive to the second file matching the first type of file.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the storage manager transfers the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider by:
 transmitting, to the client device, a second identification of the second cloud storage provider and the second file, wherein receipt of the second identification causes the client device to retrieve the second file from the second cloud storage provider; and   transmitting, to the client device, the identification of the first cloud storage provider, wherein receipt of the identification of the first cloud storage provider causes the client device to transmit the second file to the first cloud storage provider.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to identify that an account associated with the client device at the second cloud storage provider is above a data storage threshold; and wherein the storage manager transfers the second file from the second cloud storage provider to the first cloud storage provider responsive to identification that the second cloud storage provider is above the data storage threshold. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the storage manager is further configured to balance amounts of files of the client device that are stored within multiple storage providers with which the client device maintains accounts by:
 causing the client device to retrieve synchronized files from, and delete retrieved files within, ones of the multiple storage providers with storage utilization rates above a threshold; and   causing the client device to transmit the retrieved files to ones of the multiple storage providers with storage utilization rates below the threshold.