Cloud Data Synchronization with Limited Bandwidth Communications

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has identified the need for a cloud data synchronization system which will enable an expeditionary user to download mission-specific data sets from a cloud-based platform to a mobile/laptop platform and use the cached data independently when disconnected from the cloud-based platform. When connectivity to the cloud is re-stablished, the system must provide bi-directional data synchronization to update the data sets on cloud-side and mobile platforms while operating in an intermittent and bandwidth-limited environment. To address this need, Architecture Technology Corporation will develop a software-based end-to-end-solution for information access which will pre-position information objects needed by mobile users on the mobile node in an anticipatory fashion. When users make requests, the system will deliver the requested objects from the local content store just as if the user were connected to the cloud. The technological innovations underlying the proposed approach include: 1) Intelligent Content Selection a set of novel techniques for accurately predicting what information objects must be pre-positioned at the mobile node; and 2) Bandwidth-Efficient Content Transfer a collection of networking protocols and mechanisms for synchronizing data which minimizes traffic on bandwidth constrained satellite links connecting the mobile platforms to the cloud.