FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules  2005

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

“Method and system for Data De-Duplication in storage devices”

APPLICANTS:
Name : HCL Technologies Limited
Nationality : Indian
Address : HCL Technologies Ltd.  50-53 Greams
Road Chennai – 600006  Tamil Nadu  India

The following Specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:
FIELD OF INVENTION
[001] The embodiments herein relate to data processing systems and more particularly to data de-duplication in storage device(s).

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[002] Data processing systems  computers  networks of computers  or the like  typically offer users various ways to identify the data in the system. Users typically identify data in the data processing system by giving the data with some form of identification. For example  a typical operating system (OS) on a computer provides a file system in which data items are named by alphanumeric identifiers. Programs typically identify data in the data processing system using a location or an address. For example  a program may identify a record in a file or database by using a record number which serves to locate that record.
[003] In many data processing systems or environments  data items are transferred between different locations in the system. These locations may be storage devices  memory  or the like. For example  one location may obtain a data item from another location or from an external storage device and may incorporate that data item into its system (using the name provided with that data item). However  when a certain location obtains a data item from another location in the data processing system  it is possible that this obtained data item is already present in the system or storage device and therefore a duplicate of the data item is created. This situation is common in a network data processing environment where proprietary software products are installed from storage devices onto several locations sharing a common file server. In these systems  it is often the case that the same file will be installed on several systems  so that several copies of each file will reside on the common file server.
[004] Generally heavy form factor content like high resolution pictures  video files  music files and even large documents are stored in multiple locations  thus wasting precious storage space in the storage device. Due to multiple copies of the same data  a lot of precious and expensive storage is being lost. This is a major loss in an embedded device such as TV  Tablet  Digital camera or Mobile phone where the storage comes at a premium. Further  users may be unaware of multiple contents in duplicate form in the same device and hence run out of space for new content. This can cause a substantial loss in a digital camera or capturing an image in a tablet or a phone.
[005] In current market situations  where the storage capacity is increasing slower than the content creation rate. There is a need to utilize the available storage space in an effective manner such that the users can manage their content very carefully to make the best use of their available storage spaces.
[006] In light of above discussion  it is desirable to have a mechanism for reducing multiple copies of content in a storage device and to have a mechanism which enables the identification of identical content so as to reduce multiple copies. It is further desirable to determine whether two instances of content are in fact the same content  and to perform various other system functions and applications on content.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[007] Accordingly the invention provides a method for removing multiple copies of same content  wherein the method comprises identifying the copies of same content based on parameters  displaying the identified copies of same content to a user and obtaining input from the user for removing the identified copies of same content.
[008] Accordingly the invention provides a system for removing multiple copies of same content  wherein the system comprises at least one device  an application stored in the device  further the system is configured to identify the copies of same content based on parameters  display the identified copies of same content to a user and obtain input from the user to remove the identified copies of same content.
[009] Accordingly the invention provides a computer program product for removing multiple copies of same content  wherein the product comprises an integrated circuit further comprising at least one processor  at least one memory having a computer program code within the circuit  the at least one memory and the computer program code configured with the at least one processor cause the product to identify the copies of same content based on parameters  display the identified copies of same content to a user and obtain input from the user to remove the identified copies of same content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0010] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings  in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of overall system  according to the embodiments disclosed herein;
[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram explaining the various steps involved in removing the duplicate content from storage device(s)  according to the embodiments disclosed herein; and
FIG. 3 illustrates the computing environment implementing the data de-duplication method  according to the embodiments disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[001] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly  the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[002] The embodiments herein disclose a method and system for data de-duplication in storage devices. The method described herein identifies the duplicate content within the storage device and deletes the duplicate content  upon receiving acceptance from the user of the storage device. In general  data de-duplication is a specialized technique for eliminating duplicate copies of repeating data.
[003] In an embodiment  the storage devices can be any of a personal computer (PC)  cell phone  tablet  media player  digital camera  flash drive or any electronic gadget comprising a non-volatile storage space.
[004] Throughout the description  the terms duplicate content and multiple copies of same content are used interchangeably.
[005] Referring now to the drawings  and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3  where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures  there are shown embodiments.
[006] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of overall system  according to the embodiments disclosed herein. As depicted in figure  the device 101 is installed with an application that helps in reducing multiple copies of content that are stored within the device 101. The application residing on the device scans for the duplicate content and reports the identified duplicate content to the user 100. The duplicate content in a device 101 refers to multiple copies of the same content that is stored in the device. Upon receiving acceptance from the user 100  the application within the device deletes the duplicate content from the device 101. Further  the method and system of data de-duplication described herein is either applicable to a single device 101 or it can be applicable when the device 101 is connected to other devices such as device 102 and device 103 through a wireless connection. For the purpose of demonstration  the device 101 connected to the devices 102 and 103 is shown within the dotted lines in the figure. The method and system of data-duplication disclosed herein identifies and deletes the duplicate content within the storage device.
[007] The method of identification of duplicate content within a device 100 is done based on two criteria as described herein. The first criteria include the identification of duplicate content at parametric level. The parametric level for identification of duplicate content comprises searching of duplicate content within the storage device with certain parameters.
[008] In an embodiment  parameters can be file stored date  file size  file creation date  file type  file location  file accessed date and the like.
[009] Further  the identification of the duplicate content within the storage device using second criteria  which adopts a Meta data level for identifying the duplicate content. In an embodiment  the Meta data level parameters can be resolution  histogram  device information  codec and so on.
[0010] The application residing on the device 101 applies the parametric level criteria for identification of duplicate content within the device 101. If the parametric level criteria have identified the duplicate content within the device 101  then it reports the identified duplicate content to the user of the device. If the parametric level fails to identify the duplicate content  then the application uses the meta data level for identifying the duplicate content within the device 101.
[0011] Once the duplicate content is identified within the device 101 using meta data level  the application within the device displays the identified duplicate content with all the parameters as described above to the user of the device. In an embodiment  a prompt window is displayed to the user  where all the duplicate content with parameters such as file creation date  file stored date  file type and so on are indicated to the user. The user 100 can now choose the content that has to be deleted from the device 100. Further  the method of data de-duplication described herein may provide check boxes with corresponding duplicate content to the user 100  where he/she can select the duplicate content of his/her choice that needs to be deleted from the device 100. In an embodiment  if the user wants to have the duplicate content within the device 100  then the application provides a provision for retaining the duplicate content.
[0012] Upon obtaining the confirmation from the user 100  the duplicate content is deleted from the device 100. The method and system of data de-duplication described herein scans the device 100 at regular intervals of time to identify the duplicate content within the device 100. In an embodiment  the user 100 can schedule the application to run at certain intervals of time in day. Further  the application within the device 100 can be triggered using a script. For example  in a data center the application can be triggered using a script which runs at certain intervals in a day or a week as configured accordingly to the requirements and the duplicate content may be presented to the administrator of the data center.
[0013] In case of an embedded device such as mobile phone or laptop or any other personal digital assistant (PDA)  there is provision for the user 100 to schedule the application to run within the device 100 at regular intervals of time.
[0014] Further  the method described herein can be able to delete the duplicate content form the device 101  which is connected to devices 102 and 103 wirelessly. In this the device 101  device 102 and device 103 are three different devices of the same user 100. Further  method of data de-duplication is also applicable when the device 101 is connected to other devices such as device 102 and 103 where all these devices are connected to the internet using wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi). The method is also applicable when the devices 101  102 and 103 are connected to the internet using Wi-Fi direct) and are visible to other devices wirelessly. Further  the method of de-duplication is also applicable when the devices 101  102 and 103 are connected to each other wirelessly without any internet connectivity.
[0015] The method and system of data de-duplication described herein provides an efficient way of utilizing limited and expensive memory of the device 100. Initially the application installed on the device 100 discovers the duplicate data. After discovering the duplicates the application allows the user 100 to view the reported duplicate content in various views. Further  the application decides to remove or retain the discovered the duplicates based on the input provided by the user 100.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram explaining the various steps involved in removing the duplicate content from storage device(s)  according to the embodiments disclosed herein. Initially  the method scans (201) the device 100 for finding the content within the storage device. In an embodiment  the user 100 can configure the method to scan only targeted memory areas within the storage device. Once the scanning of the device 100 is done  the method obtains (202) all the content within the device 101. Further  the method applies (203) parametric level criteria for identifying the duplicate content within the device 101. The parametric level for identification of duplicate content comprises searching of duplicate content within the storage device with certain parameters.
[0017] The method determines (204) whether the applied parametric level has identified the duplicate content within the device 101. If the method determines that the parametric level criteria has identified the duplicate content  then the method displays (206) the duplicate content to the user in various views.
[0018] In an embodiment  the various views of allowing the duplicate content for viewing by the user 100 includes prioritizing the content that has been assigned with more space in the memory of the device 100. For example  a music file may occupy a lesser space when compared to an image file or a picture file. In such cases  initially  the number of duplicates related to the picture file is displayed to the user 100 and then the number of duplicates related to the music file is displayed to the user 100.
[0019] Further  if the method determines that the parametric level criteria have not identified any duplicate content within the device 101  the method applies (205) Meta data level criteria for identifying the duplicate content. After applying Meta data level criteria  the method displays (206) the duplicate content to the user in various views.
[0020] In an embodiment  the method displays the duplicate content and the parameters associated with the duplicate content are displayed to the user 100.
[0021] In an embodiment  a prompt window is displayed to the user 100  where all the duplicate content with parameters such as file creation date  file stored date  file type and so on are indicated to the user. The user 100 can then choose the content that has to be deleted from the device 100.
[0022] Finally  the method obtains the input from the user 100 to delete or retain the duplicate content within the device 100. In an embodiment  the method may provide check boxes with corresponding duplicate content to the user 100  where he/she can select the duplicate content of his/her choice that needs to be deleted from the device 100.
[0023] In an embodiment  if the user wants to retain the duplicate content within the device 100  then the method provides a provision for retaining the duplicate content with an appropriate indication in the form of a prompt window  which may display for example "retain the content" using a button. This prompt window seeks a confirmation from the user 100 for retaining the duplicate content within the device 100.
[0024] The method and system of data de-duplication provides a better utilization of various devices to store the data in one location. Further  the method of data de-duplication can be configured to perform automatically at storage or manually anytime. Using this method  the cost per every mega byte (MB) is optimized.
[0025] The method disclosed herein provides an intelligent method that detects duplicate data beyond just the file name. Further  the method provides an efficient user experience by providing graphical user interfaces (GUIs) while removing multiple copies of same content stored in a device.
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates the computing environment implementing the method of data de-duplication  according to the embodiments disclosed herein. As depicted the computing environment 301 comprises at least one processing unit 304 that is equipped with a control unit 302 and an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) 303  a memory 305  a storage unit 306  plurality of networking devices 308 and a plurality Input output (I/O) devices 307. The processing unit 304 is responsible for processing the instructions of the algorithm. The processing unit 304 receives commands from the control unit in order to perform its processing. Further  any logical and arithmetic operations involved in the execution of the instructions are computed with the help of the ALU 303.
[0027] The overall computing environment 301 can be composed of multiple homogeneous and/or heterogeneous cores  multiple CPUs of different kinds  special media and other accelerators. The processing unit 304 is responsible for processing the instructions of the algorithm. Further  the plurality of processing units 704 may be located on a single chip or over multiple chips.
[0028] The algorithm comprising of instructions and codes required for the implementation are stored in either the memory unit 305 or the storage 306 or both. At the time of execution  the instructions may be fetched from the corresponding memory 305 and/or storage 306  and executed by the processing unit 304.
[0029] In case of any hardware implementations various networking devices 308 or external I/O devices 307 may be connected to the computing environment to support the implementation through the networking unit and the I/O device unit.
[0030] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in Fig. 1 and 3 include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device  or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0031] The embodiment disclosed herein specifies a method and system for data de-duplication in storage devices. Therefore  it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein  such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method  when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device.
[0032] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can  by applying current knowledge  readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept  and  therefore  such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore  while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments  those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims as described herein.

CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A method for removing multiple copies of same content  wherein said method comprises:
identifying said copies of same content based on parameters;
displaying said identified copies of same content to a user; and
obtaining input from said user for removing said identified copies of same content.
2. The method as in claim 1  wherein said same content is stored in at least one device.
3. The method as in claim 1  wherein said method identifies said copies of same content using at least one of parametric level  Meta data level.
4. The method as in claim 3  wherein said parametric level comprises at least one of: file stored date  file size  file creation date  file type  file location and file accessed date  wherein said Meta data level parameters comprises at least one of: resolution  histogram  said device information and codec.
5. The method as in claim 1  wherein said method identifies said copies of same content in said device by comparing said content with said copies of same content.
6. The method as in claim 3  wherein said method switches to said Meta data level  if said method fails to identify said copies of same content using said parametric level.
7. The method as in claim 1  wherein said method obtains input from said user  wherein said input comprises at least one of: delete  retain said identified copies of same content.
8. A system for removing multiple copies of same content  wherein said system comprises at least one device  an application stored in said device  further said system is configured to:
identify said copies of same content based on parameters; display said identified copies of same content to a user; and
obtain input from said user to remove said identified copies of same content.
9. A computer program product for removing multiple copies of same content  wherein said product comprises:
an integrated circuit further comprising at least one processor;
at least one memory having a computer program code within said circuit;
said at least one memory and said computer program code configured to  with said at least one processor cause said product to:
identify said copies of same content based on parameters;
display said identified copies of same content to a user; and
obtain input from said user to remove said identified copies of same content.
10. The computer program product as in claim 9  wherein said same content is stored in at least one device.
11. The computer program product as in claim 9  wherein said product is configured to identify said copies of same content using at least one of parametric level  Meta data level.
12. The computer program product as in claim 11  wherein said parametric level comprises at least one of: file stored date  file size  file creation date  file type  file location and file accessed date  wherein said Meta data level parameters comprises at least one of: resolution  histogram  said device information and codec.
13. The computer program product as in claim 9  wherein said product is configured to identify said copies of same content in said device in parametric level by comparing said content with said copies of same content.
14. The computer program product as in claim 9  wherein said product is configured to switch to said Meta data level  if said product fails to identify said copies of same content using said parametric level.
15. The computer program product as in claim 9  wherein said product is configured to obtain input from said user  wherein said input comprises at least one of: delete or retain said identified copies of same content.

Dated: 7th Day of November 2012 Signature:

Dr Kalyan Chakravarthy
(Patent Agent)

ABSTRACT
A method and system for data de-duplication in storage devices is disclosed. The method scans for the content within the storage device. When the method obtains all the content within the storage device  it checks for the duplicate content in the storage device. The method identifies duplicate content based on two criteria which include parametric level and Meta data level. The method switches to Meta data level when the method fails to identify duplicate content in parametric level. Further  the method obtains the input from user to delete or retain the duplicate content. If the user provides a confirmation for deleting the duplicate content  the method deletes the duplicate content.
FIG. 1