System and method for transmitting needed portions of a data file between networked computers

摘要

A system and method for communicating a data file between networked computers is disclosed. The method includes the operation of requesting a data file consisting of a plurality of file blocks to be transferred from a source computing device to a destination computing device. A hash signature for each of the plurality of file blocks of the data file is sent from the source computing device to the destination computing device. It can be determined which of the file blocks of the data file are already located on the destination computing device based on the hash signature of each file block. The remaining file blocks can be transferred from the source to the destination computing device. The file can be constructed at the destination computing device from the plurality of file blocks.

主权项

1. A method for communicating a data file between a plurality of networked computers, comprising:
requesting a data file consisting of a plurality of file blocks to be transferred from a plurality of source computing devices over a network to a destination computing device; selecting at least one source computing device from the plurality of source computing devices; selecting a length of the plurality of file blocks based on a type of the data file; sending a hash signature for each of the plurality of file blocks of the data file from the source computing device to the destination computing device over the network; determining which of the plurality of file blocks of the data file are already located on the destination computing device based on the hash signature of each file block located on the destination computing device in order to reduce an amount of network traffic used for transfer of file blocks over the network; transferring a remaining number of file blocks from the plurality of source computing devices to the destination computing device over the network; and constructing the file on the destination computing device from the plurality of file blocks.