Automated Hoarding for Mobile Computers

A common problem facing mobile computing is disconnected operation, or computing in the absence of a network. Hoarding eases disconnected operation by selecting a subset of the user’s files for local storage. We describe a hoarding system that can operate without user intervention, by observing user activity and predicting future needs. The system calculates a new measure, semantic distance, between individual files, and uses this to feed a clustering algorithm that chooses which files should be hoarded. A separate replication system manages the actual transport of data; any of a number of replication systems may be used. We discuss practical problems encountered in the real world and present usage statistics showing that our system outperforms previous approaches by factors

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1997
• Where: SOSP
• Authors: Geoffrey H. Kuenning, Gerald J. Popek
• Keywords: Eases Disconnected Operation, Hoarding, Operating System, SOSP 1997, User’s files