Rules based hierarchical data virtualization

Abstract

Methods and devices for connecting a mobile device with different data storage devices located either locally or remotely are provided. The device may apply one or more rules to create a hierarchical virtualization of the several data storage devices. The virtualization may then be provided to the user as a single, hierarchical file system. Further, a monitoring system may monitor the file system to determine if any new applications have been installed or if applications are currently being executed. If a connection is made to a secure network, the system may provide the information derived from the monitoring to the secure network. The secure network can then analyze the information to determine if any of the applications should be uninstalled from the device or should be stopped while the device is connected to the network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 providing a device, the device having a first storage associated therewith;   connecting the device with one or more other storage device not associated with the device;   discovering the one or more other storage devices; and   creating a hierarchical storage system from the first storage and the one or more other storage devices.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein creating a hierarchical storage system from the first storage and the one or more other storage devices comprises indexing the first storage and the one or more other storage devices. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein creating a hierarchical storage system from the first storage and the one or more other storage devices comprises applying one or more rules to generate a hierarchical index of the first storage and the one or more other storage devices. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the one or more other storage devices include local storage, distal storage, and additional storage. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein local storage is a second storage device associated with a computer system electrically connected to the device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein distal storage is a network storage device in communication with the local storage. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the additional storage is one or more distant storage devices in communication with the distal storage. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the rules to create the index include one or more of a T node representing the first storage may have multiple children nodes; the T node must have at least one child node of type I representing local storage; each child node I can only have one parent or T node; each node type I must have at least one child of type D representing distal storage; each child node D has only one parent of type I; nodes of type D may have any number of children including no children at all; type A nodes representing additional storage may have one or many parents; nodes of type A may have any number of children including no children at all; each parent of type A must be a type D or type A and while type A nodes may have multiple parents, type A nodes may not have any parent of type D or I. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the index of the first storage and the one or more other storage devices is provided to a file system to provide a view to a user of the mobile device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the files system appears to the user as a single system having hierarchal order of data storage nodes. 
     
     
         11 . A device, comprising:
 a first screen, the first screen including a first gesture capture region;   a second screen, wherein the second screen faces an opposite direction from the first screen when the device is closed, and wherein an image capture lens is associated with the second screen;   a memory;   a processor in communication with the memory, the first screen, and the second screen, the processor operable to:
 execute a discovery module operable to discover one or more other storage devices connected to but not associated with the device; and 
 execute an indexer operable to create a hierarchical storage system from a first storage, associated with the device, and the one or more other storage devices. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the indexer is further operable to apply one or more rules to generate a hierarchical index of the first storage and the one or more other storage devices. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more other storage devices include local storage, distal storage, and additional storage. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the rules to create the index include one or more of a T node representing the first storage may have multiple children nodes; the T node must have at least one child node of type I representing local storage; each child node I can only have one parent or T node; each node type I must have at least one child of type D representing distal storage; each child node D has only one parent of type I; nodes of type D may have any number of children including no children at all; type A nodes representing additional storage may have one or many parents; nodes of type A may have any number of children including no children at all; each parent of type A must be a type D or type A and while type A nodes may have multiple parents, type A nodes may not have any parent of type D or I. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the index of the first storage and the one or more other storage devices is provided to a file system to provide a view to a user of the mobile device. 
     
     
         16 . A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, the computer executable instructions causing a processor of a device to execute a method for providing a hierarchical storage system, the computer-executable instructions comprising:
 instructions to discover one or more other storage devices connected to but not associated with the device; and   instructions to create a hierarchical storage system from a first storage, associated with the device, and the one or more other storage devices.   
     
     
         17 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , further comprising instructions to to apply one or more rules to generate a hierarchical index of the first storage and the one or more other storage devices. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more other storage devices include local storage, distal storage, and additional storage. 
     
     
         19 . The computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the rules to create the index include one or more of a T node representing the first storage may have multiple children nodes; the T node must have at least one child node of type I representing local storage; each child node I can only have one parent or T node; each node type I must have at least one child of type D representing distal storage; each child node D has only one parent of type I; nodes of type D may have any number of children including no children at all; type A nodes representing additional storage may have one or many parents; nodes of type A may have any number of children including no children at all; each parent of type A must be a type D or type A and while type A nodes may have multiple parents, type A nodes may not have any parent of type D or I. 
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the index of the first storage and the one or more other storage devices is provided to a file system to provide a view to a user of the mobile device.