Fidelity-aware replication for mobile devices

ABSTRACT

Mobile devices often store data in reduced resolutions or custom formats in order to accommodate resource constraints and tailor-made software. The Polyjuz framework enables sharing and synchronization of data across a collection of personal devices that use formats of different fidelity. Layered transparently between the application and an off-the-shelf replication platform, Polyjuz bridges the isolated worlds of different data formats. With Polyjuz, data items created or updated on high-fidelity devices-such as laptops and desktops-are automatically replicated onto low-fidelity, mobile devices. Similarly, data items updated on low-fidelity devices are reintegrated with their high-fidelity counterparts, when the application permits it. Polyjuz performs these fidelity reductions and reintegrations as devices exchange data in a peer-to-peer manner, ultimately extending the eventual-consistency guarantee of the underlying replication platform to the multi-fidelity universe.

In this paper, we present the design and implementation of Polyjuz and demonstrate its benefits for a fidelity-aware contacts-management application.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.4 Distributed Systems
          Subjects: Distributed applications

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Experimentation, Performance

Keywords:
fidelity, replication, transcoding, weak consistency