US Patent 7734584 Method and systems for storing and distributing data

Embodiments of this invention store and distribute from a central system units of information corresponding to files distributively stored in a plurality of remote systems. The remote systems may have intermittent network connection. A separate system, which may also have intermittent network connection, may access the units of information on the central system. The separate system may request that the central system transfer a particular file corresponding to a unit of information. The availability of the file on the remote system may be detected. A process may be initiated to send to the file from the remote system to the separate system, either through the central system or bypassing the central system.