Invented by COMER; Ryan N., BOYAPALLE; Anantha K., HAMMONS; Marc R., Dell Products L.P.

Today, the way we use computers is changing faster than ever. People and companies want to do more with their information, share it in new ways, and keep everything working smoothly no matter where their computers are. This blog post will walk you through a new patent that solves a real problem: sharing data between different pieces of software, called containers, that often run on different computers. We will break down what led to this invention, the science and earlier work behind it, and finally, how the new idea works and why it matters.

Background and Market Context

Let’s start with the basics. Imagine your company has computers all over the world. Some are in one office, some are in another, and some are in the cloud. Each computer might run many different programs at once. To keep things neat and safe, these programs often run inside containers. A container is like a box for software. It keeps each program separate from the others, even if they run on the same computer.

Containers are very popular now because they make it easy to move software around and keep it running, no matter what kind of computer is underneath. This is called containerization, and it’s used by big names in cloud computing, banking, healthcare, and more. With containers, a business can quickly launch new tools, update them, or fix problems without breaking everything else.

But there’s a problem. When you put each program in its own box, they can’t easily talk to each other or share things. Think about when you copy something from one window and paste it into another. Or when you want to drag a file from a spreadsheet to an email. On your own laptop, this just works. But in the world of containers, especially when programs are running on different computers, that simple sharing breaks down.

Users notice this right away. They expect to drag, drop, copy, paste, and share screens easily. If they can’t, they get frustrated. Companies want to fix this, because if people can’t work the way they’re used to, they might stop using these tools or look for something else.

The need for sharing between containers has grown as businesses move more and more of their work to cloud systems. Large companies run hundreds or thousands of containers across many computers. They want everything to work together like a well-oiled machine, but the technical barriers make it tough. As the world becomes more connected, solving this sharing problem is key for smooth business operations and happy users.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

Before diving into the new idea, let’s talk about what came before. In computer science, keeping programs separate is good for security and reliability. If one box breaks, the others keep working. Containers use this principle to keep software safe and easy to manage.

But this separation causes trouble when you want programs to work together. Earlier ways to solve this problem included things like shared folders, network drives, or sending messages over the network. People also tried writing special code to let one container reach into another. Sometimes, companies set up big systems called service meshes to help containers talk to each other, but these add overhead and can be hard to set up and maintain.

With all these old ways, there were always trade-offs. Some were too complex. Others weren’t secure enough. Some only worked if all the containers were on the same computer. Others were slow, or they forced developers to change how their software worked. Most of all, they didn’t feel smooth to the end user. If you wanted to share your screen during a video call, or move data between apps in different containers, it was clunky or just impossible.

The challenge is even bigger in distributed systems, where containers are running on different computers, maybe in different cities or countries. There, sharing becomes a nightmare. You can’t just let every container see every piece of data, because that’s a security risk. You need to know who is asking for what, and make sure only the right people and programs can share.

In the past, some solutions tried to use “sidecar” containers. These are helper programs that run next to the main program in a container. They might watch for special requests and pass messages along. But these usually only worked within the same computer, or they required lots of custom code. There was no simple, global way to let containers share data for a user session, no matter where they were running.

Security was another big hurdle. If you open up too many doors between containers, you risk someone breaking in or stealing data. If you lock things down too much, you lose all the flexibility and user-friendly features that people want.

So, the world needed a way to let containers share just the right data, at the right time, in a safe and simple way. This is where the new patent idea steps in.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

The invention described in this patent is a smart system for sharing data between containers, even when they run on different computers. It uses a “data orchestrator,” which is a special program that acts like a traffic cop for information. Let’s break down how it works and why it’s different.

Imagine you have a user session — this could be a person logged into a set of apps, maybe using a video call, a chat app, and a spreadsheet, all running in different containers. Some of those containers might be on one computer, some on another. The user wants to share their screen in the video call, showing a window from an app running in another container, maybe even on a different computer.

Here’s how the new system makes this possible:

When the user does something that needs data from another app (like hitting “share screen”), the first container sends a request. But instead of sending this request directly, it goes through a helper called a “sidecar sink container.” This helper is dedicated to the main app and watches out for these requests. Because it’s a sidecar, it’s always close to the main app and can see what’s happening.

The sidecar sink container then talks to the data orchestrator. The data orchestrator is the brain of the system. It knows about all the containers, where they are, and which ones are part of the same user session. When it gets the request, it checks if the needed data is in another container. If so, it figures out where that container is — even if it’s on a different computer — and sets up a safe link between them.

The link goes like this: On the second computer, there’s another helper called a “sidecar source container.” This one is attached to the app that has the data. The orchestrator tells the sidecar source container to grab the needed data — maybe it’s the video stream of a window, or a list of open files. The source container captures the data and sends it back, through the orchestrator, to the sink container, and finally to the original app that asked for it.

It’s like setting up a private, temporary tunnel for just the right data, only when it’s needed, and only between the right containers. When the sharing is done, the tunnel closes, keeping everything safe and neat.

What makes this idea stand out is how flexible and secure it is. The orchestrator is always in control. It knows who’s asking, what they want, and whether it’s allowed. It only connects containers that are part of the same user session, so there’s no risk of data leaking between users.

The system also works with standard container tools, so companies don’t have to rewrite all their apps. The sidecar containers can be added to any pod (a group of containers that work together), making it easy to update or expand the system. The orchestrator can handle many requests at once, across many computers, making it scalable for huge companies with thousands of users.

Let’s look at a simple example. Imagine you’re in a video call and want to share a spreadsheet window. The spreadsheet is running in its own container, maybe on a different server. You hit “share screen.” The video app’s sidecar sink container catches this, tells the orchestrator, which finds the spreadsheet container, and sets up a link through the sidecar source container there. The video stream of the spreadsheet window is sent back and shown in your video call, just like it would be if both apps were on the same computer.

This all happens fast and invisibly to the user. There’s no need to copy files to shared folders, or send emails back and forth. The data is shared only as needed, and only for as long as needed. When you’re done, everything closes down and goes back to being separate.

The patent also covers different ways to use this system: as hardware, as software, or as a set of instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. This means it can be built into servers, run as a cloud service, or be added to existing systems with updates. It’s flexible enough to fit many different needs.

One of the clever parts is how the sidecar containers are set up. Each one is part of a pod with its main app, and is dedicated to that app only. This means there’s no confusion or risk of the wrong data being sent. The orchestrator can quickly see which sidecars belong to which apps and user sessions, keeping everything organized.

The invention is also careful about security. At every step, it checks that the request is allowed, and that only the right apps get access to the right data. This is important for companies that handle sensitive information, like banks or hospitals.

Finally, the system is built to work with current tools and standards. Companies don’t need to throw away their old software or hardware. They can add this system on top, making it easy to move forward without starting from scratch.

Conclusion

This new patent is a big step forward for sharing data between containers in distributed systems. It keeps the benefits of containers — safety, flexibility, and easy management — while solving the real-world problem of letting apps work together smoothly, no matter where they run. By using smart sidecar containers and a central orchestrator, it creates a safe, simple, and fast way to share the right data at the right time, with no hassle for users. Businesses can now build systems that are both secure and user friendly, keeping everyone happy and productive. As more work moves to the cloud and distributed systems, solutions like this will be key to staying ahead in the digital world.

Click here https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/ and search 20250217201.