Abstract:
The present invention provides is a file delivery system for transmitting files to recipients using email, which may be used with existing email infrastructures. High volumes of large file attachments may be handled by routing attachments independent of an associated email. An attachment distribution system extracts the attachments of emails at mail servers and routes them through a hosting server thereby alleviating server loading on the mail server. The system may be configured for delivery optimization, recipient authentication and delivery confirmation. The system examines emails flowing through a distributed network of mail servers, and may invoke attachment extraction based on configurable rules like attachment size and sender validity, and move the attachments over the Internet or Intranet to a remote server that is capable of delivering the attachments to the email recipients.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to methods and systems for email communication and, more particularly, to methods and systems for the distribution of attachments using email. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As computer networks develop into a means of structuring, sharing and transferring information, information systems, such as electronic mail (email), have facilitated communication and information management for information sharing and transfer. Users on a computer network have traditionally used emails to communicate private messages with each other. However, email has rapidly evolved into a new standard communication medium moving beyond the memo framework to becoming a universal tool for conducting business. The capability to send any type of data attached as a file to an email is being increasingly used, not only for dissemination of information, but also as a means of real world collaboration and email attachments have become a vital component of an organization&#39;s work-flow. 
     Typically, organizations use a network of computers with some operating as email servers functioning as applications responsible for receiving, transmitting, routing and archiving email. Users of such a corporate network typically have client versions of the email software for creating, sending, receiving and organizing emails installed on personal workstations. The size of email attachments used for collaboration varies considerably depending on the application but the trend is moving towards larger files, especially for rich media applications involving audio and video. 
     Consequently, the volume of data passing through the email systems has increased beyond the capabilities of the existing infrastructure of many corporations, resulting in strained bandwidth networks, unmanageable growth in distributed storage requirements and adverse impact on unrelated mission critical communications. 
     Other issues that arise include excessive data loss or latency, excessive time for downloading large files, reliance on low technology alternatives to recover from failures and lack of effective and accurate reporting capabilities. These problems are further compounded by the strained IT resources, need to extend life of existing infrastructure, desire to increase the quality of other network services, demand for an inherent fail-over mechanism for critical systems, requirement of accurate data for forecasting and planning infrastructure growth and tracking of resource utilization by business unit (i.e. department, partner, client and geographic region or specific location) 
     Conventional email file attachment delivery methods and systems are not efficient and difficult to manage, causing staff to lose precious productivity time transferring large files to compact disc (CD), printing hardcopy of the large files for sending by traditional courier, or using other ad-hoc manual tools such as the public File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers and file-sharing servers which are potentially vulnerable and do not address the issue of lifecycle management of these often sensitive files. 
     The negative impact on operational productivity and the related infrastructure has generated a compelling need for a solution that meets both business and technical requirements. One of the most important decision-making criteria from the perspective of an enterprise is to provide a solution that supports the tools employees are most familiar with, so as to maintain the existing business process and workflow. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Email distribution methods and systems consistent with the present invention are described herein for providing a seamless, enterprise-wide file delivery solution for enabling collaboration through large email attachments by providing a framework for their file attachment, storage, transport, access and lifecycle. 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an attachment distribution method comprises the step of processing an email having a message portion and an attachment portion by a detacher to identify and isolate at least one of the message portion and the attachment portion of the email from the other, the email having a source system and a destination system being associated thereto. The method may also comprise the step of generating metadata in response to the email being processed, the metadata for packaging with the attachment portion of the email by the detacher to form an attachment packet, the metadata being descriptive of the email. A locator code may be generated by the detacher for storing onto a database, the database being in operative association with the detacher. A locator object may also be generated from the locator code by the detacher and embedding the locator object into the message portion of the email to form a message packet. The attachment packet is delivered to a holding server by an uploader, the attachment packet having an attachment address, the attachment address identifying the holding server and being indicative of the location of the attachment packet within the holding server, the attachment address being stored onto the database and being associated with the locator code, the uploader being operatively associated with the detacher and the uploader being in data communication with the holding server. The message packet is delivered to the destination system. 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, an attachment distribution system comprises means for performing each step of an attachment distribution method consistent with the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification exemplify certain aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain some of the principles associated with the invention. 
         FIG. 1  shows a system flow diagram a typical network of mail servers and email clients, describing the traditional data flow of emails with attachments from internal user to both internal and external users; 
         FIG. 2  shows a system flow diagram of one exemplary attachment distribution system for managing data flow using an attachment distribution method according to at least one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows a process flow diagram of an attachment distribution method that may be used by the attachment distribution system of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  shows a system diagram of a mail server of the attachment distribution system of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7 , and  8  show an exemplary application of the attachment distribution system of  FIG. 2  and the attachment distribution method of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Consistent with the present invention, described below are exemplary embodiments of a distributed application with components for providing file delivery of large email attachments. At least one exemplary embodiment provides a seamless, enterprise wide file delivery for enabling collaboration through large email attachments by providing a framework for their storage, transport, access, and lifecycle maintenance. 
     In general, file distribution systems consistent with the present invention work by extracting large file attachments from the traditional mail-flow of specific users based on configurable policies that are driven by system parameters. For example, the policy can be that only specified senders are able to have attachments extracted or only certain attachments that meet a threshold size or destination are extracted. These attachments may be further encapsulated inside larger units referred to as “attachment packets.” 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention transfer these large attachment packets in an efficient manner to a remote server capable of communicating on any one of a set of protocols through an integrated transport system. Other embodiments of the present invention are capable of leveraging on any of a set of several protocols and methods for large file transfer. The transfer can be optionally governed by configurable parameters such as but not limited to: the upload destination, transport protocols, minimum allowable transfer rates and time-outs and upload caches. Examples of the transport protocols include HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, UDP based transport protocols. The system can further use conventional methods of transport as available on a computer network. Among other criteria, the protocols can be chosen based on security and performance needs of the enterprise. The original email may then be retransmitted to all recipients after replacing large attachments with embedded links or locator objects (URLs) which can be used to retrieve the attachment from the internet or intranet. 
     Certain systems consistent with the present invention help ensure that the risk of a bottleneck occurring in the process of large attachment extraction, transport, and management is reduced by processing multiple emails simultaneously, such that even while attachments are being extracted, packaged, and transferred, other emails may continue to be examined and passed through the system. 
     Each set of attachments to an email may be treated as an attachment packet. Along with the attachments, each attachment package may optionally contain meta information regarding the package itself. For example, this meta information can include, but is not limited to, the sender&#39;s email address or content, information identifying one or more recipients, and a list of attachments as well as attributes such as size and type. The meta information can optionally include various attributes of the email itself such return receipt. 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention enable seamless usage of existing email workflow for collaboration on large files without disrupting or impacting other applications and services. Additionally, certain embodiments may allow policy-based management of attachments through optional parameters like threshold of attachment size for extraction and attachment lifetime on storage location. Certain systems may also be configured to have separate rules for inbound and outbound traffic. An option may be provided for recipient authentication based on enterprise directory standards like the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) to prevent attachment forwarding, delivery confirmation to allow the sender of emails to be notified when recipients download their email attachments and automated background replication of attachments to recipient preferred remote server. An option may also be provided for securing of the previously non-secured method of collaboration via email attachments. 
     One example of a distributed network of mail servers and email clients typically used by a geographically spread out enterprise is shown in  FIG. 1 . In this example, a sender  20  sends out an email  22  with an attachment  24  to multiple recipients  26  over a network  27  as shown in  FIG. 1 . It can be seen that the email  22  with the attachment  24  traverses a tortuous and inefficient route over the network of mail servers until the email  22  and the attachment  24  are received by all the recipients  26 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, that is, an attachment distribution system  28  comprising mail servers in a network configuration similar to that shown in  FIG. 1 . However, in network  30  of  FIG. 2 , choking by attachment traffic and bottlenecks on the servers are avoided, resulting in optimal delivery of attachments to recipient systems  102 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an attachment distribution method  300 , as may be used by, and with reference to, the attachment distribution system  28  of  FIG. 2 . Attachment distribution method  300  illustrates one exemplary method for managing the flow of email attachments, such as over network  30 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , attachment distribution system  28  may comprise a detacher  34 , an uploader  36 , and at least one hosting server  38 . Each of detacher  34  and uploader  36  may be a software module that may reside within the attachment distribution system  28  on a mail server  40  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     When an email  42  containing one or more attachments  44  is received from a sender system  100  by the attachment distribution system  28 , email  42  may be processed  42  in accordance with step  310  of  FIG. 3  by, for example, detacher  34  of  FIG. 2 . The email  42  contains a message and the attachment  44  portions. The message and/or attachment  44  portions of email  42  are identified, such as by detacher  34 . In certain embodiments, as shown in step  310 , the attachment  44  may be detached from the email  42  only when the email  42  complies with a set of processing rules  48 . 
     Generally, detacher  34  will only engage with an email that has file attachments  44 . Each email  42  received may be categorized into incoming email, which includes emails from a sender system  100  external to the organization, or outgoing email, which includes emails from a sender system  100  within the organization. 
     A first processing rule may be used to enable the detacher  34  to engage emails  42  from a sender system  100  that is recognized as a ‘Qualified Sender system  100 ’ for outgoing emails. An application administrator may provide a list of Qualified Sender systems  100 . 
     A second processing rule may be used to regulate processing of the email  42  based on the size of the attachment  44 . The second processing rule, for example, may set a processing threshold such that email  42  will not be processed if the size of the attachment  44  is smaller than the processing threshold. However, the detacher  34  may proceed to process the attachment  44  when the size of the email  42  is at least of the processing threshold. The second processing rule may prevent smaller attachments  44  from being detached from the email  42  due to their insignificance when compared with the bandwidth of the network  30  carrying the attachments  44 . 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention include multiple processing thresholds for catering to different types of emails  42 . For example, in certain embodiments, there could be three distinct processing thresholds that can be set to govern whether or not an attachment is detached from the email: An internal threshold may be applied if the email  42  is destined for recipient systems  102  internal to the enterprise; an external threshold may be applied if the email  42  is destined for recipient systems  102  external to the enterprise; and an inbound threshold may be applied to all inbound email  42 . 
     In certain cases, such as where an email  42  is sent to both internal and external recipient systems  102 , a threshold parameter may be used for determining which processing threshold to apply for all emails. The threshold parameter can be universal for a given email, so if there are both internal and external recipient systems  102  of that email, any one processing threshold being exceeded may result in the corresponding attachment  44  being removed from the email  42  for all recipient systems  102 . The threshold parameter can also be applied on the sum total of the attachments in the email. Alternatively, the threshold parameter is used for applying the processing threshold to the largest attachment  44  in the email  42  or to each attachment  44  in the email  42 . Emails that do not qualify for detachment based on the first and/or second processing rules may be sent to the intended recipient systems  102  without any further examination or processing in a transparent manner. 
     Once an email  42  qualifies for attachment  44  extraction, the meta-data related to the email is extracted and/or generated by, for example, detacher  34 . The meta-data may include, for example, data from the email header and from the profile of the sender system  100  residing on the mail server  40 . Attachment  44  is removed from the email  42  by, for example, detacher  34 . In step  312  of  FIG. 3 , the meta-data may be compiled into a meta-file and combined with the extracted attachment  44  to form an attachment packet  56 . The attachment packet  56  may be written to a pre-configured package directory on the mail server  40  for subsequent uploading onto the hosting server  38 . The specific meta-data gathered may include, but is not limited to, the sender system  100  email address, recipient system list, mail server profile for internal recipient systems  102 , including department and default location, if available, and attachment file name and extension. 
     In certain embodiments, the extracted attachment  44  is replaced with a locator object  58 , such as by detacher  34 . In step  314  of  FIG. 3 , a locator code is generated by, for example detacher  34 . The locator code may be a secured uniform resource locator (secured URL). The locator code may be stored onto a database  62  and associated with the extracted attachment  44 . In step  316 , a locator object  58  may be generated from the locator code, also for example by detacher  34 . The locator object  58  may be referred to as a “link” for embedding into an email. 
     In an email example, a locator object may be generated from a locator code being associated with an attachment. The locator object may be embedded as a linked object within the email and sent to a recipient system  102 . At the recipient system  102 , a user may activate the locator object embedded within the email. Upon the locator object being activated by the user, in the email example, the attachment associated with the locator code may be downloaded from a server to the recipient system  102 . 
     In step  314 , the locator object  58  may be generated dynamically by, for example, detacher  34 , and may encompass security features to prevent unauthorized access to the attachment packet  56 . Exemplary security features include, but are not limited to, cryptographic tokens, shared keys and other authentication mechanisms. For example, locator object  58  may use a shared key as a means of authentication on a remote storage server and a 128-bit encryption for secured delivery of the attachment packet  56 . The security features can further include an expiry date and time. The expiry date and time establishes the life of the locator object  58 , subsequent to which the attachment packet  56  may not be downloadable from a server storing the attachment packet  56 . 
     The locator code for generating the locator object  58  can include parameters to specify whether the recipient system  102  should be verified before downloading the attachment and whether a download confirmation should be sent to the sender system  100  upon successful downloading of the attachment packet  56  by the recipient system  102 . 
     In certain embodiments, detacher  34  may be integrated with the mail server  40  at a low system level. Such placement may prevent interference with existing auxiliary email services such as virus scanning and other mail scanning technologies. 
     Detacher  34  may be adapted for processing multiple emails simultaneously, such that even when one email are being processed, other emails continue to be examined and passed through the system. 
     Uploader  36  may be an application responsible for uploading the attachment packet  56  generated by the detacher  34  from the mail server  40  to the hosting server  38 . In step  318  of  FIG. 3 , the attachment packet  56  may be uploaded to the hosting server  38  by, for example, uploader  36  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The meta-data may be used by mail server  40  and hosting server  38  for optimizing delivery of and managing access to the attachment packet  56 . 
     Uploader  36  operates based on a number of parameters such as, for example, a server list  64  containing a plurality of servers. The servers contained in the server list  64  may be arranged in sequence based on preference. One server may be selected from the server list  64  and identified as the hosting server  38 . Such selection may be performed, for example, by uploader  36 . 
     Before uploading occurs, the readiness of the selected server may first be determined. In some situations, the selected server may not be accessible and/or ready. When it is determined that the selected server is not ready, by for example uploader  36 , another server may be selected from the server list  64  and identified as the hosting server  38 . Upon determining that a selected server is ready, the attachment packet  56  is uploaded onto the hosting server  38  by, for example, uploader  36 . 
     In certain embodiments, uploader  36  is an integrated transport system, capable of transmitting data using any known file transfer protocol and/or method for large file transfer. For example, uploader  36  can communicate with the hosting server  38  using the HTTP, HTTPS, FTP or the like file transfer protocols supported by the mail server  40  and hosting server  38 . The file transfer protocol used may depend on a parameter or by determined by the needs of the application. For example, HTTP or FTP may be the best option for efficient file transfer and may be the best option for file transfer over the Internet as it may ensure transport layer security. 
     Additionally, certain embodiments of uploader  36  and hosting server  38  may use user-based authentication for securing of the file transfer operations. 
     In some cases, uploader  36  may be capable of improving efficiency of uploading of the attachment packet  56  by parallel processing. Parallel processing is enabled by leveraging on multiple network connections, for example, by being configured to use multiple HTTPS tunnels for uploading multiple attachment packets  56  to corresponding hosting servers  38 . The number of HTTPS tunnels may be determined by balancing system performance with system resource utilization, for example bandwidth, CPU and memory on the hosting system  38 . 
     Additionally, a threshold can be determined above which, the attachment packet  56  may be broken into several smaller portions. The several smaller portions may be uploaded in parts separately to the hosting server  38  wherein the several smaller portions are joined to re-generate the original attachment packet  56 . This feature would allow the capability of resuming broken uploads by only uploading the portions of a file that could not be uploaded due to a bad or broken connection, which may in turn improve efficiency. 
     In certain embodiments consistent with the present invention, attachment package  56  may be “fingerprinted” and compared with packages already stored or previously uploaded. “Fingerprinting” may be performed by, for example, hashing the contents of the attachment package using conventional hashing technologies, such as MD5. By doing so, certain embodiments of the present invention may avoid uploading and storing an attachment packet twice, thereby saving bandwidth and/or storage space. 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention may involve other configurable parameters, such as thresholds for minimum allowable transfer rate and time allowable for file transfers to the hosting server  38 . Such exemplary thresholds may be used to prevent excessive upload times and allow recovery from file transfers that should be aborted due poor connectivity. 
     Other embodiments may employ an optional parameter such as an uploader cache setting which decides how long package contents will be held on the mail server  40  after their successful upload. This type of parameter may be used, for example, by an administrator wanting to manage the balance between safety and storage utilization on the mail server  40 . 
     Uploader  36  may also be tasked with updating the configuration of detacher  34 . It supports the application of any changes in the aforementioned configurable parameters. Components may be retrieved from a central server for updating the detacher  34  application. 
     Additionally, uploader  36  may contain logging and error reporting features that allow the administrator to monitor the application performance and set up automated application support. Activities of the attachment distribution system  28  may be logged at different configurable levels and it is may also be possible to configure the time that log files remain available. Such parameters may be useful, for example, for diagnostics purposes, thereby allowing the retention of critical information while controlling data storage growth. The generated logs can be periodically transferred from the mail server  40  to the hosting server  30  for mining and for generating reports. Error reporting can be automated through an email notification system. For example, severe error conditions may be reported via email to the configurable administrator from a configurable sender at a configurable frequency. 
     The hosting server  38  of  FIG. 2  provides a remote file system like functionality for uploading, retrieving and obtaining a listing of files besides allowing typical operations like move or delete on the search result set. Such hosting servers  38  include, but are not limited to, HTTP servers, FTP servers or the like servers running any protocol that is capable of storing and delivering files. 
     In addition to providing file system functionality in a secure, fast and reliable manner, hosting server  38  may also provide facilities for user registration and authentication by maintaining a user database. 
     Information provided by the detacher  34 , in the meta-data of the attachment packet  56 , may be used by the hosting server  38  to drive policies for storage, replication, transport, access, and life-cycle management. The meta-data in the attachment packet  56  may contain information on the sender system  100 , a recipient system list, the profile of the mail server  40  for internal recipient systems  102 , including department and location and file name and extension. 
     The hosting server  38  receiving the attachment packet  56  can optionally replicate the uploaded attachments to the server of choice of the recipient systems  102  whose profiles may exist either in the organization&#39;s directory server or in the registered user database. Such replication can optionally occur immediately after the upload to allow the minimum download time for each recipient system  102 . 
     In certain embodiments, the locator object  58  inserted in the email can be activated at the recipient system  102  to retrieve the attachment packet  56  associated with the locator object  58 . Such retrieval may occur either directly without authentication or after being password authenticated as so configured on the system. This configuration may be done either on the hosting server  38  or may, for example, be encapsulated as a component in the locator object  58 . 
     If the recipient system  102  authentication is required, then the authentication may be performed by querying pre-determined directory servers like the LDAP server for the organization or by searching in the registered user database. The hosting server  38  can prompt a user to enter a email address which would can be further verified against the original recipient system list obtained from the meta-data of the email. The recipient system  102  may also be required to enter a password for verification by the hosting server  38 . This provides a framework for verifying the recipient system  102  before the download so that only the original recipient systems  102  can download the attachment packet  56 . 
     In situations where the recipient system  102  does not exist, then a new user profile is created for which the user can submit a password and preferred location for future deliveries. If the email address is not found in the recipient system list or the password is incorrect then the download is disallowed, otherwise, the locator object  58  is authenticated for validity by the hosting server  38 . 
     Thus, the hosting server  38  can be configured to disable download by any recipient systems  102  not on the original mailing list via mail forwarding in addition to the authentication mechanism for file delivery described above. 
     If the sender system  100  requested “Return Receipt” using a standard email client feature, the hosting server  38  can send a download confirmation the sender system  100  in the form of an email after successfully downloading the attachment packet  56  by recipient system  102 . 
     File life-cycle management may be governed by parameters and can be globally enforced, or enforced on a file or hosting server-specific basis. This policy can be driven by frequency of access or timeframe. For example, the attachment distribution system  28  could be configured so that the attachment packet  56  is deleted after all recipient systems  102  have downloaded the file, or simply after two weeks regardless of access. 
     Administration of the attachment distribution system  28  may involve the setting up and modification of the various parameters that decide the policies governing the functioning of the attachment distribution system  28 . Administration may be performed manually by an administrator on each the mail server  40 . The administrator can set or change the servers on the server list  64 , thereby changing the hosting server  38 . The administrator can change the processing rules  48  for the attachment packet  56 . The administrator can add or remove qualified sender systems  100  whose mails will be intercepted by the system. The administrator can decide the life of the attachment packet  56  on the mail server  40 . The administrator can set or change the time for which the links inserted in the mail will cease to be valid after insertion. 
     The administrator can enable or disable automated notification by email upon each successful download. The administrator can enable or disable the feature of recipient system  102  authentication, for example, the ability to configure whether or not a recipient system  102  must enter a password before downloading an attachment packet  56 . 
     Uploader  36  may comprise a polling feature which may enable hosting server  38  to make changes to the parameters of the attachment distribution system  28 . Such changes may be reflected immediately upon the detection of the changes to the parameters by the uploader  36  on each mail server  40 . 
     The hosting server  38  can also provide administration of the registered recipient systems  102 , addition of new mail recipient system  102  profiles to the database and setting or changing of recipient system  102  profile information such as password &amp; download location preference. For example, administrators could view sender systems  100  who have used the attachment distribution system  28  and the mail servers  40  which have intercepted the mails sent by them. The logs uploaded by the uploader  36  and the information maintained by the hosting server  38  can be used to create reports at the file level, to provide a comprehensive understanding of attachment packet  56  resources, their availability, usage and their cost. The same can be done by any event capturing software in place of logs at the hosting server, in essence it is the capturing and processing of events that allow such reports to be created. 
     The attachment upload events captured in such logs could be used to generate access statistics details on a per sender system  100  basis. Resources, such as bandwidth and storage usage, can be quantified to track and control expense as well as monitor business practices on a hosting server  38  basis as well as per sender system  100  basis. The download logs can be used to create reports that help track individual attachments by date, recipient system  102  user-id, file size and time for download. 
     Described hereinafter with reference to  FIGS. 5 to 8 , is an example of an application of the attachment distribution system  28 . In this example and as shown in  FIG. 5 , John  200 , an employee of ACME corporation in New York sends an email  42  with a large-sized attachment  44  to three recipients, namely Jane  202 , a co-worker in Kuala Lumpur, Jim  204 , who works for a customer of ACME in Kuala Lumpur and Lynn  206 , an employee of Great Printers in Taiwan. 
       FIG. 5  shows the sequence of events triggered when John  200  sends out the mail. John&#39;s  200  mail reaches the New York mail server  40  in the ACME corporate network where the email  42  is processed by the detacher  34  which finds that the mail attachment size of the attachment  44  is larger than the size allowed to be sent unhindered. The detacher  34  also checks if John&#39;s  200  email address is in the list of qualified senders and upon verification of this fact proceeds to extract the attachment portion  44  from the email, replace it with a locator object  58 , and create an attachment packet  56  containing the attachment portion  44  of the email  42  and meta-data containing information extracted from the email  42  about the recipient systems  102 . The email  42  is then sent out in the normal manner to all the three recipients with the attachment  44  being replaced by the locator object  58 , for example a URL. Meanwhile, uploader  36  may be looking for new attachment packets  56  and, upon finding an attachment packet  56 , immediately uploads the attachment packet  56  to the hosting server it is configured for which happens to be a New York hosting server  38   a . It is to be noted that, in this example, only Jane  202  has used a particular server so far for receiving attachment packets  56  and is registered with a recipient profile. 
       FIG. 6  shows the automation of replication of attachment packets  56  for optimizing the delivery to registered recipient systems  102 . In this example, Jane  202  has already used this system and has a registered profile indicating a Kuala Lumpur hosting server  38   b  as the hosting server. Therefore, as soon as the New York hosting server  38   a  receives the new attachment packet  56 , it looks at the meta-data to check if any of the recipient systems  102  are registered with its database. Since Jane  202  is already registered, the attachment packet  56  is scheduled for replication in the background to the preferred location for Jane  202 , in this example, the Kuala Lumpur hosting server  38   b . Since Jim  204  and Lynn  206  are not yet registered no further action is required for the present. 
     The delivery of the email  42  and attachment packet  56  is shown in  FIG. 7  after all the three recipients get the same email  22  with the locator object  58 . When Jane  202  clicks on the locator object  58  in the email  42 , the attachment packet  56  begins to download immediately from the KL hosting server  38   b  and no further user action is required. However when Jim  204  clicks on the same locator object  58 , a web page  208  is launched for prompting Jim  204  to register his profile with the system by entering his email address, password and a preferred location (selected from a list) for future replication. Jim  204  is then able to select that he too wants to download from the KL hosting server  38   b  and since the attachment packet  56  is already replicated for Jane  202 , Jim  204  also downloads the attachment packet  56  from the KL hosting server  38   b . Thus one copy of the attachment packet  56  at KL hosting server  38   b  would be enough for serving the requirements of all recipients registered with the KL hosting server  38   b.    
       FIG. 8  describes the process of attachment packet  56  delivery to Lynn  206  who is also not registered and upon clicking on the link is prompted to register using the registration page  208  in the same manner as Jim  204  in KL. Lynn  206  selects the closest location which is a Taiwan hosting server  38   b  and is able to seamlessly download the attachment packet  56  after the registration process. Furthermore, future replication and delivery for Lynn  206  will be based on her specific profile which states the Taiwan hosting server  38   c  as the preferred location of delivery for her. 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention fulfill the need for a high-speed, distributed file transfer and storage enhancement of an existing corporate email infrastructure and enable enterprises to significantly improve their collaborative environment, while providing a platform for future application integration. 
     Although only certain embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art in view of this disclosure that numerous changes and/or modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.