Patent Publication Number: US-2022229848-A1

Title: Synchronizing online and offline transfer of data to cloud storage system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/533,586 entitled “SYNCHRONIZING ONLINE AND OFFLINE TRANSFER OF DATA TO CLOUD STORAGE SYSTEM” filed on Aug. 6, 2019 and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 16/533,602 entitled “NAMESPACE DATA OBJECT NAME PERSISTENCE AFTER DECOUPLING OF TRANSPORTABLE STORAGE DEVICE FROM DATA SERVER” and filed on Aug. 6, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,157,462, issued on Oct. 26, 2021 which are specifically incorporated by reference for all that they disclose and teach. 
    
    
     BACKGROND 
     Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools. The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company. Existing manners of accessing cloud storage space include use of online dedicated data servers and offline storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives, solid-state drives, magnetic tape storage) that are physically transported from a customer site to a data center for upload into the cloud storage space. 
     SUMMARY 
     In at least one implementation, the disclosed technology provides a method for use with a cloud storage system. The disclosed method includes receiving, at a cloud upload module from a storage device, an object that includes data and metadata, where the metadata including an object ID and an ingest timestamp corresponding to a time that the data was ingested into the storage device. The method also includes determining whether the object ID exists in an object database of objects stored in the cloud storage system. The method also includes determining a conflict status regarding uploading of the received object into the cloud storage system based on the ingest timestamp of the received object, responsive to the object ID being determined to exist in the object database. 
     This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     Other implementations are also described and recited herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example system for managing online and offline transfer of data between a cloud storage system and one or more remote storage systems. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates another example system for managing online and offline transfer of data between a cloud storage system and one or more remote storage systems. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example customer data center for use in conducting online and offline data transfer to a cloud storage system 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example system for managing uploads of objects to a cloud storage system. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another example system for managing uploads of objects to a cloud storage system. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example method of managing uploads of objects to a cloud storage system. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example method of managing requests to read objects in a cloud storage system. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an example method of refreshing objects from a cloud storage system to an edge storage system. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an example method of maintaining an object identifier of an object in a namespace of an edge storage system after decoupling of a transportable storage device on which the object is stored from the edge storage system. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary computing device for implementing the features and operations of the described technology. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS 
     In cloud storage systems, data (e.g., data objects, such as files and/or blobs) is typically uploaded to cloud storage systems by way of online dedicated data servers and/or offline storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives, solid-state drives) that are physically transported from a customer site to a data center for upload into the cloud storage system. While dedicated data servers typically have relatively low latency when transferring data to a cloud storage system, the quantity of data that such data servers can transfer is often limited (i.e., they have relatively low bandwidth). Furthermore, increased upload latency can often result when customers are continuously generating data but have little to no network connectivity to transfer this data over the wire. In relation to transportable storage devices, they enjoy relatively high bandwidth, as TBs of data can be stored onto such device in short periods of time. However, use of transportable storage devices also results in increased latency (e.g., days, weeks) as such devices typically need to be physically shipped (offline) on a truck or the like from a customer data center to a cloud data center for upload to the cloud storage system. 
     The disclosed technology makes use of one or more transportable storage devices (each referred to herein as “data boxes,” “data box pods,” or “pods”) that are communicatively coupled (e.g., wired, wirelessly) behind one or more dedicated data servers (each referred to herein as a “data box edge,” “edge data server,” or “edge” and collectively an “edge storage system”) to take advantage of the benefits of the data servers and transportable storage devices while limiting their disadvantages. A data box edge stores data (e.g., from one or more client devices) and copies the data to one or more of the data boxes to which it is communicatively coupled. The data box edge may maintain the data thereon (for access by client devices) until and if storage on the edge becomes limited, at which time the edge may delete the data therefrom and thereafter serve requests for the data from its one or more data boxes (e.g., where the data boxes may effectively serve as a cloud storage space for the edge). 
     In some cases, an edge may store additional copies of the data on other of the pods to which it is communicatively coupled. The edge also maintains a namespace including a database of object identifiers (e.g., data object names) that link to the copies of the data on the edge and/or on the pod(s). In any case, an edge indicates when one of its pods is filled up and thus ready for offline shipment to the cloud. Upon communicative decoupling of a pod from its edge and during transport to a data center for upload to the cloud storage system, the object identifier for the data stored on the pod may remain in the namespace of the edge. Accordingly, upon the edge receiving a request for the object identifier of the data before the pod has reached the data center, the edge may return a “data temporarily unavailable” message to the requester. In the case where the data is stored on another pod to which the edge is communicatively coupled, the edge may retrieve the data from such pod and return the same to the requester. Upon the edge receiving a request for the object identifier of the data after receipt of the pod at the data center and upload of the data to the cloud storage system, the edge may download the data from the cloud storage system and serve the data to the requesting device. Once the data in transit has been ingested into the cloud storage system, the edge drops (deletes) the one or more additional copies of the data and may continue to fill data continuously to the pods on-premise. 
     Upon ingestion of data on one or more edges, the data can be uploaded from the one or more edges on a low-latency, low bandwidth LAN to the cloud storage system (when the edge(s) is/are online) and/or copied to one or more of its pods and transferred to the cloud by way of physically transporting the pod(s) to a cloud data center and uploading the data to the cloud (e.g., as a high-latency, high-bandwidth WAN to the cloud). When different versions of the same data are delivered/uploaded to the cloud storage system from edges and/or pods in various orders, the most recent version of the data will ultimately be stored in the cloud for subsequent downloads to the edges while older versions may be deleted or archived. 
     For example, a first version of data may be ingested into an edge at a first time and copied onto a first of its pods, which may be subsequently communicatively decoupled from its edge, transported to a data center, and uploaded to the cloud storage center. The namespaces of all edges at a customer&#39;s site may then be refreshed to include the object identifier of the first data version. At a (later) second time, a first user may access the object identifier in the namespace of a first edge to download a copy of the data from the cloud storage center and create a second version of the data, which may be ingested into the first edge at a first ingest time and copied to one of its pods. At a still later third time, a second user may access the object identifier in the namespace of a second edge to download a copy of the data from the cloud storage center and create a third version of the data which may be ingested into the first edge at a second ingest time and copied to one of its pods. 
     Assuming no further updates to the data occur, the third version of the data will be the version ultimately stored to the cloud storage system (regardless of the order in which the two pods arrive at the cloud data center as the second time is more recent than the first time). If the pod storing the second version arrives first, the second version may be initially uploaded, and then the third version may be uploaded and overwrite the second version when the pod storing the third version arrives. For example, a cloud upload module or engine may analyze ingest time metadata associated with the second and third versions to determine that the third version is more recent. Alternatively, if the pod storing the third version arrives first, the third (most recent) version may be uploaded. When the second version arrives at the cloud data center, the cloud upload module may inhibit uploading of the second version as its ingest metadata is older than that of the third version. 
     As another example, the cloud storage system may already store a version of a data object along with metadata including a first ingest time (i.e., the time at which the data version was ingested to an edge). Upon subsequent receipt at the cloud upload module of another version of the object having metadata including a second ingest time older than the first ingest time, the cloud upload module may disallow uploading of the other version of the object. 
     Data can be concurrently uploaded from the edge and transported in the pod for upload to take advantage of low latency connections of the edge when available and high bandwidth of the pod. By the time the pod arrives at the cloud data center for upload to the cloud storage system, the cloud upload module can determine which portions of the data were already uploaded from the edge and then only initiate upload from the pod those portions not yet uploaded. In various implementations, the edge can upload to the cloud using an edge upload module, and the pod can upload to the cloud using a cloud upload module. The ordering of such uploads may vary, which can create out-of-order conflicts in the uploaded data if not handled. 
     Different edges may contain different versions of the same cloud data, and in the end, the most recent cloud data will end up in the cloud storage system. While connected to the Internet, an edge can download the most recent cloud data from all other edges. Furthermore, changes made by users to data versions in the cloud are eventually propagated back to the edge(s) and vice versa. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example system  100  for managing online and offline transfer of data between a cloud storage system  102  and one or more remote storage systems. As shown, a user may create or otherwise obtain data on a client device  104  (e.g., laptop, tablet, internet of things (IoT) device, and/or other computing device) and ingest the same from the client device  104  into an edge storage system  106  of a customer site made up of one or more data box edges  108 . Thereafter, each data box edge  108  automatically copies or otherwise backs up the ingested data (e.g., full files/blobs) into one or more data box pods  110  to which each of the data box edges  108  is communicatively coupled. 
     Each data box edge  108  may be a physical device (e.g., rack-mounted server or the like) residing on a customer&#39;s premises and data objects may be written to the data box edge  108 , such as via Network File System (NFS), Server Message Block (SMB) and Azure storage protocols. In some arrangements, the data box edge  108  may preprocess data obtained from one or more client devices  104  such as by aggregating data, modifying data (e.g., to remove Personally Identifiable Information (PII)), and the like. A local web user interface of the data box edge  108  allows users to run diagnostics, shut down and restart the data box edge  108 , and the like. Furthermore, a resource (e.g., application) in a portal used to access the cloud storage system  102  allows users to manage the data box edge  108  from a web interface accessible from various geographical locations. 
     Before either of the data box edge(s)  108  or data box pod(s)  110  is substantially filled, requests for the data may be served from the data box edge(s)  108  and/or the data box pod(s)  110 . When the data box edge  108  is online, it may upload the data to the cloud storage system  102  in any appropriate manner. Additionally, or alternatively, the data box pod(s)  110  may be communicatively decoupled from the edge storage system  106  and then physically transported (e.g., offline via a truck or the like) to a data center  112  for upload of the data to the cloud storage system  102 . For example, upon a data box pod  110  becoming at least substantially filled, the edge storage system  106  may detect the same and generate a signal that the data box pod  110  needs to be shipped to the data center  112  for upload of the data. 
     Regardless of the order in which the data arrives at the cloud storage system  102  or data center  112 , the correct (e.g., most recent) version of the data is the version that will be stored in the cloud storage system  102 . For example, in the event that a new version of data is ingested into a data box edge  108  and uploaded to the cloud storage system  102  while an older version of the data stored on a data box pod  110  is being shipped to the data center  112 , the disclosed technology will inhibit the older version, once the data box pod  110  arrives at the data center  112 , from being uploaded to the cloud storage system  102  so as to not overwrite the newer version (e.g., by way of detecting that the newer version is linked to a more recent edge ingest time than is the older version). Each data box edge  108  can also download data from the cloud storage system  102 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates another example system for managing online and offline transfer of data between a cloud storage system  202  and one or more remote storage systems in a manner ensuring that in the case of multiple different versions of data being stored at different times in different portions of the system, the most recent (correct) version of the data will be the version ultimately stored on the cloud storage system  202  and later downloaded for storage to one or more data box edges  208  in the system while older versions will be archived and/or deleted. A customer data center  203  broadly includes at least one client device  204  (e.g., laptop, desktop, tablet, and/or another computing device), and at least one data box edge  208  (e.g., data server, only one shown in  FIG. 2 ) that is configured to ingest copies of data created on or otherwise obtained by the client device  204 . The customer data center  203  may also employ one or more one data box pods  210  (e.g., transportable storage devices, only one shown in  FIG. 2 ) communicatively coupled (e.g., wired, wirelessly) to each data box edge  208  to which the data box edge  208  is configured to automatically copy data ingested from client device  204 . It should be understood that the edge can operate without any pods connected to it, any pods in transport, or any pods uploading to the cloud storage system  202 . 
     Data from each data box edge  208  may be selectively written (uploaded) to the cloud storage system  202 , data from the cloud storage system  202  may be read by each data box edge  208 , and each data box edge  208  may refresh data already stored on the data box edge  208  with updated versions of the data stored on the cloud storage system  202 . Furthermore, each data box pod  210  may be communicatively decoupled (e.g., detached) from its corresponding data box edge  208  and transported to a cloud data center  212  for selective upload of the data stored on the data box pod  210  to the cloud storage system. In one arrangement, an indication that the data box pod  210  is unable to accept further storage of data thereon may be generated by the data box pod  210  and passed to the data box edge  208  whereby the communicative decoupling of the data box pod  210  from the data box edge  208  occurs responsive to the received indication. 
     As discussed herein, it is important that in the case where multiple versions of the same data are stored at different times in different portions of the system, the most recent (correct) version of the data will be the version ultimately stored on the cloud storage system  202 . In this regard, the disclosed technology generates and makes use of metadata to allow for the intelligent assessment of multiple versions of data and identification of the correct version of the data to be stored on a cloud storage system. The technology encapsulates the metadata (and sometimes also the actual customer data) into “objects” (e.g., data structures) that are stored in various portions of the system and used to reconcile conflicts among multiple data versions as will be discussed. 
     Upon ingestion of customer data  218  (e.g., one or more data objects) from client device  204  into data box edge  208 , the data box edge  208  generates or obtains metadata including a last data box edge ingest time (“dbit”)  216  and an object identifier (“obj id”)  220  and then encapsulates the data  218  and metadata into a data object  214 . The dbit  216  represents a time that the data  218  was ingested or copied into the data box edge  208  (e.g., as identified by a timestamp of the client device  204  or the data box edge  208 ) while the object identifier  220  is used to uniquely identify the data  218  from other pieces of data (e.g., other data objects). However, in the case where two different pieces of data  218  represent different versions of the same underlying data object, for example, the two data objects  214  for such two pieces of data  218  would share the same object identifier  220 . While  FIG. 2  only illustrates a single data object  214  in the data box edge  208 , it is to be understood that each data box edge  208  may store numerous data objects  214 . For example, two or more data objects in different locations (e.g., the edge, one or more pods, the cloud) and/or different states (e.g., different ingest times) may share the same object identifiers  220  but have different dbits  216 ; alternatively, two or more data objects may have different object identifiers  220 , data  218 , and dbits  216 ; and the like. 
     As noted herein, when moving data from the edge via data box pods, the data box edge  208  copies data objects  214  to one or more data box pod  210 s that are communicatively coupled to the data box edge  208 . Thus, while the same reference numerals are used to describe the data object  214  in the data box edge  208  and the data object  214  in the data box pod  210 , it is to be understood that the data objects are logically different (different storage locations, different states), even if they have the same information/data. The data objects  214  may be maintained in the data box edge  208  and the data box pod  210  until such time that the data box edge  208  needs to make more room for further data ingestion from the client device  204 , at which time the data box edge  208  may delete the actual data storage of the data object  214  from the data box edge  208 , leaving a placeholder or “data stub” in the namespace of the data box edge  208  and treating the data object  214  in the data box pod  210  as a cloud-based version of the data (that it can “download” from the data box pod  210  as needed) while the data box pod  210  is communicatively coupled to the data box edge  208  (e.g., before shipment to the cloud data center  212 ). In this manner, data storage associated with the data object  214  is removed from the data box edge  208 , but the object identifier of the data object  214  remains in the namespace of the data box edge  208 . The data box edge  208  or data box pod  210  also assigns a pod identifier (“pod id”)  222  to the data box pod  210  to uniquely identify the data box pod  210  among other data box pods  210  in the customer data center  203 . 
     To read a data object  214  from a data box pod  210  at the customer data center  203 , the data box edge  208  may determine whether the pod id of an incoming request matches a pod id  222  in an object  234  of the metabase  232 , whether at least one data object  214  exists in the data box pod  210 , and whether the dbit  216  of the data box pod  210  matches the dbit  216  of the metabase  232 ; if so, the data  218  of the data box pod  210  is returned. Otherwise, a “not found” message or the like is returned. To write a data object  214  to a data box pod  210  at the customer data center  203 , the data box edge  208  may specifies the pod id  222  of the data box pod  210  in a write request, writes the data object  214  to the corresponding data box pod  210  that matches a pod id  222 , and updates the ingest time (e.g., dbit  216 ) of the data object written to the data box pod  210 . 
     Upon communicative decoupling of the data box pod  210  from its data box edge  208  (e.g., upon detection that the data box pod  210  is full or at another appropriate time) and shipment to the cloud data center  212 , the data  218  and metadata on the data box pod  210  may be uploaded to the cloud storage system  202  in any appropriate manner (e.g., LAN, WAN, etc.). As part of the upload of the data  218  and metadata to the cloud storage system  202 , the cloud storage system  202  generates or obtains additional metadata and then encapsulates the data  218 , metadata from the data box pod  210 , and additional metadata into a data object  224  and stores the same in any appropriate region or area of the cloud storage system  202 . While only a single data object  224  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the cloud storage system  202  may actually store numerous objects corresponding to numerous different object identifiers  220  and different data  218 . 
     As shown, the additional metadata includes an entity tag (“etag”)  226 , a last data box upload time (“dbut”)  230 , and optionally a last cloud modify time (“mt”)  228 . The etag  226  is generated by the cloud storage system  202  each time a data object  224  is created or updated in the cloud storage system  202  and allows a last writer of the data  218  in the data object  224  (who alone knows the etag  226 ) to take a “happy path” to the data object  224  and further update the data object  224  without having to “lease” the data object (determine whether or not data objects  214  from the data box edge  208  or data box pod  210  conflicts) assuming no updates to the data object  224  have occurred on the cloud storage system  202 . The dbut  230  represents a time that the data  218  was uploaded from the data box edge  208  to the cloud storage system  202  (e.g., as identified by a timestamp of the data box edge  208  or cloud storage system  202 ) or from the cloud data center  212  to the cloud storage system  202  (e.g., as identified by a timestamp of the cloud data center  212  or cloud storage system  202 ). The mt  228  is generated by the cloud storage system  202  each time a data object  224  is updated on the cloud storage system  202  (e.g., whether by a third party editing the object directly on the cloud storage system  202 , via upload of updated data from the cloud data center  212 , or upload of updated data from the data box edge  208 ). 
     Each data box edge  208  maintains and/or has access to a metabase (mb)  232  that is broadly configured to store metadata for objects maintained in the customer data center  203  and cloud storage system  202  for use in identifying object conflicts as discussed in more detail below. The mb  232  may be maintained within the data box edge  210  and/or be maintained in a separate device and accessible to the data box edge  208  in any appropriate manner. For each respective object identifier  220 , the data box edge  208  may encapsulate within an object  234  the current etag  226  received from the cloud storage system  202  (e.g., which may be pushed down to the customer data center  203  upon creation or update of a corresponding data object  224 ), the dbit  216 , the pod identifier  222 , and the object identifier  220 . While each data object  224  in the cloud storage system  202  is illustrated as including both the customer data  218  and the various pieces of metadata, one implementation envisions that the cloud storage system  202  may also include a metabase of the metadata while the customer data  218  may be stored separately from the metabase. In this implementation, the metadata would be linked to the customer data  218  by way of the object identifier  220  (e.g., where the same object identifier  220  would be stored with the metadata in the metabase and separately with the customer data  218 ). 
     Before discussing how the metadata is utilized by the disclosed technology to identify conflicts among various data objects, reference is made to  FIG. 3  which illustrates how a customer data center  303  may include a plurality of data box edges  308  storing objects  314 , where each data box edge  308  includes one or more data box pods  310  communicatively coupled thereto, and where each data box edge includes a metabase  332  of objects  334 . Furthermore, each data box edge  308  maintains a namespace  350  (e.g., directory) of object identifiers (UIDs)  352  (e.g., data object paths) corresponding to customer data in the data box edge  308 , its data box pods  310 , other data box edges  308 , and the cloud storage system. Upon ingestion of customer data into a data box edge  308  and creation of corresponding objects  314 , the data box edge  308  creates or obtains a UID  352  for the data in the namespace  350  that allows users to see that the data exists (e.g., via a user interface in communication with the namespace  350 ). 
     In various implementations, the object identifiers at the edge, the pod, and the cloud are identical. In other implementations, the object identifiers at the edge, the pod, and the cloud may be mapped transformations of each other or otherwise different by providing enough information to allow correspondence and/or association of such object identifiers to be determined by the edge, the pod, and the cloud. 
     As discussed herein, situations exist in which particular data is only available on a single data box pod  310  (e.g., the data has been removed from its corresponding data box edge  308 ) which is subsequently communicatively decoupled from its data box edge  308  and has not yet reached the cloud data center for upload to the cloud storage system. In this case, the UID  352  for the data on the data box pod remains in the namespace  350  of the data box edge  308  so that client devices can see that the corresponding data exists (in contrast to other systems where data on a transportable device in transit is essentially invisible to client devices until the transportable device has been uploaded to a cloud storage system). However, manipulation of the UID  352  in the namespace  350  before uploading of the data to the cloud storage system induces the data box edge  308  to return a “data temporarily unavailable” message or the like to the user. In this regard, the UID  352  serves as a data stub while the data box pod  310  is in transit. Once the data has been uploaded to the cloud storage system, manipulation of the corresponding UID  352  in the namespace  350  induces the data box edge  308  to download the corresponding data from the cloud storage system and serve the data to the client device. 
     In the situation where a data box edge  308  has uploaded one or more particular objects  314  to the cloud storage system, the data box edge  308  may “ghost” (e.g., remove, stub) the one or more objects from the data box edge  308  while maintaining their corresponding UIDs  352  in the namespace  350 . A subsequent access of such corresponding UIDs  352  induces the data box edge  308  to download the corresponding data from the cloud storage system and serve the data to the client device. The various data box edges  308  are also configured to share updates to their respective namespaces  350  with the other data boxes edges  308  such that the namespaces  350  of all data box edges  308  are identical or nearly identical in substantially real time. In relation to access of a particular UID  352  in the namespace  350  of a data box edge  308  where the corresponding data is stored on the data box edge  308 , the data box edge  308  returns the data to the client device. In relation to access of a particular UID  352  in the namespace  350  of a data box edge  308  where the corresponding data is only stored in the cloud storage system, the data box edge  308  downloads and returns the corresponding data to the client device. In relation to access of a particular UID  352  in the namespace  350  of a data box edge  308  where the corresponding data is only stored on another data box edge  308  (or only on the other data box edge&#39;s  308  corresponding data box pod  310 ), the data box edge  308  may request and receive the corresponding data from the other data box edge  308  and then serve the data to the client device, in some implementations. 
     As discussed herein, it is important for the disclosed technology to maintain the most recent version of data (e.g., of a data object) on the cloud storage system despite various versions of the data possibly existing on data box edges, data box pods communicatively coupled to their data box edges or in transit, and the like. With reference now to  FIG. 4 , an object upload module  400  is illustrated that is configured to determine a conflict status of an object stored in a data box pod. The object upload module  400  may be resident on the cloud data center and/or on the cloud storage system. Broadly, the object upload module  400  includes a receiver  401  that receives a pod object  404  and an object analyzer  402  that evaluates the metadata of the pod object  404  in view of objects stored in the cloud storage system to determine whether data and metadata in the pod object should be uploaded to the cloud storage system. 
     The analyzer  402  may initially use the object identifier  406  of the pod object  404  as a key into a database of objects in the cloud storage system to determine whether the same object identifier  406  already exists in the cloud storage system. If the analyzer  402  determines that the same object identifier does not already exist in the cloud storage system, the object upload module  400  may then initiate upload of the pod object  404  into the cloud storage system whereby the cloud storage system creates a corresponding cloud object  412 . In this case, the object identifier  414  of the cloud object  412  would be the same as the object identifier  406  of the pod object  404 , the dbit  416  of the cloud object  412  would be the same as the dbit  408  of the pod object  404 , and the data  424  of the cloud object  412  would be the same as the data  410  of the pod object  404 . 
     If the analyzer  402  determines that the object identifier  406  of the pod object  404  already exists in the cloud storage system (i.e., the object identifier  414  of an existing cloud object  412  in the cloud storage system matches the object identifier  406  of the incoming pod object  404 ), then the analyzer  402  initially compares the respective dbits  408 ,  416 . If the dbit  416  of the existing cloud object  412  is more recent than the dbit  408  of the pod object  404 , then the data  424  in the existing cloud object  412  was modified more recently than the data  410  in the incoming pod object  404  (e.g., updated data associated with the same object identifier was ingested into a data box pod after ingestion of the data  410  of the pod object  404  but uploaded to the cloud storage system before arrival of the pod object  404  at the object upload module  400 ). Accordingly, the object upload module  400  inhibits uploading of the pod object  404  into the cloud storage system. 
     Even if the dbit  408  of the pod object  404  is more recent than the dbit  416  of the cloud object  412 , the analyzer  402  then assesses whether the mt  418  in the cloud object  412  is more recent than the dbut  420  in the cloud object  412 ; if so, this means that a user has updated the data  424  in the cloud object  412  from or at the cloud storage system rather than via a data box edge or pod. Specifically, if a user has updated the data  424  directly via the cloud storage system, the mt  418  would be updated but the dbut  420  would not. Accordingly, the object upload module  400  inhibits uploading of the pod object  404  into the cloud storage system. 
     If the analyzer  402  determines that the dbit  408  is more recent that the dbit  416  and the dbut  420  is more recent than the mt  418 , then the object upload module  400  allows upload of the pod object  404  into the cloud storage space. In this case, the cloud storage system would replace the dbit  416  with the dbit  408  of the incoming pod object  404  and replace the data  424  with the data  410  in the incoming pod object  404 . The cloud storage system would also update the mt  418  and the dbut  420  to the current time and generate a new etag  422 . In one implementation, the cloud storage system may subtract a predetermined amount of “slop” time from the current time before setting the updated dbut  420 . In any case, subsequent requests for the UID in the namespace of one or more of the data box edges would initiate download of the updated data  424  from the cloud storage system to the requesting data box edge. As part of this process, the downloading data box edge would update the corresponding object in its metabase (e.g., metabase  232  of  FIG. 2 ) to reflect the updated metadata. 
     With reference now to  FIG. 5 , an object upload module  500  is illustrated that is configured to determine a conflict status of an object stored in the edge storage system (e.g., a data box edge) is to be uploaded to the cloud storage system. The object upload module  500  may be resident on the cloud storage system and/or on the edge storage system. Broadly, the object upload module  500  includes a receiver  501  that receives a metabase object  504  and an object analyzer  502  (e.g., a conflict manager) that evaluates the metadata of the metabase object  504  in view of objects stored in the cloud storage system to determine whether data and metadata should be uploaded from the corresponding data box edge to the cloud storage system. While the metabase object  504  is illustrated as including data  510  for purposes of facilitating the below discussion, the data  510  may in some arrangements be stored in an object of the data box edge (e.g., as in  FIG. 2 ) in which case the object upload module  500  would retrieve the data from the data box edge object and facilitate upload of the same to the cloud storage system if the object upload module  500  so decides. 
     The analyzer  502  may initially use the object identifier  506  of the metabase object  504  as a key into a database of objects in the cloud storage system to determine whether the same object identifier  506  already exists in the cloud storage system. If the analyzer  502  determines that the same object identifier does not already exist in the cloud storage system, the object upload module  500  may then initiate upload of the metabase object  504  into the cloud storage system whereby the cloud storage system creates a corresponding cloud object  514 . In this case, the object identifier  516  of the cloud object  514  would be the same as the object identifier  506  of the metabase object  504 , the dbit  518  of the cloud object  514  would be the same as the dbit  508  of the metabase object  504 , and the data  526  of the cloud object  514  would be the same as the data  510  of the metabase object  504 . 
     If the analyzer  502  determines that the object identifier  506  of the metabase object  504  already exists in the cloud storage system (i.e., the object identifier  5156  of an existing cloud object  514  in the cloud storage system matches the object identifier  506  of the incoming metabase object  504 ), then the analyzer  502  then determines whether the etag  512  of the incoming metabase object  504  matches the etag  524  of the existing cloud object  514 . As discussed herein, an etag  524  is generated by the cloud storage system each time the cloud object  514  is updated (e.g., each time the data  526  is updated), and typically only the user associated with the most recent update of the object  514  is aware of the etag  514 . 
     Accordingly, if the analyzer  502  determines that the etag  512  in the incoming metabase object  504  matches the etag  524  in the existing cloud object  514 , this means it is the most recent user that is updating its own data, and the object upload module  500  thus initiates upload of the metabase object  504  to the cloud storage system. In other words, the user of the etag  512  matching the etag  524  allows the user to take a “happy path” to the cloud object  514  and thus modify the data  526  free of having to first determine whether any other updates have priority. In this case, the cloud storage system would replace the dbit  518  with the dbit  508  of the incoming metabase object  504  and replace the data  526  with the data  510  in the incoming metabase object  504 . The cloud storage system would also update the mt  520  and the dbut  522  to the current time and generate a new etag  524 . In this regard, subsequent requests for the UID in the namespace of one or more of the data box edges would initiate download of the updated data  526  from the cloud storage system to the requesting data box edge. As part of this process, the downloading data box edge would update the corresponding object in its metabase (e.g., metabase  232  of  FIG. 2 ) to reflect the updated metadata (e.g., the updated dbit  518 , mt  520 , dbut  522 , etag  524 , etc.). 
     If the analyzer  502  determines that the etag  512  in the incoming metabase object  504  does not match the etag  524  in the existing cloud object  514 , then the data  510  in the incoming metabase object  504  was presumably not generated by the user associated with the most recent update of the data  526  in the cloud object  514 . Accordingly, the analyzer  502  then compares the respective dbits  508 ,  518 . If the dbit  518  of the existing cloud object  514  is more recent than the dbit  508  of the metabase object  504 , then the data  526  in the existing cloud object  514  was modified more recently that the data  510  in the incoming metabase object  504  (e.g., updated data associated with the same object identifier was ingested into a data box edge after ingestion of the data  510  of the metabase object  504  but uploaded to the cloud storage system before arrival of the metabase object  504  at the object upload module  500 ). Accordingly, the object upload module  500  inhibits uploading of the metabase object  504  into the cloud storage system. 
     Even if the dbit  508  of the metabase object  504  is more recent than the dbit  518  of the cloud object  514 , the analyzer  502  then assesses whether the mt  520  in the cloud object  514  is more recent than the dbut  522  in the cloud object  514 ; if so, this means that a user has updated the data  526  in the cloud object  514  from or at the cloud storage system rather than via a data box edge or pod. Accordingly, the object upload module  500  inhibits uploading of the metabase object  504  into the cloud storage system. If the analyzer  502  determines that the dbit  508  is more recent that the dbit  518  and the dbut  522  is more recent than the mt  520 , then the object upload module  500  allows upload of the metabase object  504  into the cloud storage system. In this case, the cloud storage system would replace the dbit  518  with the dbit  508  of the incoming metabase object  504  and replace the data  526  with the data  510  in the incoming metabase object  504 . The cloud storage system would also update the mt  520  and the dbut  522  to the current time and generate a new etag  524 . In this regard, subsequent requests for the UID in the namespace of one or more of the data box edges would initiate download of the updated data  526  from the cloud storage system to the requesting data box edge. As part of this process, the downloading data box edge would update the corresponding object in its metabase (e.g., metabase  232  of  FIG. 2 ) to reflect the updated metadata. 
     It should be understood that an object upload module at a pod or for uploading of pod data to the cloud, such as the object upload module  400  may employ the same or similar uploading operations and accompanying data as an object upload module at an edge, such the object upload module  500 . Alternatively, either one of the modules may have different operations and/or data. For example, in one implementation, etags may not be transported with a pod (such as shown in  FIG. 4 ) and, as such, the object upload module  400  may not be capable of comparing etags with the cloud storage system metabase. However, in other implementations, etags may be transported with the pod, and so etag comparison may be available for uploading from a pod to the cloud. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an example method  600  of determining a conflict status of objects and managing uploads of the objects to a cloud storage system. Upon an operation  602  of receiving an object from a remote storage device (e.g., from a data box pod or edge, etc.), the method  600  includes a query  604  asking whether an object ID of the received object already exists in the cloud storage system. In response to a negative answer to the query  604 , the method  600  proceeds to an upload operation  606  whereby the received object is uploaded to the cloud storage system. Otherwise, the method  600  proceeds to another query operation  608  asking whether an entity tag (e.g., etag) of the received object already exists in the cloud storage system. In response to an affirmative answer to the query operation  608 , the method  600  proceeds to the upload operation  606 . Otherwise, the method proceeds to a further query  610  asking whether an ingest timestamp (e.g., dbit) associated with the existing object id in the cloud storage system is more recent than an ingest timestamp in the received object. In response to an affirmative answer to the query  608 , the method  600  concludes that a conflict status for the potential upload is that there is a conflict (i.e., between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system) and then proceeds to an upload disallowing operation  612  that disallows upload of the received object into the cloud storage system. Otherwise, the method  600  proceeds to a still yet further query  614  asking whether a last cloud modified timestamp (e.g., mt) associated with the existing object id in the cloud storage system is more recent than a last cloud upload timestamp (e.g., dbut) associated with the existing object id in the cloud storage system. The method  600  concludes that a conflict status for the potential upload is that there is a conflict and then proceeds to the upload disallowing operation  612  in response to an affirmative answer to the query  610  and concludes that a conflict status for the potential upload is that there is no conflict and then proceeds to the upload operation  606  in response to a negative answer to the query  610 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates example operations  700  for managing requests to read objects in a cloud storage system. A query operation  702  asks whether an entity tag is already present in a data box edge metabase (e.g., metabase  232  of  FIG. 2 ). If so, another query operation  704  asks whether the entity tag in the metabase is the same as an entity tag already present in the cloud storage system. If so, then a data returning operation  706  includes returning data in the cloud storage system associated with the entity tag to the data box edge or other requested location. If the answer to the query operation  704  is negative, then a message returning operation  712  returns an “object not found” message or the like (e.g., a “wait” message). If the answer to the query operation  702  is negative, then another query operation  708  asks whether an ingest timestamp in the metabase is equal to the ingest timestamp in the cloud storage system (e.g., both of which are associated with the same object identifier). A positive answer to the query operation  708  includes a setting operation  710  that sets the entity tag in the metabase to be the same as that in the cloud storage system. A negative answer to the query operation  708  and/or completion of the setting operation  710  directs processing to the query operation  704  to evaluate whether the etags have changed. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates example operations  800  of refreshing objects from a cloud storage system to an edge storage system. A query operation  802  initially asks whether a data object handle is open or work on that data object is incomplete. If so, a waiting operation  804  includes waiting before returning to the query  802 . Otherwise, a query operation  806  compares an ingest timestamp of an existing object in the cloud storage system to an ingest timestamp of a corresponding object in the edge storage server (e.g., as stored in metabase  232  of  FIG. 2 ), both of the ingest timestamps being linked to the same object identifier. If the ingest timestamp from the cloud storage system is equal to the ingest timestamp from the edge storage server, then processing returns to the query operation  802 . 
     If the ingest timestamp from the cloud storage system is greater than the ingest timestamp from the edge storage server, then a concluding operation  808  concludes that the cloud storage system has newer data than the edge storage system (e.g., the data  218  in cloud data object  224  is newer than data  218  in data box edge  208 , the object identifiers  220  in the cloud data object  224  and data box edge  208  being the same). Thereafter, a replacing operation  810  replaces the entity tag of the edge storage server (e.g., the entity tag in the metabase  232 ) with the entity tag of the cloud storage system and the ingest timestamp of the edge storage server with the ingest timestamp of the cloud storage system. Processing then returns to the query operation  802 . 
     If the ingest timestamp from the cloud storage system is greater than the ingest timestamp from the edge storage server, then another concluding operation  812  concludes that the edge storage system has newer data than the cloud storage system. Thereafter, a query operation  814  queries whether the last cloud upload timestamp (e.g., dbut) is the same as or more recent than the last cloud modified timestamp (e.g., mt). If so, a concluding operation  816  concludes that a transportable device (e.g., data box pod) is in transit; otherwise, a concluding operation  818  concludes that the edge and cloud storage systems both have newer data than a third-party cloud update. If an object is in the data box edge metabase but a corresponding object is not yet in the cloud storage system, a user would have to wait if a data object handle is open or work on that data object is incomplete. Otherwise, the data box edge concludes that the object is stale and thereafter deletes the data box edge object (e.g., data object  214  in  FIG. 2 ) and the corresponding metabase object (e.g., object  234  in  FIG. 2 ). Processing then returns to the query operation  802 . 
     As discussed previously, existing servers that make use of transportable storage devices (e.g., for backups, etc.) remove the names of data objects on the transportable storage devices from a namespace of the servers upon communicative decoupling of the transportable storage devices from the servers for eventual upload to a cloud storage system (e.g., assuming the servers also no longer maintain a copy of the corresponding data objects). However, this situation can sometimes result in temporary “loss” of the data objects (e.g., client devices cannot see the data objects) during the time after communicative decoupling of a transportable storage device from a server and before upload of the data objects on the transportable storage device to a cloud storage system. 
     In this regard,  FIG. 9  illustrates an example method  900  of maintaining object identifier of corresponding objects in a namespace of an edge storage system after decoupling of a transportable storage device on which the objects are stored from the edge storage system so that client device users can continue to “see” the object identifiers (e.g., data object names, etc.) linked with the objects while the transportable storage device is in transport. A storing operation  902  initially includes storing a data object in an edge storage system (e.g., ingesting data object  214  from client device  204  into data box edge  208  in  FIG. 2 ) and an object identifier inclusion operation  904  includes including an object identifier (e.g., a data object name) for the object in a namespace of the edge storage system (e.g., in namespace  350  of a data box edge  308  of  FIG. 3 ). As discussed herein, the various data box edges of an edge storage system of a customer data center may be configured to share all their respective namespaces and resolve duplicates in substantially real-time such that each data box edge has a substantially identical namespace. 
     A copying operation  906  includes copying the object to a transportable storage device (e.g., data box pod  210  of  FIG. 2 ) that is communicatively coupled to the edge storage system and then a decoupling operation  908  includes communicatively decoupling the transportable storage device from the edge storage system. For example, the transportable storage device may be decoupled from the edge storage system and then physically transported to a cloud data center or the like for upload to a cloud storage system. In some implementations, data storage associated with the data object may be removed (e.g., deleted) from the edge storage system (e.g., before the decoupling operation  908 ). As discussed herein, situations exist in which particular data is only available on a single data box pod  310  (e.g., the data has been removed from its corresponding data box edge  308 ) which is subsequently communicatively decoupled from its data box edge  308  and has not yet reached the cloud data center for upload to the cloud storage system. In this case, the UID  352  for the data on the data box pod remains in the namespace  350  of the data box edge  308  so that client devices can see that the corresponding data exists (in contrast to other systems where data on a transportable device in transit is essentially invisible to client devices until the transportable device has been uploaded to a cloud storage system). However, manipulation of the UID  352  in the namespace  350  before uploading of the data to the cloud storage system induces the data box edge  308  to return a “data temporarily unavailable” message or the like to the user. In this regard, the UID  352  serves as a data “stub” while the data box pod  310  is in transit. Once the data has been uploaded to the cloud storage system, manipulation of the corresponding UID  352  in the namespace  350  induces the data box edge  308  to download the corresponding data from the cloud storage system and serve the data to the client device. 
     At this point, the data object is considered “ghosted” from the edge storage system (e.g., from the data box edge from which the transportable storage device was just communicatively decoupled) but the data object is still “stubbed” in the namespace (via its corresponding object identifier) to maintain visibility of the object identifier in the namespace. A query operation  910  then asks whether a request for an object identifier of the data object in a namespace of the edge storage system has been received. If not, the query operation  910  is performed again. Otherwise, a query operation  912  asks whether the data object corresponding to the requested object identifier has been uploaded into the cloud storage system. If not, a return message operation  914  includes returning an unavailability message to the requester (e.g., indicating that the object is temporarily unavailable). If the answer to the query operation  912  is positive, then a downloading operation  916  includes downloading a copy of the data object from the cloud storage system to the edge storage system. 
     In one arrangement, additional transportable storage devices may be communicatively coupled to the edge storage system, and additional data objects may be stored from the edge storage system to such additional transportable storage device(s). In this case, such additional data objects would be identified by additional object identifiers which are maintained in the namespace of the edge storage system after subsequent communicative decoupling of such additional transportable storage device(s). 
     In one implementation, pod identifiers (e.g., pod id  222  in  FIG. 2 ) may be cleared from the metabase of the data box edge upon upload of the object(s) to the cloud storage system so that future attempts to read the object(s) from the particular pod/transportable storage device are not made. For example, the cloud storage system may generate and send any appropriate communication regarding the upload to the customer data center to initiate such cleaning up of the metabases of the data box edges. In one implementation, multiple copies of objects may be stored on multiple pods of a corresponding data box edge to allow reads of an object stored on a transportable storage device is transit to be serviced by another transportable storage device that is still communicatively coupled to the data box edge. Upon upload of the objects on the in-transit device to the cloud storage system, the cloud storage system can message the edge storage system regarding the same to thereby trigger cleaning of the corresponding object copies from the remaining transportable storage devices. In one implementation, the cloud data center may maintain a metabase of metadata (e.g., dbit, dbut, etag, etc.) regarding the data stored in the cloud storage system. In this regard, data box edges would update the metabase when uploading objects directly to the cloud storage system. 
     Data box edges can copy full files/blobs to one or more of its data box pods. In the case where a user desires to modify a file/blob on a data box edge that has already been ghosted from the data box edge to a data box pod or cloud storage system, the file/blob is first pulled down to the data box edge from the data box pod or cloud storage system, modified as necessary, and then recopied to the data box pod (and/or another of its data box pods) in its entirety. In the case where the only copy of the file/blob is on an in-transit data box edge, the pulling down would have to wait until the file/blob on the in-transit data box edge reaches the cloud storage system. It is noted that multiple data box edges may be largely disconnected from the internet for long periods of time while ingesting data from different clients (e.g., at different data centers or submarines). One or more of the data box edges may periodically copy or write objects to data box pods and/or upload objects to the cloud storage system and the technologies disclosed herein synchronize objects and identify conflicts among multiple versions of objects. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an example computing device  1000  for use in synchronizing online and offline transfer of data to a cloud storage system. The example computing device  1000  may be used to determine whether objects should be uploaded from an edge storage system or transportable storage device to a cloud storage system in a manner ensuring that the most recent versions of objects are the versions stored in the cloud storage system while older versions are deleted or archived, even when multiple versions of objects are in various locations in a system and arriving at the cloud storage system for potential upload and various times. The computing device  1000  may be a client device, such as a laptop, mobile device, desktop, tablet, or a server/cloud device. The computing device  1000  includes one or more processor(s)  1002 , and a memory  1004 . The memory  1004  generally includes both volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory). An operating system  1010  resides in the memory  1004  and is executed by the processor(s)  1002 . 
     In an example computing device  1000 , as shown in  FIG. 10 , one or more modules or segments, such as an object upload module  1040  (e.g., object upload modules  400 ,  500  of  FIGS. 4-5 ), edge storage system  1050  (e.g., associated with data box edge  308  of  FIG. 3  for use in maintaining the namespace  350 ), applications, application modules, and other modules, are loaded into the operating system  1010  on the memory  1004  and/or storage  1020  and installed in and executed by the object upload module  1040  and/or other processor(s)  1002 . The object upload module  1040  also includes memory for storing data, metadata, objects, and/or other secured data. The storage  1020  may be local to the computing device  1000  or may be remote and communicatively connected to the computing device  1000  and may include another server. The storage  1020  may store resources that are requestable by client devices (not shown). 
     The computing device  1000  includes a power supply  1016 , which is powered by one or more batteries or other power sources and which provides power to other components of the computing device  1000 . The power supply  1016  may also be connected to an external power source that overrides or recharges the built-in batteries or other power sources. 
     The computing device  1000  may include one or more communication transceivers  1030  which may be connected to one or more antenna(s)  1032  to provide network connectivity (e.g., mobile phone network, Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®) to one or more other servers and/or client devices (e.g., mobile devices, desktop computers, or laptop computers). The computing device  1000  may further include a network adapter  1036 , which is a type of communication device. The computing device  1000  may use the adapter and any other types of communication devices for establishing connections over a wide-area network (WAN) or local-area network (LAN). It should be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and that other communications devices and means for establishing a communications link between the computing device  1000  and other devices may be used. 
     The computing device  1000  may include one or more input devices  1034  such that a user may enter commands and information (e.g., a keyboard or mouse). These and other input devices may be coupled to the server by one or more interfaces  1038  such as a serial port interface, parallel port, or universal serial bus (USB). The computing device  1000  may further include a display  1022 , such as a touch screen display. 
     The computing device  1000  may include a variety of tangible processor-readable storage media and intangible processor-readable communication signals. Tangible processor-readable storage can be embodied by any available media that can be accessed by the computing device  1000  and includes both volatile and nonvolatile storage media, removable and non-removable storage media. Tangible processor-readable storage media excludes intangible communications signals (e.g., signals per se) and includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable storage media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as processor-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Tangible processor-readable storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CDROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computing device  1000 . In contrast to tangible processor-readable storage media, intangible processor-readable communication signals may embody processor-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data resident in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other signal transport mechanism. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, intangible communication signals include signals traveling through wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. 
     An example method for use with a cloud storage system is provided. The method includes receiving, at a cloud upload module from a storage device, an object that includes data and metadata. The metadata includes an object ID and an ingest timestamp corresponding to a time that the data was ingested into the storage device. The method further includes determining whether the object ID exists in an object database of objects stored in the cloud storage system and determining a conflict status regarding uploading of the received object into the cloud storage system based on the ingest timestamp of the received object, responsive to the object ID being determined to exist in the object database. 
     Another example method of any preceding method is provided, wherein the operation of determining a conflict status includes ascertaining that an ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than the ingest timestamp of the received object, determining that the conflict status is that a conflict exists between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and disallowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     Another example method of any preceding method is provided, wherein the ascertaining further includes ascertaining that a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than a last cloud upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     Another example method of any preceding method is provided, wherein the operation of determining a conflict status includes ascertaining that the ingest timestamp of the received object is more recent than an ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database, determining that the conflict status is that a conflict does not exist between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and allowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     Another example method of any preceding method is provided, wherein the ascertaining further includes ascertaining that a last cloud upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     Another example method of any preceding method is provided, wherein the allowing includes replacing, with the data in the received object, data in the cloud storage system associated with the object ID and replacing, with the metadata in the received object, metadata in the database associated with the object ID. 
     Another example method of any preceding method is provided, wherein the replacing the metadata includes replacing, with the ingest timestamp of the received object, the ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database and replacing, with an entity tag in the received object, an entity tag for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     Another example method of any preceding method further includes allowing upload of at least a portion of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the a) object ID being determined to not exist in the object database orb) the object ID being determined to exist in the object database and an entity tag for the object ID stored in the object database matching an entity tag of the received object. 
     One or more example tangible processor-readable storage media embodied with instructions for executing on one or more processors and circuits of a device a process for use with a cloud storage system are provided. The process includes receiving, at a cloud upload module from a storage device, an object that includes data and metadata. The metadata includes an object ID and an ingest timestamp corresponding to a time that the data was ingested into the storage device. The process further includes determining whether the object ID exists in an object database of objects stored in the cloud storage system and determining a conflict status regarding uploading of the received object into the cloud storage system based on the ingest timestamp of the received object, responsive to the object ID being determined to exist in the object database. 
     One or more other example tangible processor-readable storage media of any preceding media are provided, wherein the operation of determining a conflict status includes ascertaining that an ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than the ingest timestamp of the received object, determining that the conflict status is that a conflict exists between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and disallowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     One or more other example tangible processor-readable storage media of any preceding media are provided, wherein the ascertaining further includes ascertaining that a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than a last cloud upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     One or more other example tangible processor-readable storage media of any preceding media are provided, wherein the operation of determining a conflict status includes ascertaining that the ingest timestamp of the received object is more recent than an ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database, determining that the conflict status is that a conflict does not exist between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and allowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     One or more other example tangible processor-readable storage media of any preceding media are provided, wherein the ascertaining further includes ascertaining that a last cloud upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     One or more other example tangible processor-readable storage media of any preceding media are provided, wherein the allowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system after the ascertaining includes replacing, with the data in the received object, data in the cloud storage system associated with the object ID and replacing, with the metadata in the received object, metadata in the database associated with the object ID. 
     One or more other example tangible processor-readable storage media of any preceding media are provided, wherein the replacing the metadata includes replacing, with the ingest timestamp of the received object, the ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database and replacing, with an entity tag in the received object, an entity tag for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     An example system includes a storage system storing a plurality of objects, each object including data and metadata, the metadata including an object ID and an ingest timestamp corresponding to a time that the data was ingested into a storage device remote from the storage system and an upload engine that manages uploads of objects into the storage system. The upload engine includes a receiver configured to receive an object that includes data and metadata. The metadata includes an object ID and an ingest timestamp corresponding to a time that the data was ingested into a storage device remote from the storage system. The system further includes a conflict manager configured to determine whether the object ID in the received object is the same as one of the object IDs in the storage system and determine a conflict status regarding uploading of the received object into the storage system based on the ingest timestamp of the received object, responsive to determining that the object ID is the same as one of the object IDs in the storage system. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the conflict manager is configured to determine the conflict status by ascertaining that the ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the storage system is more recent than the ingest timestamp of the received object, determining that the conflict status is that a conflict exists between the received object and one of the stored plurality of objects in the storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and disallowing upload of the received object into the storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the conflict manager is configured to determine the conflict status by ascertaining that a last storage system modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the storage system is more recent than a last storage system upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the storage system. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the conflict manager is configured to determine the conflict status by ascertaining that the ingest timestamp of the received object is more recent than the ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the storage system, determining that the conflict status is that a conflict does not exist between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and allowing upload of the received object into the storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the conflict manager is configured to determine the conflict status by ascertaining that a last storage system upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the storage system is more recent than a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the storage system. 
     Another example system for use with a cloud storage system is provided. The system includes means for receiving, at a cloud upload module from a storage device, an object that includes data and metadata. The metadata includes an object ID and an ingest timestamp corresponding to a time that the data was ingested into the storage device. The method further includes means for determining whether the object ID exists in an object database of objects stored in the cloud storage system and means for determining a conflict status regarding uploading of the received object into the cloud storage system based on the ingest timestamp of the received object, responsive to the object ID being determined to exist in the object database. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the means for determining a conflict status includes means for ascertaining that an ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than the ingest timestamp of the received object, means for determining that the conflict status is that a conflict exists between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and means for disallowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the means for ascertaining further includes means for ascertaining that a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than a last cloud upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     Another example system of any system method is provided, wherein the means for determining a conflict status includes means for ascertaining that the ingest timestamp of the received object is more recent than an ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database, means for determining that the conflict status is that a conflict does not exist between the received object and an existing object in the cloud storage system responsive to the ascertaining, and means for allowing upload of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the determined conflict status. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the means for ascertaining further includes means for ascertaining that a last cloud upload timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database is more recent than a last cloud modified timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the means for allowing includes means for replacing, with the data in the received object, data in the cloud storage system associated with the object ID and means for replacing, with the metadata in the received object, metadata in the database associated with the object ID. 
     Another example system of any preceding system is provided, wherein the means for replacing the metadata includes means for replacing, with the ingest timestamp of the received object, the ingest timestamp for the object ID stored in the object database and replacing, with an entity tag in the received object, an entity tag for the object ID stored in the object database. 
     Another example system of any preceding system further includes means for allowing upload of at least a portion of the received object into the cloud storage system responsive to the a) object ID being determined to not exist in the object database or b) the object ID being determined to exist in the object database and an entity tag for the object ID stored in the object database matching an entity tag of the received object. 
     Some implementations may comprise an article of manufacture. An article of manufacture may comprise a tangible storage medium to store logic. Examples of a storage medium may include one or more types of computer-readable storage media capable of storing electronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writable or re-writable memory, and so forth. Examples of the logic may include various software elements, such as software components, programs, applications, computer programs, application programs, system programs, machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, operation segments, methods, procedures, software interfaces, application program interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code, computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof. In one implementation, for example, an article of manufacture may store executable computer program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform methods and/or operations in accordance with the described embodiments. The executable computer program instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. The executable computer program instructions may be implemented according to a predefined computer language, manner or syntax, for instructing a computer to perform a certain operation segment. The instructions may be implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpreted programming language. 
     The implementations described herein are implemented as logical steps in one or more computer systems. The logical operations may be implemented (1) as a sequence of processor-implemented steps executing in one or more computer systems and (2) as interconnected machine or circuit modules within one or more computer systems. The implementation is a matter of choice, dependent on the performance requirements of the computer system being utilized. Accordingly, the logical operations making up the implementations described herein are referred to variously as operations, steps, objects, or modules. Furthermore, it should be understood that logical operations may be performed in any order, unless explicitly claimed otherwise or a specific order is inherently necessitated by the claim language.