Patent ID: 8417935

Claim:
A method for real-time collaboration among a group of users over one or more networks in a shared storage system, the method comprising: initiating a collaboration session, including: receiving a request for setting up the collaboration session by a metadata server from an initiating user of the group of users; sending, by the metadata server, a designated data location for the collaboration session to the initiating user; writing at least one collaboration message, wherein: the collaboration message is written to and stored in the designated data location; playing back collaboration data, comprising: retrieving the collaboration message from the designated data location; sharing the collaboration data among the group of users over the one or more networks in the shared storage system; and persisting the collaboration data, comprising: retaining the collaboration data; and identifying the designated data location as non-visible until a user of the group of users is provided with a metadata record, wherein the user needs the metadata record to re-assemble the collaboration data.