Redundancy count 0430 is an option in which the
user may specify that zero, one, two, or three copies of each composite file are to
be automatically dispersed to Internet locations 0440. Redundancy 0430 is measured
in addition to the single copy of each output placed in the working directory 0420
of the user's hard disk. Only one copy of each composite file 0250 needs to be
present for the process of reconstituting privatized data 0160, even if several
copies were originally created and distributed under the redundancy 0430 option.
Occasionally, Internet servers are temporarily out of service. If a composite
file 0250 or index file 0260 is hidden on an out-of-service server, it is not
retrievable from that location 0440. Using redundancy 0430, each file
comprising the privacy protected archive 0261 is sent to multiple hidden
dispersion locations 0440 to minimize the risk of encountering a down server.
During the reconstituting process 0160, the search is terminated for any
one copy of a composite file 0250 or the index file 0260 when the first
copy of it is found.
Target Internet dispersion locations 0440 are required
whenever the redundancy is greater than zero. To be precise, dispersion count 0410
(value 2 to 16) multiplied by redundancy count 0430 (value 0 to 3) target Internet
locations 0440 are needed. The count of Internet dispersion locations 0440 may range
from zero (0 times any value 2 to 16) to 48 (3 copies for each of 16 sets). However,
counts above 12 would be unusual. Among the supporting procedures is planning the
dispersion of privatized data 0150 (see detail in FIGURE 27), in which the user may
set up and manage an extended list 0915 from which Internet locations data 0440 are
drawn. In each session of creating a privacy protected archive 0261, the user may
select 2 to 16 (i.e., the dispersion count 0410) times 0, 1, 2, or 3 (i.e., the
redundancy count 0430) specific Internet dispersion locations 0440 to which
copies of composite files 0250 and the index file 0260 will be sent. In the
preferred embodiment, the user sets both the dispersion count 0410 and the
intended redundancy 0430, and the program automatically selects random
Internet dispersion locations 0440 from the "ILocate.dat" file 0915. The
user may override these random selections if desired. Usually he or she
will not override them, since the actual targets in any one instance do
not really matter, provided they are locations to which the user has
access. It is usually sufficient to know that the material has been
dispersed as broadly as desired (dispersion count 0410) with adequate
redundancy 0430.
