DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action has been issued in response to Applicant's RCE filed July 15, 2025.
Claims 1 and 5 have been amended. Claims 1-7, 10, 11, 13, and 14 have been examined and are pending.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 20, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 20, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues Filsfils does not disclose a local segment identifier entry is matched with an uncompressed destination address corresponding to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier. Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”. The ending of :: indicates that the rest of the address is filled with 0’s but will still be a full 128 bit destination address. There is a local segment identifier entry because the “0x002” causes the border router to perform an action. This action results in an uncompressed destination address.
Applicant argues the local segment identifier entry is stored locally within each node and is thus not contained in the destination address. This is in contrast to the “local scope micro SIDs”. This does not match examiner’s understanding. Paragraph [0069] of applicant’s specification recites “a local segment identifier entry is matched and obtained by table lookup according to the destination address information.” Accordingly, there is something in the local segment identifier entry that is contained in the destination address. This is the same as paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”. The “0x002” in the destination address is matched to a block swapping instruction in the border router to obtain the final destination address.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7, 10, 11, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Independent claims recite “the local segment identifier entry is used to match with an uncompressed destination address of the IPv6 packet corresponding to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier.” Examiner was unable to find support for this in the specification.
Applicant recites a combination of paragraphs [0094], [0124] and [0137] to conclude that the local segment identifier entry relates to an uncompressed address. The local segment identifier entry does appear to be used to ultimately obtain an uncompressed address, however the entry itself does not appear to contain this address.
For example, paragraph [0094] recites “the local segment identifier entry is constructed according to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier, where the local segment identifier entry includes a function field indicative of performing of locator block swapping.” “Constructed according to” does not mean the local segment identifier entry contains the block swapping flavored segment identifier.
Additionally, paragraph [0072] of applicant’s specification recites “the local segment identifier entry includes at least a locator parameter, a function parameter or the like. In some embodiments, the local segment identifier entry may further include a locator block (SRv6 SID Locator Block) update parameter. The locator block update parameter stores at least the block information in the segment identifier, which is indicative of the block information with locator block swapping performed.” The locator block is generally understood to be less than 128 bits in SRv6.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7, 10, 11, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub. No. 2021/0092053 to Filsfils et al. (hereinafter “Filsfils”) and further in view of US Pub. No. 2020/0076892 to Surcouf et al. (hereinafter “Surcouf”).
As to Claim 1, Filsfils discloses a routing method, comprising:
constructing a first block swapping flavored segment identifier, and flooding the first block swapping flavored segment identifier via an internal gateway protocol (IGP) (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Paragraph [0038] of Filsfils discloses it should be appreciated that the SIDs discussed herein may comprise prefix SIDs which may comprise SIDs that contain an IP address prefix calculated by an IGP in the service provider core network associated with the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0003] of Filsfils discloses segment routing divides a network into “segments” where each node and link in the network can be assigned a segment identifier, or an “SID,” which gets advertised by each node using standard routing protocol extensions (IS-IS/OSPF or BGP));
receiving a second block swapping flavored segment identifier flooded via the IGP, and flooding the second block swapping flavored segment identifier via the IGP, wherein the second block swapping flavored segment identifier comprises location information (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Paragraph [0038] of Filsfils discloses it should be appreciated that the SIDs discussed herein may comprise prefix SIDs which may comprise SIDs that contain an IP address prefix calculated by an IGP in the service provider core network associated with the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0003] of Filsfils discloses segment routing divides a network into “segments” where each node and link in the network can be assigned a segment identifier, or an “SID,” which gets advertised by each node using standard routing protocol extensions (IS-IS/OSPF or BGP). Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function such that intermediary nodes in the path execute the function to, for example, forward the IPv6 packet 112 onto the next node or segment in the micro SID listing); and
a function of each of the first and second block swapping flavored segment identifiers comprises [any one of existing type of function comprising, END, END.X, END.T, or END.B6,] and each of the first and second block swapping flavored segment identifiers is indicative of block swapping (Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function such that intermediary nodes in the path execute the function to, for example, forward the IPv6 packet 112 onto the next node or segment in the micro SID listing. Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains);
constructing a local segment identifier entry according to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier, wherein the local segment identifier entry comprises a function field that is indicative of enabling locator block swapping (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Advertised and reserved in each domain for domain swapping SIDs. If the micro SID-domain-blocks are “FE01” to “FEFF,” then the micro SIDs “0x0001” to “0x00FF” may be advertised and reserved in each domain for domain swapping SIDs. Paragraph [0045] of Filsfils discloses the nodes 302 in each domain may receive advertisement messages 306/308 that indicate the block swapping instruction (e.g., micro SID) to be placed into IPv6 packet 112 headers (e.g., destination address field, destination header extension, etc.).); and
constructing a routing entry according to the location information in the second block swapping flavored segment identifier (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Advertised and reserved in each domain for domain swapping SIDs);
establishing a forwarding path to a destination node (Paragraph [0031] of Filsfils discloses the source device 116 populates the destination address 114 with the list of micro SIDs which define the routing path for the IPv6 packet 112, the source device 116 may utilize a block swapping mechanism to swap SID-domain-blocks in the destination address 114. For instance, a micro SID may be associated with a function for swapping the SID-domain-block corresponding to when the IPv6 packet 112 is to cross domains in the multi-domain network 102);
generating, for each segment in the forwarding path, a compressed segment identifier according to a segment identifier corresponding to a respective one segment in the forwarding path, and establishing a compressed segment identifier list according to each compressed segment identifier (Paragraph [0014] of Filsfils discloses SIDs may comprise 128-bit IPv6 addresses. Paragraph [0015] of Filsfils discloses compressing the size of SIDs to be smaller than a complete IPv6 address (referred to herein as “micro SIDs” or “compressed SIDs”). Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function. Paragraph [0031] of Filsfils discloses the source device 116 populates the destination address 114 with the list of micro SIDs);
constructing an IPv6 packet based on the compressed segment identifier list (Paragraph [0004] of Filsfils discloses the next segment is copied in the IPv6 destination address header from a location in a Segment Routing Header (SRH) indicated by an index (or “Segments Left”) in the SRH. Paragraph [0030] of Filsfils discloses the concatenated list of micro SIDs is then encoded in the remaining bits of the IPv6 destination address field with each micro SID being expressed over a few bits instead of an entire 128-bit address); and
forwarding the IPv6 packet according to the local segment identifier entry and the routing entry (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses forwards the WO packet. 112 onto a border router in domain 2 108);
wherein, a destination address of the IPv6 packet is a segment identifier having 128 bits converted from a first compressed segment identifier in the compressed segment identifier list included in a segment routing header of the IPv6 packet the local segment identifier entry is used to match with an uncompressed destination address of the IPv6 packet corresponding to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”. The ending of :: indicates that the rest of the address is filled with 0’s but will still be a full 128 bit destination address).
Filsfils does not explicitly disclose any one of existing type of function comprising, END, END.X, END.T, or END.B6.
However, Surcouf discloses this. Paragraph [0075] of Surcouf discloses SR functions can encode actions to be taken by a node directly in the SRH 306 and/or the IPv6 header 304. SR functions are executed locally by the SR-capable nodes. Example SR functions include, without limitation, End function (i.e., endpoint function), End.X function (i.e., endpoint function with Layer-3 cross-connect), End.T function (i.e., endpoint function with specific IPv6 table lookup), End.S function (i.e., endpoint in search of a target in table T), End.B6 function (i.e., endpoint bound to an SRv6 policy), etc.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the invention to combine the routing system as disclosed by Filsfils, with using known functions in segment routing as disclosed by Surcouf. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine to apply a known technique to a known device. Filsfils and Surcouf are directed toward routing system and as such it would be obvious to use the techniques of one in the other. Paragraph [0031] of Filsfils discloses a micro SID may be associated with a function for swapping the SID-domain-block corresponding to when the IPv6 packet 112 is to cross domains in the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0075] of Surcouf discloses SR functions can encode actions to be taken by a node directly in the SRH 306 and/or the IPv6 header 304. SR functions are executed locally by the SR-capable nodes. Example SR functions include, without limitation, End function (i.e., endpoint function), End.X function (i.e., endpoint function with Layer-3 cross-connect), End.T function (i.e., endpoint function with specific IPv6 table lookup), End.S function (i.e., endpoint in search of a target in table T), End.B6 function (i.e., endpoint bound to an SRv6 policy), etc. Filsfils discloses blocking swapping using functions and Surcouf discloses known function types including End, End.X, End.T, and End.B6
As to Claim 2, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 1, wherein each compressed segment identifier comprises at least a node field and a function field, and has a length of less than 128 bits, wherein the node field is indicative of a node corresponding to a respective one compressed segment identifier, and the function field is indicative of an operation to be performed by the node corresponding to the respective one compressed segment identifier (Paragraph [0014] of Filsfils discloses SIDs may comprise 128-bit IPv6 addresses. Paragraph [0015] of Filsfils discloses compressing the size of SIDs to be smaller than a complete IPv6 address (referred to herein as “micro SIDs” or “compressed SIDs”). Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function such).
As to Claim 3, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 1, wherein the constructing of an IP6 packet based on the compressed identifier list comprises, constructing a segment routing header based on the compressed segment identifier list; and constructing the IPv6 packet based on the segment routing header (Paragraph [0004] of Filsfils discloses the next segment is copied in the IPv6 destination address header from a location in a Segment Routing Header (SRH) indicated by an index (or “Segments Left”) in the SRH. Paragraph [0030] of Filsfils discloses the concatenated list of micro SIDs is then encoded in the remaining bits of the IPv6 destination address field with each micro SID being expressed over a few bits instead of an entire 128-bit address).
As to Claim 4, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 3, wherein the segment routing header comprises a segment identifier bit-length flag bit and a Segment Left field, and the Segment Left field is indicative of the length of the compressed segment identifier in response to the segment identifier bit-length flag bit configured as being valid (Paragraph [0004] of Filsfils discloses the next segment is copied in the IPv6 destination address header from a location in a Segment Routing Header (SRH) indicated by an index (or “Segments Left”) in the SRH).
As to Claim 5, Filsfils discloses a routing method, comprising,
constructing a first block swapping flavored segment identifier, and flooding the first block swapping flavored segment identifier via an internal gateway protocol (IGP) (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Paragraph [0038] of Filsfils discloses it should be appreciated that the SIDs discussed herein may comprise prefix SIDs which may comprise SIDs that contain an IP address prefix calculated by an IGP in the service provider core network associated with the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0003] of Filsfils discloses segment routing divides a network into “segments” where each node and link in the network can be assigned a segment identifier, or an “SID,” which gets advertised by each node using standard routing protocol extensions (IS-IS/OSPF or BGP));
receiving a second block swapping flavored segment identifier flooded via the IGP, and flooding the second block swapping flavored segment identifier via the IGP, wherein the second block swapping flavored segment identifier comprises location information (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Paragraph [0038] of Filsfils discloses it should be appreciated that the SIDs discussed herein may comprise prefix SIDs which may comprise SIDs that contain an IP address prefix calculated by an IGP in the service provider core network associated with the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0003] of Filsfils discloses segment routing divides a network into “segments” where each node and link in the network can be assigned a segment identifier, or an “SID,” which gets advertised by each node using standard routing protocol extensions (IS-IS/OSPF or BGP). Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function such that intermediary nodes in the path execute the function to, for example, forward the IPv6 packet 112 onto the next node or segment in the micro SID listing); and
a function of each of the first and second block swapping flavored segment identifiers comprises [any one of existing type of function comprising, END, END.X, END.T, or END.B6,] and each of the first and second block swapping flavored segment identifiers is indicative of block swapping (Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function such that intermediary nodes in the path execute the function to, for example, forward the IPv6 packet 112 onto the next node or segment in the micro SID listing. Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains);
constructing a local segment identifier entry according to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier, wherein the local segment identifier entry comprises a function field that is indicative of enabling locator block swapping (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Advertised and reserved in each domain for domain swapping SIDs. If the micro SID-domain-blocks are “FE01” to “FEFF,” then the micro SIDs “0x0001” to “0x00FF” may be advertised and reserved in each domain for domain swapping SIDs. Paragraph [0045] of Filsfils discloses the nodes 302 in each domain may receive advertisement messages 306/308 that indicate the block swapping instruction (e.g., micro SID) to be placed into IPv6 packet 112 headers (e.g., destination address field, destination header extension, etc.).); and
constructing a routing entry according to the location information in the second block swapping flavored segment identifier (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Advertised and reserved in each domain for domain swapping SIDs);
receiving an IPv6 packet constructed based on a compressed segment identifier list, the compressed segment identifier list comprising a plurality of compressed segment identifiers each corresponding to a respective one of segments in a forwarding path, and the IPv6 packet comprising destination address information (Paragraph [0031] of Filsfils discloses the source device 116 populates the destination address 114 with the list of micro SIDs which define the routing path for the IPv6 packet 112, the source device 116 may utilize a block swapping mechanism to swap SID-domain-blocks in the destination address 114. For instance, a micro SID may be associated with a function for swapping the SID-domain-block corresponding to when the IPv6 packet 112 is to cross domains in the multi-domain network 102);
matching a local segment identifier entry by table lookup for the destination address information (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the border router 118(2) may then process the IPv6 packet 112 in domain 1 106, and may perform an instruction for block swapping that is bound to the “0x002” instruction processed by the border router 118(2). The “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”, and forwards the WO packet. 112 onto a border router in domain 2 108);
processing a compressed segment identifier corresponding to a subsequent segment in the compressed segment identifier list according to the local segment identifier entry and the destination address information to update the destination address information (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the border router 118(2) may then process the IPv6 packet 112 in domain 1 106, and may perform an instruction for block swapping that is bound to the “0x002” instruction processed by the border router 118(2). The “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”, and forwards the WO packet. 112 onto a border router in domain 2 108);
constructing a new IPv6 packet based on the destination address information as updated (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the border router 118(2) may then process the IPv6 packet 112 in domain 1 106, and may perform an instruction for block swapping that is bound to the “0x002” instruction processed by the border router 118(2). The “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”, and forwards the WO packet. 112 onto a border router in domain 2 108); and
forwarding the new IPv6 packet according to the local segment identifier entry and the routing entry (Paragraph [0031] of Filsfils discloses the source device 116 populates the destination address 114 with the list of micro SIDs which define the routing path for the IPv6 packet 112, the source device 116 may utilize a block swapping mechanism to swap SID-domain-blocks in the destination address 114. For instance, a micro SID may be associated with a function for swapping the SID-domain-block corresponding to when the IPv6 packet 112 is to cross domains in the multi-domain network 102);
wherein, a destination address of the IPv6 packet is a segment identifier having 128 bits converted from a first compressed segment identifier in the compressed segment identifier list included in a segment routing header of the IPv6 packet the local segment identifier entry is used to match with an uncompressed destination address of the IPv6 packet corresponding to the first block swapping flavored segment identifier (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the border router 118(2) may then process the IPv6 packet 112 in domain 1 106, and may perform an instruction for block swapping that is bound to the “0x002” instruction processed by the border router 118(2). The “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”, and forwards the WO packet. 112 onto a border router in domain 2 108. The ending of :: indicates that the rest of the address is filled with 0’s but will still be a full 128 bit destination address)
the local segment identifier entry is used to match by table lookup with the destination address of the IPv6 packet that is uncompressed (Paragraph [0034] of Filsfils discloses the “0x002” may cause the border router 118(2) to perform block swapping for the destination address 114, resulting in a destination address 114 of “FE02:0123:0456:0003:0123:0789::”. The ending of :: indicates that the rest of the address is filled with 0’s but will still be a full 128 bit destination address),[the compressed segment identifier list is contained in the Segment Routing Header (SRH) of the IPv6 packet, and one segment in the network is allowed to be represented by one or more compressed segment identifier in the compressed segment identifier list]
Surcouf further discloses any one of existing type of function comprising, END, END.X, END.T, or END.B6.
Paragraph [0075] of Surcouf discloses SR functions can encode actions to be taken by a node directly in the SRH 306 and/or the IPv6 header 304. SR functions are executed locally by the SR-capable nodes. Example SR functions include, without limitation, End function (i.e., endpoint function), End.X function (i.e., endpoint function with Layer-3 cross-connect), End.T function (i.e., endpoint function with specific IPv6 table lookup), End.S function (i.e., endpoint in search of a target in table T), End.B6 function (i.e., endpoint bound to an SRv6 policy), etc.
Examiner recites the same rationale to combine used for claim 1.
As to Claim 6, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 5, wherein each compressed segment identifier comprises at least a node field and a function field, and has a length of less than 128 bits, wherein the node field is indicative of a node corresponding to a respective one compressed segment identifier, and the function field is indicative of an operation to be performed by the node corresponding to the respective one compressed segment identifier (Paragraph [0014] of Filsfils discloses SIDs may comprise 128-bit IPv6 addresses. Paragraph [0015] of Filsfils discloses compressing the size of SIDs to be smaller than a complete IPv6 address (referred to herein as “micro SIDs” or “compressed SIDs”). Paragraph [0028] of Filsfils discloses each micro SID may be associated with a locator and a function such).
As to Claim 7, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 5, wherein the IPv6 packet further comprises a segment routing header, the segment routing header comprises a segment identifier bit-length flag bit and a Segment Left field, and the Segment Left field is indicative of the length of the compressed segment identifier in response to the segment identifier bit-length flag bit configured as being valid (Paragraph [0004] of Filsfils discloses the next segment is copied in the IPv6 destination address header from a location in a Segment Routing Header (SRH) indicated by an index (or “Segments Left”) in the SRH).
As to Claim 10, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 5, wherein, in response to the IGP being an intermediate system to intermediate system (ISIS) protocol, flooding an ISIS message containing the first block swapping flavored segment identifier to flood the first block swapping flavored segment identifier, and receiving an ISIS message containing the second block swapping flavored segment identifier to receive the second block swapping flavored segment identifier, wherein the ISIS message contains a field that is indicative of locator block information with locator block swapped; or, in response to the IGP being an open shortest path first (OSPFv3) protocol, flooding an OSPFv3 message containing the first block swapping flavored segment identifier to flood the first block swapping flavored segment identifier, and receiving an OSPFv3 message containing the second block swapping flavored segment identifier to receive the second block swapping flavored segment identifier, wherein the OSPFv3 message contains a field that is indicative of locator block information with locator block swapped (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Paragraph [0038] of Filsfils discloses it should be appreciated that the SIDs discussed herein may comprise prefix SIDs which may comprise SIDs that contain an IP address prefix calculated by an IGP in the service provider core network associated with the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0003] of Filsfils discloses segment routing divides a network into “segments” where each node and link in the network can be assigned a segment identifier, or an “SID,” which gets advertised by each node using standard routing protocol extensions (IS-IS/OSPF or BGP)).
As to Claim 11, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses the routing method of claim 5, further comprising, transmitting, to a network controller, a border gateway protocol-link state (BGP-LS) message containing the first block swapping flavored segment identifier and the second block swapping flavored segment identifier, wherein the BGP-LS message contains a field that is indicative of locator block information with locator block swapped (Paragraph [0018] of Filsfils discloses the block swapping mechanism may be implemented as a new type of micro SID instruction whose behavior is the replacement of the current micro SID-domain-block with a specific new micro SID-domain-block. The block swapping micro SIDs can have a global or local scope and be advertised in the routing protocol of all connected domains. Paragraph [0038] of Filsfils discloses it should be appreciated that the SIDs discussed herein may comprise prefix SIDs which may comprise SIDs that contain an IP address prefix calculated by an IGP in the service provider core network associated with the multi-domain network 102. Paragraph [0003] of Filsfils discloses segment routing divides a network into “segments” where each node and link in the network can be assigned a segment identifier, or an “SID,” which gets advertised by each node using standard routing protocol extensions (IS-IS/OSPF or BGP)).
As to Claim 13, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing at least one computer-executable instruction which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out routing method of claim 1 (Examiner recites the same rejection for claim 1).
As to Claim 14, Filsfils-Surcouf discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing at least one computer-executable instruction which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to carry out the routing method of claim 5 (Examiner recites the same rejection for claim 5).
Conclusion
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/KEVIN S MAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2499