DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In view of the appeal brief filed on 1/5/2026, PROSECUTION IS HEREBY REOPENED. A new grounds of rejection is set forth below.
To avoid abandonment of the application, appellant must exercise one of the following two options:
(1) file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 (if this Office action is non-final) or a reply under 37 CFR 1.113 (if this Office action is final); or,
(2) initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal under 37 CFR 41.31 followed by an appeal brief under 37 CFR 41.37. The previously paid notice of appeal fee and appeal brief fee can be applied to the new appeal. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have been increased since they were previously paid, then appellant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid.
A Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing at the end of this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roberts et al. (US 2020/0042217) and further in view of Fried et al. (US 9,183,148).
Consider claim 1, Roberts et al. discloses a system, comprising: a system, comprising: a plurality of clusters, each cluster comprising two or more nodes and a data storage system; the data storage system comprising two or more storage arrays; and each storage array comprising two or more storage devices, wherein each node includes a respective cache that is synchronized with one or more other respective caches each in one or more other nodes, the synchronizing comprising:(i) writing data to a first one of the respective caches, and one or more of the other respective caches in one or more other nodes, (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses storage locations (one of the clusters) with multiple nodes and storage in the form of arrays. Roberts et al. discloses the use of RAID (mirroring and striping) which is considered synchronizing across the nodes. In paragraph [0036] Roberts et al. discloses that the media devices in the storage devices can include primary and secondary storage and perform caching for data to be stored in the secondary storage. Therefore the mirroring RAID operation is causing data to be written to the caches in response to the RAID operation.).
As for the limitation: “and (ii) in response to the data being written from the first one of the respective caches to a first one of the storage devices, the data is removed from the one or more of the other respective caches in the one or more other nodes without the one or more of the other respective caches writing the data to a corresponding one of the storage devices”. Roberts et al. teaches using RAID mirroring to write the data to cache and then to secondary memory, but Roberts et al. does not go into specific detail as to how data is removed/flushed/moved out from cache. However, Fried et al. also discloses a cluster based system with nodes and storage where multiple copies of the same data can be stored in caches of different nodes. When a node that has a valid modified copy is flushed back to storage, a cluster event notification is sent out and in response, the other nodes delete/invalidate their copies instead of writing them back (Fried et al.: abstract, Col. 12 lines 30-39 and Col. 16 lines 20-37).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Roberts et al., to include the coherency/synchronization process of Fried et al. because doing so provides an efficient cache consistency process that ensures the veracity of the shared resources (Fried et al.: Col. 1 lines 6-9 and lines 42-44).
Consider claim 2, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein a first one of the clusters and a second one of the clusters are physically distant from one another (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses that the communications can be LAN, WAN, internet etc.).
Consider claim 3, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each node is configured for access to all data stored at a corresponding one of the clusters (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses that data is read and written to storage.).
Consider claim 4, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 3, wherein each node comprises metadata to enable access to data stored at a corresponding one of the clusters (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses the storing of metadata.).
Consider claim 5, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 4, wherein metadata is synchronized between nodes in a one of the clusters (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses the use of RAID (mirroring and striping)).
Consider claim 6, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 5, wherein each cluster comprises a node manager configured to synchronize the metadata between the two or more nodes (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses the use of RAID (mirroring and striping)).
Consider claim 7, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each cluster comprises a load balancing node configured to distribute requests among the two or more nodes of the each of the clusters (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses the use of load balancing.).
Consider claim 8, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each node is configured to act as a storage controller by interfacing with the data storage system (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], each storage location has controllers.).
Consider claim 9, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 8, wherein each node is configured to run a driver to interface directly with each of the two or more storage arrays in the corresponding one of the clusters (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], protocol drivers are disclosed, for example.).
Consider claim 10, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the one or more storage devices are selected from the group consisting of: a hard disk drive; a solid state drive; and a flash drive (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses all these types of storage.).
Consider claim 11, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the two or more storage devices each have a first size of storage (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], one storage will have the same size at itself.).
Consider claim 12, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each of the storage arrays comprises a virtual storage array, and the two or more storage devices are accessible over a network (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053], [0058] and [0096], Roberts et al. discloses storage virtualization using a controller.).
Consider claim 13, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the two or more storage devices comprises at least two types of storage devices (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses multiple types of storage devices.).
Consider claim 14, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein a first one of the storage arrays comprises a first type of the storage devices, and a second one of the storage arrays comprises a second type of the storage devices (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses multiple types of storage devices.).
Consider claim 15, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each of the storage devices are tiered (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses that storage can be used as primary and secondary or as a cache.).
Consider claim 16, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each node in a one of the clusters is configured to interact with each storage array (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], the components are configured to interact with each other.).
Consider claim 17, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the system is an on-premises system configured to be collocated with one or more applications of a user (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses that the communications can be LAN, WAN, internet etc. and the use of applications.).
Consider claim 18, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the system is a cloud system configured to be virtualized (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0010], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053], [0058] and [0096], Roberts et al. discloses storage virtualization using a controller and the use of the cloud.).
Consider claim 19, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-site system configured to be distributed over a plurality of physical locations interconnected with a network (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses that the communications can be LAN, WAN, internet etc.).
Consider claim 20, Roberts et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-cloud system configured to operate over a plurality of cloud services (Fig. 1-4, [0002], [0003], [0024]-[0026], [0029], [0032], [0034], [0036], [0038], [0039], [0053] and [0058], Roberts et al. discloses the use of applications including cloud computing.).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see the appeal brief, filed 11/4/2025 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior art rejections using the Chatterjee et al. reference have been withdrawn. However, to address the arguments presented in the Appeal Brief, the examiner has replaced the Chatterjee et al. reference with the newly introduced Fried et al. reference.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ALSIP whose telephone number is (571)270-1182. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/MICHAEL ALSIP/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2136
/REGINALD G BRAGDON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2139
Prosecution Insights