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 .
Status of Claims
This is a final office action in response to the amendment filed 30 December 2025. Claims 1, 7, and 13 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment to claims 1, 7, and 13 has been entered.
Applicant’s amendment is insufficient to overcome the pending 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection. The rejection remains pending and is updated below, as necessitated by amendment.
Applicant’s amendment is insufficient to overcome the pending 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection. The rejection remains pending and is updated below, as necessitated by amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection have been fully considered, but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant’s amendment to the claims because the arguments do not apply to the combination of references used in the current rejection detailed below.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection have been fully considered, but are not persuasive. Applicant asserts that the claims do not fall within the mental processes or mathematical concepts groupings of abstract ideas are directed to a practical application of performing data center asset metrics collection from a plurality of data center assets to address technical improvements by improving how a system operates and how the system moves data, in a manner that cannot be performed mentally. Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As stated in the non-final office action mailed 01 October 2025, the recited steps for determining telemetry capabilities, constructing normalized telemetry information, providing normalized telemetry information collection requests, and performing the telemetry aggregation operation are each steps that could be performed mentally by a human or through use of a pen or paper, and are reasonably construed as falling within the mental processes grouping of abstract ideas. Further, the step for performing the telemetry aggregation operation is broadly and generically claimed in a manner that encompasses a human providing an instruction or performing the telemetry aggregation operation. Per paragraph [0083] of the specification: "... a telemetry aggregation operation broadly refers to any function, operation, procedure, or process performed, directly or indirectly, to monitor, collect, aggregate, and analyze, or a combination thereof, certain telemetry and other information associated with the operational status of one or more data center assets. Skilled practitioners of the art will be familiar with the concept of telemetry, which in general usage refers to the automated measurement and collection of data from remote sources. In various embodiments, collecting telemetry information associated with a particular data center asset may involve the measurement, and subsequent analysis, of certain electrical data (e.g., voltage, current, etc.), physical data (e.g. temperature, pressure, etc.), computational data, (e.g., processing throughput, utilization of processor, memory, and network resources, etc.), the status and efficiency of certain workloads, and so forth." As broadly described in paragraph [0083] the performing step could be performed by a data analysis or project manager. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2).
Regarding the amended limitation for “the telemetry information provided by the particular data center asset including operational status information of the particular data center asset,” even if a process of collecting and analyzing information is limited to particular content or a particular source, that limitation does not make the collection and analysis other than abstract. Additionally, while the additional elements for establishing a secure connection between a plurality of data center assets and receiving telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets requires use of a data center monitoring and management console and a telemetry aggregation system, these devices are claimed broadly and the claims do not include limitations that improve the underlying technologies that are used to implement the recited abstract idea of collecting information and analyzing to generate an outcome. Therefore, the additional elements are construed as merely indicating a field of use/ technological environment in which to apply the abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.05(f). Therefore, the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection is proper, maintained, and updated below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea of collecting, analyzing, and storing data, without significantly more. Independent claim 1 recites a process for performing a data center assert telemetry operation, independent claim 7 recites a device for performing a data center assert telemetry operation, and independent claim 13 recites a computer program product for performing a data center assert telemetry operation. Independent claims 1, 7, and 13 recite substantially similar limitations.
Taking independent claim 1 as representative, claim 1 recites at least the following limitations:
establishing a secure communication channel between a plurality of data center assets contained within a data center and a data center monitoring and management console, the data center monitoring and management console including a telemetry aggregation system, the telemetry aggregation system being configured to perform a telemetry aggregation operation;
determining telemetry capabilities of a plurality of data center assets contained within a data center, the telemetry capabilities of a particular data center asset indicating which telemetry information and under what circumstances the particular data center asset is capable of providing the telemetry information, the telemetry information provided by the particular data center asset including operational status information of the particular data center asset;
constructing normalized telemetry information collection requests, the normalized telemetry information collection requests being based upon the telemetry capabilities of the plurality of data center assets;
providing the normalized telemetry information collection requests to the plurality of data center assets;
receiving telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets in response to the normalized telemetry information collection requests: and,
performing the telemetry aggregation operation using the telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets, the telemetry aggregation operation aggregating telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets.
Under Step 1, independent claims 1, 7, and 13 recite at least one step or act, including receiving telemetry information from a plurality of data center assets. Thus the claims fall within one of the statutory categories of invention.
Under Step 2A Prong One, the limitations recited in claim 1 for establishing a secure communication channel, determining capabilities, constructing collection requests, providing the collection request to assets, receiving telemetry information from the assets, and performing the telemetry aggregation operation, as drafted, and per the specification are directed to sales associated with customer records, (specification at [para. 0048]), user experience, customer support, and marketing activities (specification at [para. 0026]) and for providing certain maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) items, such as replacement and upgrade parts for a particular data center asset (specification at [para. 0024]). Regarding as a particular data center asset as the source of the collected data and specifying the type of data provided, even if a process of collecting and analyzing information is limited to particular content or a particular source, that limitation does not make the collection and analysis other than abstract. Therefore, the claims are construed as falling with in the fundamental economic practices grouping of abstract concepts. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(II).
Additionally, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the limitations cover performance of the recited steps in the mind. None of the additional elements preclude the steps from practically being performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper. Further, the step for performing the telemetry aggregation operation is broadly and generically claimed in a manner that encompasses a human providing an instruction or performing the telemetry aggregation operation. Per paragraph [0083] of the Specification. Therefore, the limitations fall into the mental processes grouping and accordingly the claims recite an abstract idea. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2).
Further the step for performing the telemetry aggregation operation using the telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets, the telemetry aggregation operation aggregating telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets is a data analysis step, without significantly more. Per paragraph [0132] of the Specification telemetry aggregation is described as “a periodic telemetry aggregation operation 940 broadly refers to a telemetry aggregation operation, described in greater detail herein, … the TAS 130 may likewise be implemented to provide the aggregated telemetry information it has collected on a periodic basis to a data center monitoring and management console, likewise described in greater detail herein, for monitoring, management, and analysis.” Therefore the step for performing the telemetry aggregation is construed as a mathematical relationship and falls within the mathematical concepts grouping of abstract ideas.
The limitations for establishing a connection (for transmission and receipt of data), providing information collection requests and receiving telemetry information are data gathering steps because they merely provide input for the recited data processing steps and constitute insignificant extra solution activity.
Under Step 2A Prong Two, the judicial exception of claim 1 is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claims only recite a processor and storage device for performing the recited steps. These elements are recited at a high level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor performing a generic computer function) and amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components. See MPEP 2106.05(f). For example, Applicant’s specification at paragraph [0020] states: “Figure 1 is a generalized illustration of an information handling system 100 that can be used to implement the system and method of the present invention. The information handling system 100 includes a processor (e.g., central processor unit or "CPU")”; and [para. 0138] whish states: “Embodiments of the invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. …These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer.” Adding generic computer components to perform generic functions, such as data gathering, performing calculations, and outputting a result would not transform the claim into eligible subject matter. See MPEP 2106.05(h). Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea.
While the claim limitations, as amended, include details regarding the type of data collected and the type of performance metrics measured using the collected data (the telemetry capabilities of a particular data center asset indicating which telemetry information and under what circumstances the particular data center asset is capable of providing the telemetry information; … the normalized telemetry information collection requests being based upon the telemetry capabilities of the plurality of data center assets), narrowing the scope to the abstract idea to a particular field of use or an intended use of the data collection and analysis does not confer patent eligibility. See MPEP 2106(h).
While the additional elements for establishing a secure connection between a plurality of data center assets and receiving telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets requires use of a data center monitoring and management console and a telemetry aggregation system, these devices are claimed broadly and the claims do not include limitations that improve the underlying technologies that are used to implement the recited abstract idea of collecting information and analyzing to generate an outcome. Therefore, the additional elements are construed as merely indicating a field of use/ technological environment in which to apply the abstract idea. See 2106.05(f).
Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claims also fail to recite any improvements to another technology or technical field (see MPEP § 2106.05(a)), improvements to the functioning of the computer itself, use of a particular machine (see MPEP § 2106.05(b)), effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (see MPEP § 2106.05(c)), and/or an additional element applies or uses the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment (see MPEP § 2106.05(e)). As such, under Prong Two of Step 2A, when considered both individually and as a whole, the limitations of claim 1 are not indicative of integration into a practical application.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to the integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of a processor and storage device amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component which cannot provide an inventive concept.
Dependent claims 2-6, 8-12, and 14-20 include the abstract ideas of the independent claims. The limitations of the dependent claims merely narrow the mental process/method of organizing human activity abstract idea by describing the source of the data received, associating data with a respective plugin, business rules for obtaining data and transmitting data. The limitations of the dependent claims are not integrated into a practical application because none of the additional elements set forth any limitations that meaningfully limit the abstract idea implementation. There are no additional elements that transform the claim into a patent eligible idea by amounting to significantly more. The analysis above applies to all statutory categories of invention. Accordingly, independent claims 7 and 13, and the claims that depend therefrom, are rejected as ineligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. 101 based upon the same analysis applied to claim 1 above. Therefore, claims 1 - 20 are ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101.
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.
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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shelton et al. (US 2013/0262685) in view of Geffin et al. (US 10,061,371), and in further view of Nickolov et al. (US 2017/0034023).
Regarding Amended Claim 1, Shelton et al. discloses a computer-implementable method for performing a data center asset telemetry operation, comprising: (systems and methods for managing the infrastructure associated with data centers, and particularly to a common data model repository (CDMR) which provides the storage and access to data represented in a Domain Model of the system. Shelton et al. [para. 0002, 0031, 0048]);
establishing a secure communication channel between a plurality of data center assets contained within a data center and a data center monitoring and management console, the data center monitoring and management console including a telemetry aggregation system, the telemetry aggregation system being configured to perform a telemetry aggregation operation; (… the host system may be set up to provide several system functions that provide a gateway between the external user and the internal guest applications. These include licensing, authentication, authorization and auditing (AAA), and user interfaces. Shelton et al. [para. 0045]. … IT Equipment--may include all equipment used for the direct purpose of data processing, communications, and storage, and the equipment used to house them. This includes: racks, benches, shelves, data closets; servers, network appliances; symbols, placeholders; and sensor equipment. Shelton et al. [para. 0062]. … Connection Views, which allow users to details of the connections between any placed assets. … Customizable views, which allow a user to customize the views of the application data. Shelton et al. [para. 0066-0070; Fig. 4A-5]);
determining telemetry capabilities of a plurality of data center assets contained within a data center, (The present application is directed to systems and methods for managing the infrastructure associated with data centers. Shelton et al. [para. 0002]. … It allows data center operators to have full access to monitor and control every piece of equipment in the data center. Shelton et al. [para. 0031]. … the DCIM Configuration Manager module 30 consumes the capabilities of the DCIM Inventory Manager module 14, extending them to manage relationships between chosen assets. These relationships may include, without limitation, connections, logical groups and redundancies. Shelton et al. [para. 0065-0070, 0106, 0226]. … The CDMR 100 supports the ability for property constraints to be upgraded with newer versions of extension packs that are applied to the system 10. The CDMR 100 may use the meta data store (component 110 in FIG. 10) to store configuration meta data used by the CDMR, which includes property constraints definitions. Shelton et al. [para. 0243-0250]);
the telemetry capabilities of a particular data center asset indicating which telemetry information and under what circumstances the particular data center asset is capable of providing the telemetry information; (the DCIM Inventory Manager module 14 may rely on import software capabilities and specialized views, for example: 1) Import capability to extract equipment records from various sources, and combine information from these sources into a complete data set. Shelton et al. [para. 0052-0053] … Alerting capabilities, which allow a user to specify a threshold for a plan, group or assets and alert on the consumption against that threshold. … the DCIM Facilities Manager module 16 allows the user to view the power consumption and cooling capacity (both in-use and stranded) of each device, or at the system level. In addition, it lets the user reserve blocks of load on the power and cooling systems, and project the power and cooling capacity needs into the future, based on historic capacity use. Shelton et al. [para. 0065-0076]);
While Shelton et al. discloses collecting, storing, and analyzing telemetry data (The time-series database 52 operates to persist telemetry data sent from the MMS Services 50. Shelton et al. [para. 0127-0128]) and real time collection of operational data (real-time performance status of individual elements or groups of infrastructure equipment. Shelton et al. [para. 0075-0079]), Nickolov et al. discloses the telemetry information provided by the particular data center asset including operational status information of the particular data center asset. (methods, systems, and computer program products for facilitating automated management of a plurality of subscriber systems communicatively coupled to a computer network. … acquiring crowdsourced telemetry information for a plurality of systems, the crowdsourced telemetry information including information about attributes, characteristics and/or configuration elements relating to respective operating environments of the plurality of systems; analyzing the first subscriber system telemetry information and the crowdsourced telemetry information to dynamically evaluate at least one metric associated with at least one entity of the first subscriber system, wherein the at least one metric includes at least one metric selected from a group consisting of: performance, reliability, security, operation, functionality, vulnerability, compatibility, capability, maintainability, stability, and utility; and automatically implementing or initiating, based on the analysis … a first set of activities. Nickolov et al. [para. 0012-0014, 0046-0055]. … one or more DataGrid Component(s)/Application(s) may include DataGrid Subscriber component(s) configured or designed to provide functionality for monitoring and acquiring various types of information from the data center system(s)/component(s) such as, for example, one or more of the following (or combinations thereof): [0129] Configuration data. [0130] Signal data. [0131] Operating information about data center servers, configurations and vulnerabilities. Nickolov et al. [para. 0125-0131]. … , multiple server grids from different data centers may be linked together to form a virtual global server grid which may be used to facilitate utility computing for distributed applications. Nickolov et al. [para. 0137, 0346 (data sent from server); Fig. 3-6]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis steps of Shelton et al. to include the telemetry information provided by the particular data center asset including operational status information of the particular data center asset as disclosed by Nickolov et al. for improving server system metrics and for automatically and conditionally updating or upgrading system package s/components (Nickolov et al. [para. 0011], in a manner that would have yielded obvious results at the relevant time.
While Shelton et al. discloses Software Capabilities that may be included in DCIM Scenario Planner 18 include, without limitation, one or more of the following: The ability to collect and understand past trends of aggregated global data center infrastructure resources; The ability to project past aggregated usage trends into the future, to predict base infrastructure needs globally; The ability to conduct "what-if" scenario planning for infrastructure needs, and to assess the impact of data center moves, adds, decommissions and consolidations; and The ability to establish a workflow process for project pipeline management, including refinements by technical experts and system owners, and approvals by business managers. (Shelton et al. [para. 0080-0090]), Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined fail to explicitly recite constructing normalized telemetry information collection requests, the normalized telemetry information collection requests being based upon the telemetry capabilities of the plurality of data center assets; providing the normalized telemetry information collection requests to the plurality of data center assets. Geffin et al. discloses these limitations. (The DCIM Operations Manager module 24 may also be used to optimize power, cooling, and space capacity to bring about overall optimization of data center infrastructure resources. Geffin et al. [col. 13, lines 50-64]…. In addition, the “device driver” component may provide for the normalization of messages (data, etc.) sent from the managed devices 250 to a common standard that is understood by the platform, as well as the de-normalization of messages (data, etc.) sent from the platform to the managed devices 250. … The Datapoint Service 172 of the MSS Engine(s) 56 … may provide the ability to access collected metric data and to configure the rules related to data point collection, aggregation, and analysis. The Datapoint service 172 can receive requests for data points from applications and, in response thereto, return single data points, aggregated data points and/or subscriptions. Subscriptions may include reporting certain data points and/or aggregated data points automatically upon meeting certain conditions or rules. Geffin et al. [col. 21, lines 62-67; col. 22, lines 1-34]. … With respect to automatic datapoint collection, the MSS Engine 56 may: provide the ability to collect data points from managed elements 250 based on collection rules configured by the user (e.g., data point types to collect and how often to collect); continue to collect data points in the event of a loss of connection with the MSS TSD 56b; provide the ability to collect data points from managed elements 250 and report data points to the MSS … have the ability to configure the collection interval per data point on each managed element 250 in the MSS Engine 56. Geffin et al. [col. 25, lines 53-67; col. 26, lines 1-60; Fig. 31-34]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis steps of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include constructing normalized telemetry information collection requests, the normalized telemetry information collection requests being based upon the telemetry capabilities of the plurality of data center assets; providing the normalized telemetry information collection requests to the plurality of data center assets as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results at the relevant time.
receiving telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets in response to the normalized telemetry information collection requests; and, (The host server receives data from all of the DCIM appliances throughout the data center via their Manageability Subsystem (MSS) collection engines. Shelton et al. [para. 0033, 0176]. … MSS Services 50--exposes public services on the platform 42 to provide applications and the Domain Model 46 with access to Manageability Subsystem 62 features such as the retrieval of historical data points that have been collected over time and the retrieval of data points on demand directly from the end devices. Shelton et al. [para. 0167]).
performing the telemetry aggregation operation using the telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets, the telemetry aggregation operation aggregating telemetry information from the plurality of data center assets. (The DCIM Facilities Manager module 16 may provide real-time performance status of individual elements or groups of infrastructure equipment. Shelton et al. [para. 0073-0076]. … A "Capacity Dashboard" may display a breakdown of the aggregated capacity of the data center equipment per type (e.g. the current capacity of all floor mount PDUs), as well as a breakdown of the stranded capacity of the data center power and cooling systems. Shelton et al. [para. 0077, 0080-0082]. …A Datapoint service 72 provides the ability to access collected metric data and to configure the rules related to data point collection, aggregation, and analysis. Shelton et al. [para. 0172-0173]).
Regarding Claim 2, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al., and Geffin et al. combined disclose the method, further comprising: persisting the data center asset telemetry information in a data center asset telemetry repository. ( The system may include a common data model repository having an object relational mapping layer for mapping instances of the objects to persistent storage. The instances of objects may represent information that includes connections and control capabilities for at least certain ones of the instances of objects. Shelton et al. [para. 0007-0010]. … Common Data Model Repository (CDMR) 54--The CDMR 54 forms a repository that is responsible for creating and persisting the Domain Model objects. Shelton et al. [para. 0133]).
Regarding Claim 3, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al., and Geffin et al. combined disclose the method, further comprising: providing each of the plurality of data center assets with a respective telemetry plug- in; and wherein the normalized telemetry information collection requests are provided to the telemetry plug-in. (The arrangement of interfaces on the DCIM appliance 12 provides the user with access to various pieces of equipment for control and performance metric collection. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the single DCIM appliance 12 consolidates the functions of several previous products into one piece of hardware. Shelton et al. [para. 0036, 0166-0170]. … An Engine Management service 71 provides the ability to manage Domain Model objects that represent the MSS Engines 56 and related objects, such as product knowledge and plug-ins. Shelton et al. [para. 0171, 0261-0263]).
Regarding Claim 4, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al., and Geffin et al. combined disclose the method, further comprising: configuring each of the respective telemetry plug-ins for a particular type of data center asset. (An Engine Management service 71 provides the ability to manage Domain Model objects that represent the MSS Engines 56 and related objects, such as product knowledge and plug-ins. Shelton et al. [para. 0171, 0261-0263]).
Regarding Claim 5, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al. and Geffin et al. combined disclose the method, wherein: the constructing, providing and receiving are performed via a continuous reconciliation loop. Geffin et al. discloses this limitation. ( The DCIM Operations Manager Module 24 may connect to real time data feeds (for power and temperature) from the MSS service to compare and validate the performance guidelines and design criteria established in the Configuration Manager module 30 capabilities. Geffin et al. [col. 13, lines 50-64] … the MSS Engine 56 may: provide the ability to collect data points from managed elements 250 based on collection rules configured by the user (e.g., data point types to collect and how often to collect); continue to collect data points in the event of a loss of connection with the MSS TSD 56b. Geffin et al. [col. 25, lines 53-67; col. 26, lines 1-60; Fig. 31-34]. … The MSS Engine 56 may: provide a background discovery process that periodically scans the network for new managed elements; provide a background discovery process that periodically scans the network for changes to existing managed elements 250 in the MSS Engine Data Store 178; automatically reconciles detected changes for existing managed elements 250 in the MSS Engine Data Store 178; have the ability to automatically discover information about an unmanaged element when an unsolicited message is received from that unmanaged element; provide the ability to configure discovery settings for managed elements in the MSS Engine 56. Geffin et al. [col. 25, lines 4-67]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis steps of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include providing and receiving are performed via a continuous reconciliation loop as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding Claim 6, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al., and Geffin et al. combined disclose the method, wherein: the continuous reconciliation loop is scaled as the plurality of data center assets change over time. Geffin et al. discloses this limitation. ( The DCIM Operations Manager Module 24 may connect to real time data feeds (for power and temperature) from the MSS service to compare and validate the performance guidelines and design criteria established in the Configuration Manager module 30 capabilities. Geffin et al. [col. 13, lines 50-64] … the MSS Engine 56 may: provide the ability to collect data points from managed elements 250 based on collection rules configured by the user (e.g., data point types to collect and how often to collect); continue to collect data points in the event of a loss of connection with the MSS TSD 56b. Geffin et al. [col. 25, lines 53-67; col. 26, lines 1-60; Fig. 31-34]. … The MSS Engine 56 may: provide a background discovery process that periodically scans the network for new managed elements; provide a background discovery process that periodically scans the network for changes to existing managed elements 250 in the MSS Engine Data Store 178; automatically reconciles detected changes for existing managed elements 250 in the MSS Engine Data Store 178; have the ability to automatically discover information about an unmanaged element when an unsolicited message is received from that unmanaged element; provide the ability to configure discovery settings for managed elements in the MSS Engine 56. Geffin et al. [col. 25, lines 4-67]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis steps of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include the continuous reconciliation loop is scaled as the plurality of data center assets change over time as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding Claims 7-12, Claims 7-12 recite substantially similar limitations to those of claims 1-6 respectively, and are therefore rejected based upon the same prior art combination, reasoning, and rationale., Claims 7-12 are directed to a system comprising: a processor; a data bus coupled to the processor; a data center asset client module; and, a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code interacting with a plurality of computer operations and comprising instructions executable by the processor, which is disclosed by Geffin et al.: The DCIM Solution 10 is a modularly expandable family of hardware and software products that are designed to manage all the elements of a datacenter from a central location. In particular, the DCIM Solution 10 may include one or more DCIM hardware appliances (hereinafter simply the “DCIM Appliances”) and a suite of software products (hereinafter the “DCIM Software Suite”). … A DCIM Software Suite 12a of modules is modular, expandable and designed to make the operation, management, configuration or expansion of a datacenter seamless and simple. Geffin et al. [col. 5, lines 24-40; col. 8, lines 35-60]; See also claim 1: system comprising: one or more memory systems for storing non-transitory, executable machine code adapted to be executed on a processor, the non-transitory, executable machine code. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis system of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include a processor; a data bus coupled to the processor; a data center asset client module; and, a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code interacting with a plurality of computer operations and comprising instructions executable by the processor as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding Claims 13-18, Claims 13-18 recite substantially similar limitations to those of claims 1-6 respectively, and are therefore rejected based upon the same prior art combination, reasoning, and rationale. Claims 13-18 are directed to a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions, which is disclosed by Geffin et al.: The DCIM Solution 10 is a modularly expandable family of hardware and software products that are designed to manage all the elements of a datacenter from a central location. In particular, the DCIM Solution 10 may include one or more DCIM hardware appliances (hereinafter simply the “DCIM Appliances”) and a suite of software products (hereinafter the “DCIM Software Suite”). … A DCIM Software Suite 12a of modules is modular, expandable and designed to make the operation, management, configuration or expansion of a datacenter seamless and simple. Geffin et al. [col. 5, lines 24-40; col. 8, lines 35-60]; See also claim 1: system comprising: one or more memory systems for storing non-transitory, executable machine code adapted to be executed on a processor, the non-transitory, executable machine code. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis system of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding Claim 19, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al., and Geffin et al. combined disclose the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium, wherein: the computer executable instructions are deployable to a client system from a server system at a remote location. Geffin et al. discloses this limitation. (The method may also include arranging the manageability services module between the manageability engine module and a central user located remotely from the plurality of managed devices, as well as facilitating communication between the plurality of managed devices and a central user located remotely from the plurality of managed devices. Geffin et al. [col. 2, lines 38-62]. … The DCIM Solution 10 is a modularly expandable family of hardware and software products that are designed to manage all the elements of a datacenter from a central location. In particular, the DCIM Solution 10 may include one or more DCIM hardware appliances (hereinafter simply the “DCIM Appliances”) and a suite of software products (hereinafter the “DCIM Software Suite”). … A DCIM Software Suite 12a of modules is modular, expandable and designed to make the operation, management, configuration or expansion of a datacenter seamless and simple. . … The software modules that comprise the DCIM Software Suite may run on a common host server apart from the DCIM Appliances and may work to provide a complete and accurate view of the data center. Geffin et al. [col. 5, lines 24-40; col. 6, lines 1-22; col. 8, lines 35-60]; See also claim 1: system comprising: one or more memory systems for storing non-transitory, executable machine code adapted to be executed on a processor, the non-transitory, executable machine code.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis system of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include computer executable instructions are deployable to a client system from a server system at a remote location as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results.
Regarding Claim 20, Shelton et al., Nickolov et al., and Geffin et al. combined disclose the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium, wherein: the computer executable instructions are provided by a service provider to a user on an on-demand basis. Geffin et al. disclose this limitation. ( The method may also include arranging the manageability services module between the manageability engine module and a central user located remotely from the plurality of managed devices, as well as facilitating communication between the plurality of managed devices and a central user located remotely from the plurality of managed devices. Geffin et al. [col. 2, lines 38-62]. …FIG. 33 illustrates a use case description for the MSS Engines 56 to collect datapoints on-demand. Geffin et al. [col. 26, lines 45-65; Fig. 33, 43]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of data center management before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the data collection and analysis system of Shelton et al. and Nickolov et al. combined to include the computer executable instructions are provided by a service provider to a user on an on-demand basis as disclosed by Geffin et al. for monitoring and managing hardware and software components of a modern day data center in a manner that optimizes the efficient use of the hardware and software components, and which also allows real time reconfiguration of the infrastructure components of the data center to meet changing needs and demands (Geffin et al. [col. 1, lines 8-20]), in a manner that would have yielded predictable results.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Cencini et al. (US 2017/0264493) - autonomous distributed workload and infrastructure scheduling based on physical telemetry data of a plurality of different data centers executing a plurality of different workload distributed applications on behalf of a plurality of different tenants; providing a set of services with south-of-rack (southbound′) management and monitoring capabilities, as well as north-of-rack (northbound′) aggregation and analytics capabilities. In some embodiments, these capabilities are exposed in a ‘southbound’ API and ‘northbound’ API, and are supported by a variety of tools and deployment options that can be used to integrate, analyze, visualize and operationalize the data and decisions generated by the APIs and components.
Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/L.G.K/Examiner, Art Unit 3623 /RUTAO WU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3623
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