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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by He et al (US 2022/0231906 A1).
Claim 1. He shows a first network device (figs. 1-3: PE1 / first edge device), comprising: at least one processor (fig. 12: processor); one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions (fig. 12: mem+prog), wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the programming instructions to cause the first network device to: generate an advertisement message ([0068]: the first edge device advertises a first message including withdrawal of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and a corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network), wherein the advertisement message comprises first indication information that is used to indicate a processing capability of the first network device ([0068]: the first edge device may determine the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network in various ways), the processing capability of the first network device comprises a processing capability of ignoring secondary path information when the first network device serves on a primary path for forwarding a packet ([0068]: the first edge device advertises a first message including withdrawal of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and a corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network – without primary path failure, the first edge device would not have withdrawn the path and substitute it with a secondary path, in other words, the first edge device would have been “ignoring” the secondary path information in normal operations; [0069]: only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior… the ES substitution may be not triggered… if there is no next-hop change, for example, when ES-3 has been changed to ES-4 and the next-hop adjacencies for ES-3 and ES-4 are the same, the update procedure in data path can be bypassed) and receives the packet comprising primary path information and the secondary path information ([0068]: the first edge device may obtain the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network from another network device such as an operations administration and maintenance (OAM) system), and the secondary path information is used to indicate one or more secondary paths for forwarding the packet when the primary path is unavailable ([0069]: if there are aliasing/backup paths towards ES-1, for example, only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior); and send the advertisement message to a second network device ([0069]: in case CE1 is single-homed to PE1, with such failure, PE1 advertises the corresponding MAC/IP routes withdrawal and the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment to all other PEs; [0070]: the first message may further include a relationship of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network).
Claim 3. He shows the first network device according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement message is a border gateway protocol (BGP) message ([0080]: the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network may be encoded in a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) path attribute or an extended community) or an interior gateway protocol (IGP) message ([0081]: Path Attribute—ORIGIN: IGP).
Claim 4. He shows the first network device according to claim 3, wherein the first indication information is carried in a private route or a public route comprised in the BGP message ([0080]: in EVPN, the BGP path attribute or the extended community may use ESI or an equivalent value, e.g. ESI label for MPLS-based EVPN, to identify the Ethernet segment), and the private route or the public route is a route for forwarding a service to which the packet belongs (see above), or the first indication information is carried in an extended community attribute in the BGP message (see above).
Claim 5. He shows the first network device according to claim 1, wherein the secondary path information comprises one or more secondary segment identifiers (SIDs) ([0026]: the identifier of an Ethernet segment of the second network may be an Ethernet segment identifier (ESI)), and the one or more secondary SIDs are allocated by one or more network devices having a multi-homing relationship with the first network device ([0010]: when the links between CE1 and PE1, PE2 are failed or the CE1 is failed or ES-3 has been changed to ES-4, MAC entry invalidation triggered by ES withdrawal may introduce traffic slow convergence, that is, traffic interruption and consequent congestion… before MAC entry removal, traffic may be sent to a wrong destination in case of EVPN multi-homing with MPLS-based disposition or EVPN single-homing, which causes traffic interruption).
Claim 8. He shows the first network device according to claim 3, wherein the first network device is an intermediate network device or an egress network device that bears a service (figs.1-3: PE1 acts as an “intermediate” network device among the CEs), and the first indication information is carried in the IGP message or the BGP message for advertising a link state ([0080]-[0097]: BGP/IGP).
Claim 9. He shows the first network device according to claim 1, wherein the second network device is a controller or an ingress network device (figs. 1-3 and [0007]-[0008]: PE2 can act as a “controller” that advertises and invalidates entries, etc.).
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Claim 10. He shows a second network device (figs. 1-3: PE2 / second edge device), comprising: at least one processor (fig. 13: processor); one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions (fig. 13: mem+prog), wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the programming instructions to cause the second network device to: receive an advertisement message sent by a first network device ([0068]: the first edge device advertises a first message including withdrawal of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and a corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network), wherein the advertisement message comprises first indication information that is used to indicate a processing capability of the first network device ([0068]: the first edge device may determine the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network in various ways), the processing capability of the first network device comprises a processing capability of ignoring secondary path information comprised in a packet when the first network device serves as a network device on a primary path for forwarding the packet ([0069]: only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior… the ES substitution may be not triggered… if there is no next-hop change, for example, when ES-3 has been changed to ES-4 and the next-hop adjacencies for ES-3 and ES-4 are the same, the update procedure in data path can be bypassed) and receives the packet comprising primary path information and the secondary path information ([0068]: the first edge device may obtain the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network from another network device such as an operations administration and maintenance (OAM) system), and the secondary path information is used to indicate one or more secondary paths for forwarding the packet when the primary path is unavailable ([0069]: if there are aliasing/backup paths towards ES-1, for example, only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior); and determine, based on the first indication information, that the first network device has the processing capability ([0077]: the first edge device determines the link is recovered or the edge device of the second network is recovered); or determining, based on the first indication information, that the first network device does not have the processing capability ([0069]: in case CE1 is single-homed to PE1, with such failure, PE1 advertises the corresponding MAC/IP routes withdrawal and the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment to all other PEs).
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Claim 13. He shows a network system comprising a first network device (figs. 1-3: PE1 / first edge device) and a second network device (figs. 1-3: PE2 / second edge device), wherein the first network device is configured to: generate an advertisement message ([0068]: the first edge device advertises a first message including withdrawal of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and a corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network), wherein the advertisement message comprises first indication information that is used to indicate a processing capability of the first network device ([0069]: only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior… the ES substitution may be not triggered… if there is no next-hop change, for example, when ES-3 has been changed to ES-4 and the next-hop adjacencies for ES-3 and ES-4 are the same, the update procedure in data path can be bypassed), the processing capability of the first network device comprises a processing capability of ignoring secondary path information when the first network device serves as a network device on a primary path for forwarding a packet ([0068]: the first edge device advertises a first message including withdrawal of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and a corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network – without primary path failure, the first edge device would not have withdrawn the path and substitute it with a secondary path, in other words, the first edge device would have been “ignoring” the secondary path information in normal operations; [0069]: only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior… the ES substitution may be not triggered… if there is no next-hop change, for example, when ES-3 has been changed to ES-4 and the next-hop adjacencies for ES-3 and ES-4 are the same, the update procedure in data path can be bypassed) and receives the packet comprising primary path information and the secondary path information ([0068]: the first edge device may obtain the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network from another network device such as an operations administration and maintenance (OAM) system), and the secondary path information is used to indicate one or more secondary paths for forwarding the packet when the primary path is unavailable ([0069]: if there are aliasing/backup paths towards ES-1, for example, only the link between CE1 and PE1 is failed but the link between CE1 and PE2 is available, other PEs will switchover the corresponding traffic to the path towards the Ethernet segment following EVPN aliasing/backup behavior); and send the advertisement message to the second network device ([0069]: in case CE1 is single-homed to PE1, with such failure, PE1 advertises the corresponding MAC/IP routes withdrawal and the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment to all other PEs; [0070]: the first message may further include a relationship of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network); wherein the second network device is configured to: receive the advertisement message sent by the first network device ([0068]: the first edge device advertises a first message including withdrawal of the Ethernet segment corresponding to the edge device of the second network and a corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network); and determine, based on the first indication information, that the first network device has the processing capability ([0077]: the first edge device determines the link is recovered or the edge device of the second network is recovered); or determine, based on the first indication information, that the first network device does not have the processing capability ([0069]: in case CE1 is single-homed to PE1, with such failure, PE1 advertises the corresponding MAC/IP routes withdrawal and the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment to all other PEs).
Claim 16. He shows the network system according to claim 13, wherein the advertisement message is a border gateway protocol (BGP) message ([0080]: the corresponding substitution Ethernet segment of the second network may be encoded in a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) path attribute or an extended community) or an interior gateway protocol (IGP) message ([0081]: Path Attribute—ORIGIN: IGP).
Claim 17. He shows the network system according to claim 16, wherein the first indication information is carried in a private route or a public route comprised in the BGP message ([0080]: in EVPN, the BGP path attribute or the extended community may use ESI or an equivalent value, e.g. ESI label for MPLS-based EVPN, to identify the Ethernet segment), and a VPN route or the public route is a route for forwarding a service to which the packet belongs (see above), or the first indication information is carried in an extended community attribute in the BGP message (see above).
Claim 18. He shows the network system according to claim 13, wherein the secondary path information comprises one or more secondary segment identifiers (SIDs) ([0026]: the identifier of an Ethernet segment of the second network may be an Ethernet segment identifier (ESI)), and the one or more secondary SIDs are SIDs allocated by one or more network devices having a multi-homing relationship with the first network device ([0010]: when the links between CE1 and PE1, PE2 are failed or the CE1 is failed or ES-3 has been changed to ES-4, MAC entry invalidation triggered by ES withdrawal may introduce traffic slow convergence, that is, traffic interruption and consequent congestion… before MAC entry removal, traffic may be sent to a wrong destination in case of EVPN multi-homing with MPLS-based disposition or EVPN single-homing, which causes traffic interruption).
Claim 19. He shows the network system according to claim 16, wherein the first network device is an intermediate network device or an egress network device that bears a service (figs.1-3: PE1 acts as an “intermediate” network device among the CEs), and the first indication information is carried in the IGP message or the BGP message for advertising a link state ([0080]-[0097]: BGP/IGP).
Claim 20. He shows the network system according to claim 13, wherein the second network device is a controller or an ingress network device (figs. 1-3 and [0007]-[0008]: PE2 can act as a “controller” that advertises and invalidates entries, etc.).
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Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 27th October 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that prior art of record, He, does not suggest the “processing capability of the first network device… of ignoring secondary path information” limitations in claim 1. The first edge device in He only withdraws the primary path and substitute it with a secondary path when the primary path fails, in other words, the first edge device would not have considered the secondary path information unless the primary path fails, such that the first edge device would have, by default, “ignored” the secondary path information in “normal” operations until the primary path fails. Therefore, the capability of the first edge device to “ignore” the secondary path information is inherently present. Please refer to the revised rejections in claims 1 and 13 above.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14 and 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
1. Kaplan et al, US 2020/0366599 A1: a controller configured to publish a first route or service from the first district to the second district by transmitting a first publication including the first route or service and a first source path for the first route or service with the first district name included in the first source path; receive from another district a second publication of a second route or service including a second source path; determine if the second source path includes the first district name; process the second route or service as a newly learned route or service in the first district when the second source path does not include the first district name; and ignore the second route or service when the second source path does include the first district name.
This action is made FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Xavier Szewai Wong whose telephone number is 571.270.1780. The examiner can normally be reached on 11:30 am - 8:30 pm Mon to Fri.
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/XAVIER S WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415 7th February 2026