ndThe present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Case
This communication is in response to the filing of Application 18/540,538 by HECHT et al. for “COMMUNICATION NETWORK CONFIGURATION”, filed on 12/14/2023.
Claims 1-21 are cancelled.
Claims 22-41 are now pending.
The independent claims are 22 and 35.
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.
Claims 22-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PRAKASH et al. (US20180063608A1), hereinafter PRAKASH, in view of Li et al. (US20150039613A1), hereinafter LI.
Regarding claim 22, PRAKASH teaches A method for configuring a communication network, comprising: (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, paragraph 73, teach a method for configurating a communication network.)
obtaining a network graph representing the communication network, the network graph including: vertices corresponding to nodes in the communication network; (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 502, paragraph 73, teach initializing a plurality of variable associated with a graph defining a network here edges constitute nodes and vertices constitute links.)
and edges corresponding to communication links in the communication network; (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 502, paragraph 73, teach initializing a plurality of variable associated with a graph defining a network here edges constitute nodes and vertices constitute links.)
determining a set of graph cuts that include a first edge on the network graph; (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 506, paragraphs 73-74, teach considering cut edges (i.e. graph cuts that include a first edge).)
PRAKASH does not describe determining a score of the first edge based at least in part on the set of graph cuts; determining, using the score of the first edge, a path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network; and configuring the communication network to satisfy the demand using the path.
LI in the same field of endeavor teaches determining a score of the first edge based at least in part on the set of graph cuts; (LI, Fig. 3, steps 340, 350, paragraphs 59-60, teach determining an edge weight (i.e. score of a first edge), and applying a clustering algorithm e.g. normalized graph cut (i.e. based at least in part on a set of graph cuts).)
determining, using the score of the first edge, a path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network; (LI, Fig. 3, steps 340, 350, paragraphs 59-60, teach generating the labels graph (i.e. path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network).)
and configuring the communication network to satisfy the demand using the path. (LI, Fig. 3, step 360, paragraphs 60-60, teach identifying nodes of the labels graph as a set (i.e. configuring the network to satisfy the demand using the path).)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to determine a score of the first edge based at least in part on the set of graph cuts, and determine, using the score of the first edge, a path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network, and configure the communication network to satisfy the demand using the path. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 23, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the set of graph cuts includes a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, and the score is a decreasing function of the first cut rank. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach determining a decreasing function of a cut edge.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to determine the set of graph cuts as including a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, and the score is a decreasing function of the first cut rank. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 24, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the set of graph cuts includes multiple subsets of graph cuts, each subset corresponding to a different cut rank, and the score is a combination of subscores, each subscore corresponding to one of the multiple subsets of graph cuts. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach the subset corresponding to a combination of sub-scores.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to determine the set of graph cuts as including multiple subsets of graph cuts, each subset corresponding to a different cut rank, and the score is a combination of subscores, each subscore corresponding to one of the multiple subsets of graph cuts. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 25, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the set of graph cuts includes a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, each of the first graph cuts having a corresponding set of endpoint pairs, and the score depends on the sets of endpoint pairs. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach graph cuts having a corresponding set of endpoints.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the set of graph cuts includes a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, each of the first graph cuts having a corresponding set of endpoint pairs, and the score depends on the sets of endpoint pairs. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 26, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 25, wherein: the score is an increasing function of a size of a union of the sets of endpoint pairs. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach the score as an increasing function of size.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the score as an increasing function of a size of a union of the sets of endpoint pairs. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 27, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the score depends on a number of the vertices in the network graph. (PRAKASH, paragraph 42 teaches the score as depending on a number of the vertices in the graph.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the score as depending on a number of the vertices in the network graph. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 28, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the score is determined based at least in part on at least one characteristic of a first communication link corresponding to the first edge. (LI, step 340, paragraph 36, teach constructing the score based on correlation between nodes and edge.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the score as determined based at least in part on at least one characteristic of a first communication link corresponding to the first edge. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 29, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 28, wherein: the at least one characteristic of the first communication link includes at least one of bandwidth or available bandwidth, length, delay or latency, cost, network segment, or logical partition of the communications network. (LI, paragraph 39 teaches the link characteristic as bandwidth.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the at least one characteristic of the first communication link includes at least one of bandwidth or available bandwidth, length, delay or latency, cost, network segment, or logical partition of the communications network. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 30, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the path on the network graph for the demand on the communication network is determined using at least one of the Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, or Min-Cost Flow path-finding techniques. (PRAKASH, paragraph 51 teaches utilizing Dijkstra’s path finding technique.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the path on the network graph for the demand on the communication network as determined using at least one of the Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, or Min-Cost Flow path-finding techniques. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 31, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 22, wherein: the first edge corresponds to a first communication link; and the method further comprises: determining that a first condition has been satisfied; and in response to the determination, updating the score of the first edge. (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 510, paragraph 73, teach reiterating the path using an updated segment.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the first edge corresponds to a first communication link; and determining that a first condition has been satisfied; and in response to the determination, updating the score of the first edge. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 32, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 31, wherein: the first condition is satisfied when a number of demands on the communication network have been assigned. (LI, Fig. 3, step 360, paragraph 60, teach resolving the content.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the first condition as satisfied when a number of demands on the communication network have been assigned. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 33, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 31, wherein: the first condition is satisfied when: available bandwidth of the first communication link changes; the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a static threshold amount; or the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a dynamic threshold amount that depends on a number of demands on the communication network that have been assigned. (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 510, paragraph 73, teach reiterating the path using an updated segment upon considering demand on the network.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the first condition is satisfied when: available bandwidth of the first communication link changes; the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a static threshold amount; or the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a dynamic threshold amount that depends on a number of demands on the communication network that have been assigned. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 34, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the method of claim 31, wherein: the first condition is satisfied when a communication link on the communication network fails. (PRAKASH, paragraph 29 teaches reacting to changes in services requested, network traffic analysis and network changes such as failure and degradation.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the first condition as satisfied when a communication link on the communication network fails. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 35, PRAKASH teaches A non-transitory, computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform operations for configuring a communication network, the operations comprising: (PRAKASH, paragraph 78 teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer readable code stored thereon for programming a computer, server, appliance, device, processor, circuit, etc. each of which may include a processor to perform functions as described and claimed herein.)
obtaining a network graph representing the communication network, the network graph including: vertices corresponding to nodes in the communication network; (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 502, paragraph 73, teach initializing a plurality of variable associated with a graph defining a network here edges constitute nodes and vertices constitute links.)
and edges corresponding to communication links in the communication network; (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 502, paragraph 73, teach initializing a plurality of variable associated with a graph defining a network here edges constitute nodes and vertices constitute links.)
determining a set of graph cuts that include a first edge on the network graph; (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 506, paragraphs 73-74, teach considering cut edges (i.e. graph cuts that include a first edge).)
PRAKASH does not describe determining a score of the first edge based at least in part on the set of graph cuts; determining, using the score of the first edge, a path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network; and configuring the communication network to satisfy the demand using the path.
LI in the same field of endeavor teaches determining a score of the first edge based at least in part on the set of graph cuts; (LI, Fig. 3, steps 340, 350, paragraphs 59-60, teach determining an edge weight (i.e. score of a first edge), and applying a clustering algorithm e.g. normalized graph cut (i.e. based at least in part on a set of graph cuts).)
determining, using the score of the first edge, a path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network; (LI, Fig. 3, steps 340, 350, paragraphs 59-60, teach generating the labels graph (i.e. path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network).)
and configuring the communication network to satisfy the demand using the path. (LI, Fig. 3, step 360, paragraphs 60-60, teach identifying nodes of the labels graph as a set (i.e. configuring the network to satisfy the demand using the path).)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to determine a score of the first edge based at least in part on the set of graph cuts, and determine, using the score of the first edge, a path on the network graph for a demand on the communication network, and configure the communication network to satisfy the demand using the path. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 36, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein: the set of graph cuts includes a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, and the score is a decreasing function of the first cut rank. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach determining a decreasing function of a cut edge.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to determine the set of graph cuts as including a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, and the score is a decreasing function of the first cut rank. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 37, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein: the set of graph cuts includes multiple subsets of graph cuts, each subset corresponding to a different cut rank, and the score is a combination of subscores, each subscore corresponding to one of the multiple subsets of graph cuts. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach the subset corresponding to a combination of sub-scores.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to determine the set of graph cuts as including multiple subsets of graph cuts, each subset corresponding to a different cut rank, and the score is a combination of subscores, each subscore corresponding to one of the multiple subsets of graph cuts. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 38, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein: the set of graph cuts includes a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, each of the first graph cuts having a corresponding set of endpoint pairs, and the score is an increasing function of a size of a union of the sets of endpoint pairs. (PRAKASH, Fig. 7, paragraph 55, teach graph cuts having a corresponding set of endpoints.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the set of graph cuts includes a subset of first graph cuts having a first cut rank, each of the first graph cuts having a corresponding set of endpoint pairs, and the score depends on the sets of endpoint pairs. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 39, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein: the score is determined based at least in part on at least one characteristic of a first communication link corresponding to the first edge, the at least one characteristic of the first communication link including at least one of bandwidth or available bandwidth, length, delay or latency, cost, network segment, or logical partition of the communications network. (LI, paragraph 39 teaches the link characteristic as bandwidth.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the at least one characteristic of the first communication link includes at least one of bandwidth or available bandwidth, length, delay or latency, cost, network segment, or logical partition of the communications network. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 40, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein: the first edge corresponds to a first communication link; and the operations further comprise: determining that a first condition has been satisfied; and in response to the determination, updating the score of the first edge. (PRAKASH, Fig. 13, step 510, paragraph 73, teach reiterating the path using an updated segment.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the first edge corresponds to a first communication link; and determining that a first condition has been satisfied; and in response to the determination, updating the score of the first edge. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 41, PRAKASH in view of LI teaches the non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the first condition is satisfied when: available bandwidth of the first communication link changes; the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a static threshold amount; the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a dynamic threshold amount that depends on a number of demands on the communication network that have been assigned; or a communication link on the communication network fails. (PRAKASH, paragraph 42 teaches the score as depending on a number of the vertices in the graph.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teachings of LI with the teachings of PRAKASH to configure the first condition as satisfied when: available bandwidth of the first communication link changes; the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a static threshold amount; the available bandwidth of the first communication link changes by more than a dynamic threshold amount that depends on a number of demands on the communication network that have been assigned; or a communication link on the communication network fails. The motivation would be to find an optimal path in a graph comprising nodes (LI, paragraph 3).
Conclusion
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/WALLI Z BUTT/Examiner, Art Unit 2412