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 .
Notice to Applicant
Claims 1, 8 and 15 are presently amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments are acknowledged.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/27/2026 have been fully considered in view of further consideration of statutory law, Office policy, precedential common law, and the cited prior art as necessitated by the amendments to the claims, and are not persuasive for the reasons set forth below.
35 USC § 101 Rejections
First, Applicant argues that “These limitations are integrated together to provide "single operation isolation," which the Specification explains is lacking in conventional systems. Specifically, the Specification states: "conventional operation management tools do not provide single operation isolation - identification and presentation of a single (e.g., highest priority) operation that should be the next operation completed by the user."
The Specification further explains that conventional systems permit operations to be performed "out of sequence" and that this results in "computing resources and/or network resources being wasted." See specification, paragraph 11. Amended claim 1 addresses these deficiencies using dependency-aware processing together with a specifically constrained user interface in which information associated with remaining operations is absent. The Specification explains that: "the user interface may present operations one at a time, which increases a likelihood that operations are performed in-sequence and/or in an optimal order with respect to other operations, thereby reducing waste of computing resources." Id. at paragraph 29.
Accordingly, amended claim 1 does not merely recite displaying information or organizing human activity, but instead recite a specific implementation that improves computerized operation-management systems by: improving operation sequencing, reducing out-of-sequence operation execution, reducing waste of computing and network resources, and generating a constrained interface that isolates a single operation while excluding remaining operations.
Accordingly, amended claim 1 integrates any alleged abstract idea into a practical application and is therefore patent eligible. Amended claims 8 and 15 recite similar limitations, including dependency-aware operation processing and generation of a user interface in which information associated with other operations is absent, and are patent eligible for at least similar reasons. Therefore, claims 1, 8, and 15, as well as the claims dependent therefrom, are patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101…” [Arguments, pages 11-13].
In response, Applicant’s arguments are considered but are not persuasive. Examiner respectfully disagrees and maintains that the present invention recites a judicial exception without significantly more. With respect to the assertion that claim 1 recites a specific implementation that improves computerized operation-management systems, Examiner respectfully disagrees and maintains the claims, when considered as a whole and in view of the additional elements, are not recited at a level of particularity to be considered to demonstrate an improvement to the functioning of computers or otherwise an improvement to operation-management systems. In particular, Examiner observes that the amended claims recite the use of an unspecified machine learning model which is considered to amount to mere instructions to implement the abstract idea using a model (i.e. “apply it” using the model (See MPEP 2106.05(f)).
Further, the claims are not considered to integrate the judicial exception into a practical application at least because they culminate in displaying the result of the analysis on a generic user interface (See TLI communications - Gathering and analyzing information using conventional techniques and displaying the result). Thus, Examiner respectfully maintains that the present claims recite a judicial exception without significantly more. As such, Examiner remains unpersuaded.
35 USC § 102/103 Rejections
First, Applicant argues that “the cited sections of the applied reference, whether taken alone or in any reasonable combination, do not disclose at least one or more processors configured to "compute a plurality of operation metrics using an operation metric model that uses machine learning to process the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics corresponding to a respective operation in the plurality of operations; [and] identify, based on the plurality of operation metrics, a single operation, of the plurality of operations, indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information," as recited in claim 1, as amended. Independent claims 8 and 15, as amended, recite similar features. Therefore, independent claims 1, 8, and 15, and the claims that depend thereon, are patentable over the cited sections of the applied reference.” [Arguments, pages 13-14].
In response, Applicant’s arguments are considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Examiner relies upon the newly applied Melle reference to render the amended claims obvious, as detailed in the rejection below. As such, Examiner remains unpersuaded.
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 a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1: Claims 1-20 are directed to statutory categories, namely a machine (claims 1-7), a process (claims 8-14) and an article of manufacture (claims 15-20).
Step 2A, Prong 1: Claims 1, 8 and 15 in part, recite the following abstract idea:
…obtain operation data associated with a plurality of operations assigned to a user; compute a plurality of operation metrics using… to process the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics corresponding to a respective operation in the plurality of operations; identify, based on the plurality of operation metrics, a single operation of the plurality of operations, indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information; and provide information associated with the identified single operation for display via…, wherein information associated with other operations from the plurality of operations is absent from … [Claim 1],
A method for single operation identification, comprising: obtaining, …, operation data associated with a plurality of operations assigned to a user; computing… , a plurality of operation metrics using… to process the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics corresponding to a respective operation in the plurality of operations; identifying, … and based on the plurality of operations metrics, a single operation of the plurality of operations that is indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information; and causing, … to be displayed, wherein … includes an indication of the single operation, wherein …does not include an indication associated with any other operation from the plurality of operations [Claim 8],
…obtain operation data associated with a plurality of operations assigned to a user; compute, using… to process the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics being associated with a respective operation in the plurality of operations; identify, based on the plurality of operations metrics, a single operation of the plurality of operations that is indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information; and provide … for display, wherein … includes information associated with the identified single operation and does not include information associated with any other operations from the plurality of operations [Claim 15].
These concepts are not meaningfully different than the following concepts identified by the MPEP:
Concepts relating to certain methods of organizing human activity. The aforementioned limitations describe steps for managing personal behavior or relationships or interactions between people, including social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions. Specifically, displaying operations that are assigned to a user is considered to describe steps following rules or instructions. As such, claims 1, 8 and 15 recite concepts identified as abstract ideas.
The dependent claims recite limitations relative to the independent claims, including, for example:
…wherein, for an operation in the plurality of operations, the operation data includes at least one of: timing information associated with the operation; a user indication associated with the operation; a category associated with the operation; a stage associated with the operation; parent-child information associated with the operation; a duration associated with the operation; an age associated with the operation; or a label associated with the operation [Claim 2],
…wherein one or more items of the operation data are obtained from another system via… [Claim 3],
…receive user input indicating a mode associated with the user; and wherein the one or more processors, to compute the plurality of operation metrics, are configured to: compute the plurality of operation metrics further based on the user input indicating the mode associated with the user [Claim 4],
…obtain user availability information associated with the user; and wherein the one or more processors, to compute the plurality of operation metrics, are configured to: compute the plurality of operation metrics further based on the user availability information [Claim 5],
The limitations of these dependent claims are merely narrowing the abstract idea identified in the independent claims, and thus, the dependent claims also recite abstract ideas.
Step 2A, Prong 2: This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, The independent claims only recite the following additional elements –
…A system for single operation identification, the system comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, configured to … ; …an operation metric model that uses machine learning…; …a user interface… the user interface… [Claim 1],
…by a system… ; …, by the system… an operation metric model that uses machine learning…; …by the system…; , by the system, a user interface…; …the user interface…; …the user interface… [Claim 8],
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions, the set of instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a system, cause the system to…; …an operation metric model that uses machine learning…; …a user interface… the user interface… [Claim 15].
The dependent claims recite the following new additional elements –
…an application programming interface (API)… [Claim 3].
The apparatus and executable instructions are recited at a high-level of generality (see MPEP § 2106.05(a)), like the following MPEP example:
iii. Gathering and analyzing information using conventional techniques and displaying the result, TLI Communications, 823 F.3d at 612-13, 118 USPQ2d at 1747-48;
Furthermore, the computer implemented element is considered to amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component (see MPEP 2106.05(f)), like the following MPEP example:
i. A commonplace business method or mathematical algorithm being applied on a general purpose computer, Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. V. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208, 223, 110 USPQ2d 1976, 1983 (2014); Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 64, 175 USPQ 673, 674 (1972); Versata Dev. Group, Inc. v. SAP Am., Inc., 793 F.3d 1306, 1334, 115 USPQ2d 1681, 1701 (Fed. Cir. 2015);
Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
The remaining dependent claims do not recite any new additional elements, and thus do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Step 2B: Claims 1, 8 and 15 and their underlying limitations, steps, features and terms, considered both individually and as a whole, do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for the following reasons:
The independent claims only recite the following additional elements –
…A system for single operation identification, the system comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, configured to … ; …an operation metric model that uses machine learning…; …a user interface… the user interface… [Claim 1],
…by a system… ; …, by the system… an operation metric model that uses machine learning…; …by the system…; , by the system, a user interface…; …the user interface…; …the user interface… [Claim 8],
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions, the set of instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a system, cause the system to…; …an operation metric model that uses machine learning…; …a user interface… the user interface… [Claim 15].
These elements do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea for the reasons discussed in 2A prong 2 with regard to MPEP 2106.05(a) and MPEP 2106.05(f). By the failure of the elements to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application there, the additional elements likewise fail to amount to an inventive concept that is significantly more than an abstract idea here, in Step 2B.
As such, both individually or in combination, these limitations do not add significantly more to the judicial exception.
The remaining dependent claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the dependent claims do not recite any new additional elements other than those mentioned in the independent claims, which amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component (see MPEP 2106.05(f)). As such, these claims are not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vibhor et al., U.S. Patent No. 10,824,515 [hereinafter Vibhor] in view of Melle et al., U.S. Publication No. 2017/0193172 [hereinafter Melle].
Regarding Claim 1, Vibhor discloses …A system for single operation identification, the system comprising: one or more memories (Vibhor, column 5, line 61 - column 6, line 3, The applications 110 generally facilitate the operations of an organization (or multiple affiliated organizations), and can include, without limitation, mail server applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server), file server applications, mail client applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Client), database applications (e.g., SQL, Oracle, SAP, Lotus Notes Database), word processing applications (e.g., Microsoft Word), spreadsheet applications, financial applications, presentation applications, browser applications, mobile applications, entertainment applications, and so on), (Id., column 6, lines 53-57, The primary storage devices 104 storing the primary data 112 may be relatively fast and/or expensive (e.g., a disk drive, a hard-disk array, solid state memory, etc.). In addition, primary data 112 may be intended for relatively short term retention (e.g., several hours, days, or weeks);
and one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, configured to: obtain operation data associated with a plurality of operations assigned to a user (Id., column 41, lines 13-40, In some embodiments, the activity level can be based on a utilization rate of a workflow engine 161. The utilization rate can be based on the amount, size and/or speed of the resources available to the workflow engine (e.g., processing speed, number of processors or processor cores, memory size and speed, communication rates, etc.) (discloses obtaining operation data associated with a plurality of operations (i.e. a workflow)) compared with how close to capacity the resources are operated. For example, a processor of a workflow engine may be relatively slow, but on average only be operating at 30% of its capacity, and therefore may have a low utilization rate and low activity level. In contrast, a relatively fast processor with multiple cores may operate at 95% capacity on average and therefore have a high utilization rate or high activity level. Additional metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine.
(267) In some embodiments, the deployment scheme can be based on resources (speed, size, memory, processor) of the workflow engines. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 may access a stored table or index including a listing of the workflow engines 161 and associated parameters (e.g., associated computing resources). As mentioned above, the resources can relate to the processing speed, number or processors or cores, memory size and speed, and/or communication rates of a particular workflow engine. For example, the deployment scheme may have minimum resource requirements, such as minimum processing speed, memory size, etc. Other deployment schemes may prefer older, smaller, or slower resources), (Id., column 26, lines 1-33, Such information can be provided to users via the user interface 158 in a single, integrated view. For instance, the integrated user interface 158 can include an option to show a “virtual view” of the system that graphically depicts the various components in the system using appropriate icons. The operations management functionality can facilitate planning and decision-making. For example, in some embodiments, a user may view the status of some or all jobs as well as the status of each component of the information management system 100. Users may then plan and make decisions based on this data. For instance, a user may view high-level information regarding storage operations for the information management system 100, such as job status, component status, resource status (e.g., network pathways, etc.), and other information. The user may also drill down or use other means to obtain more detailed information regarding a particular component, job, or the like.
(188) In some cases the information management system 100 alerts a user such as a system administrator when a particular resource is unavailable or congested. (discloses operations assigned to an admin user) For example, a particular primary storage device 104 or secondary storage device 108 might be full or require additional capacity. Or a component may be unavailable due to hardware failure, software problems, or other reasons. In response, the information management system 100 may suggest solutions to such problems when they occur (or provide a warning prior to occurrence). For example, the storage manager 140 may alert the user that a secondary storage device 108 is full or otherwise congested. The storage manager 140 may then suggest, based on job and data storage information contained in its database 146, an alternate secondary storage device 108);
compute a plurality of operation metrics using… the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics corresponding to a respective operation in the plurality of operations (Id., column 7, lines 12-35, Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term), to/from information for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object), frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), and aging information (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors, partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists [ACLs]), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations of the same or the like), (Id., column 25, lines 61-67, Operations management can generally include monitoring and managing the health and performance of information management system 100 by, without limitation, performing error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (discloses operations metrics) (e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the like), (Id., column 39, lines 12-31, At block 410, the storage manager generates a workflow suite based on the group, order and/or relationship between the subset of display objects, and the workflow activities associated with the subset of the display objects. The workflow suite can include the parameters, properties, and other information regarding the individual workflow activities and the workflow as a whole. For example, the workflow suite can include the order in which workflow activities occur within the workflow, the relationship between different workflow activities, dependencies associated with the workflow activities, the inputs and outputs of the different workflow activities, etc. (discloses workflow dependency information) In some embodiments the storage manager can review the display objects to ensure the order, relationship, and/or group are consistent and/or would not cause an error. For example, the storage manager 140 can review the input and output properties of each workflow activity and check that the outputs of earlier workflow activities match the inputs of subsequent workflow activities);
identify, based on the plurality of operation metrics, a single operation of the plurality of operations, indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information (Id., column 42, lines 37-62, At block 508, the storage manager 140 allocates the initial workflow activity based on the allocation scheme (discloses identifying operations to be allocated to resources based on operation metrics). The allocation scheme can be similar in many respects to the deployment scheme described above, and can be used to determine which of the workflow engines 161 is to perform the initial workflow activity. Similar to the deployment scheme, the allocation scheme can be based on different factors, such as activity levels, workflow engine resources, physical proximity, communication pathway speeds, failure rates, schedule maintenance or down time, software versions, costs of operation, etc. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme takes into account a probabilistic determination that the initial workflow activity will be completed within a predetermined time frame. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme allows the storage manager 140 to divide the initial workflow activity between workflow engines. In this way, the initial workflow activity can be completed more quickly. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme directs the selection storage manager 140 to select one or more workflow engines 161 from among the workflow engines 161 to which the workflow suite has been deployed. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 selects a different workflow engine to which the workflow suite has not already been deployed), (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. (discloses identifying a single operation of the operations) Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., column 39, lines 12-31, At block 410, the storage manager generates a workflow suite based on the group, order and/or relationship between the subset of display objects, and the workflow activities associated with the subset of the display objects. The workflow suite can include the parameters, properties, and other information regarding the individual workflow activities and the workflow as a whole. For example, the workflow suite can include the order in which workflow activities occur within the workflow, the relationship between different workflow activities, dependencies associated with the workflow activities, the inputs and outputs of the different workflow activities, etc. (discloses workflow dependency information) In some embodiments the storage manager can review the display objects to ensure the order, relationship, and/or group are consistent and/or would not cause an error. For example, the storage manager 140 can review the input and output properties of each workflow activity and check that the outputs of earlier workflow activities match the inputs of subsequent workflow activities);
and provide information associated with the identified single operation for display via a user interface, wherein information associated with other operations from the plurality of operations is absent from the user interface (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., Fig. 3B, Figure depicts information associated with an identified single operation of workflow).
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While suggested in at least Fig. 1 and related text, Vibhor does not explicitly disclose …an operation metric model that uses machine learning to process…
However, Melle discloses …an operation metric model that uses machine learning to process… (Melle, ¶ 67, In some implementations, operations platform 215 may determine the operation information based on a model. For example, the model may receive, as input, client information, and may output operation information regarding the patient. In some implementations, the model may be trained based on an artificial intelligence system, such as a machine learning algorithm. (discloses machine-learning-based operation metric model) For example, the model may be trained based on client information regarding a set of clients and based on information that identifies successful operations, unsuccessful operations, cost-effective operations, or the like, for the set of clients. By training the model based on an artificial intelligence system, operations platform 215 may improve accuracy of operation information outputted by the model, may conserve organizational resources that would otherwise be used to manually determine operation information, and may permit determination of correlations, research, or the like based on the model), (Id., ¶ 73, In some implementations, operations platform 215 may determine assignment information based on a model that is trained, for example, based on a machine learning algorithm, or the like. For example, operations platform 215 may assign workers to perform operations, and may receive performance information that indicates whether the workers successfully performed the operations. Based on the performance information, and based on attributes of the workers (e.g., expertise, experience, location, etc.), operations platform 215 may train a model for assigning the operations. The model may receive input information that identifies a set of workers and a set of operations. Based on the input information, the model may output assignment information that identifies assignments of the set of operations to be performed by the set of workers. Thus, operations platform 215 improves efficiency of assigning the operations and conserves computing resources that would otherwise be used to manually assign the operations or manually define rules for assigning operations).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the operation identification elements of Vibhor to include the machine learning elements of Melle in the analogous art of cloud-based operations administration platforms.
The motivation for doing so would have been to improve "performance of a set of operations that includes conditionals, dependencies, and/or a hierarchical order of tasks” (Melle, ¶ 34), wherein such improvements would benefit Vibhor's method which seeks to provide "improved client computing device 102 operation, faster secondary copy operation performance, and enhanced scalability. As one specific example which will be discussed below in further detail, the media agent 144 can act as a local cache of copied data and/or metadata that it has stored to the secondary storage device(s) 108, providing improved restore capabilities" [Melle, ¶ 34; Vibhor, column 15, lines 56-67].
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Vibhor and Melle discloses …The system of claim 1…
Vibhor further discloses …wherein, for an operation in the plurality of operations, the operation data includes at least one of: timing information associated with the operation; a user indication associated with the operation; a category associated with the operation; a stage associated with the operation; parent-child information associated with the operation; a duration associated with the operation; an age associated with the operation; or a label associated with the operation (Id., column 7, lines 12-35, Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term), to/from information for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object), frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), and aging information (discloses timing information associated with operations) (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors, partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists [ACLs]), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations of the same or the like), (Id., column 25, lines 61-67, Operations management can generally include monitoring and managing the health and performance of information management system 100 by, without limitation, performing error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (discloses operations metrics) (e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the like).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Vibhor and Melle discloses …The system of claim 1…
Vibhor further discloses …wherein one or more items of the operation data are obtained from another system via an application programming interface (API) (Id., column 6, lines 9-30, As shown, the client computing devices 102 and other components in the information management system 100 can be connected to one another via one or more communication pathways 114. The communication pathways 114 can include one or more networks or other connection types including as any of following, without limitation: the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a Storage Area Network (SAN), a Fibre Channel connection, a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connection, a virtual private network (VPN), a token ring or TCP/IP based network, an intranet network, a point-to-point link, a cellular network, a wireless data transmission system, a two-way cable system, an interactive kiosk network, a satellite network, a broadband network, a baseband network, other appropriate wired, wireless, or partially wired/wireless computer or telecommunications networks, combinations of the same or the like. The communication pathways 114 in some cases may also include application programming interfaces (APIs) including, e.g., cloud service provider APIs, virtual machine management APIs, and hosted service provider APIs), (Id., column 14, lines 25-35, For instance, the management agent 154 can provide the storage manager 140 with the ability to communicate with other components within the information management system 100 (and/or other cells within a larger information management system) via network protocols and application programming interfaces (“APIs”) including, e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, REST, virtualization software APIs, cloud service provider APIs, and hosted service provider APIs. Inter-cell communication and hierarchy is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,035,880, which is incorporated by reference herein).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Vibhor and Melle discloses …The system of claim 1…
Vibhor further discloses …wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive user input indicating a mode associated with the user (Id., column 2, lines 33-47, Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to a system, method, and computer-readable storage medium for a storage management system. Specifically, embodiments described herein include systems and methods for generating and implementing an automated workflow for a networked storage system. For instance, a graphical user interface (e.g., a drag and drop interface) is provided allowing a user to intuitively design the desired workflow. The system can then generate and execute the automated workflow based on the user's input. (discloses user input for automated workflow generation/execution mode) Further embodiments provide intelligent allocation of workflow task execution. For instance, the system can distribute automation tasks to members of a workflow engine pool in order to balance resource usage, reduce automation time, or provide other advantages), (Id., column 41, lines 13-27, the activity level can be based on a utilization rate of a workflow engine 161. The utilization rate can be based on the amount, size and/or speed of the resources available to the workflow engine (e.g., processing speed, number of processors or processor cores, memory size and speed, communication rates, etc.) compared with how close to capacity the resources are operated. For example, a processor of a workflow engine may be relatively slow, but on average only be operating at 30% of its capacity, and therefore may have a low utilization rate and low activity level. In contrast, a relatively fast processor with multiple cores may operate at 95% capacity on average and therefore have a high utilization rate or high activity level. Additional metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine);
and wherein the one or more processors, to compute the plurality of operation metrics, are configured to: compute the plurality of operation metrics further based on the user input indicating the mode associated with the user (Id., column 2, lines 33-47, Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to a system, method, and computer-readable storage medium for a storage management system. Specifically, embodiments described herein include systems and methods for generating and implementing an automated workflow for a networked storage system. For instance, a graphical user interface (e.g., a drag and drop interface) is provided allowing a user to intuitively design the desired workflow. The system can then generate and execute the automated workflow based on the user's input. (discloses user input for automated workflow generation/execution mode) Further embodiments provide intelligent allocation of workflow task execution. For instance, the system can distribute automation tasks to members of a workflow engine pool in order to balance resource usage, reduce automation time, or provide other advantages), (Id., column 41, lines 13-27, the activity level can be based on a utilization rate of a workflow engine 161. The utilization rate can be based on the amount, size and/or speed of the resources available to the workflow engine (e.g., processing speed, number of processors or processor cores, memory size and speed, communication rates, etc.) compared with how close to capacity the resources are operated. For example, a processor of a workflow engine may be relatively slow, but on average only be operating at 30% of its capacity, and therefore may have a low utilization rate and low activity level. In contrast, a relatively fast processor with multiple cores may operate at 95% capacity on average and therefore have a high utilization rate or high activity level. Additional metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine);metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine), (Id., column 7, lines 12-35, Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term), to/from information for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object), frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), and aging information (discloses timing information associated with operations) (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors, partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists [ACLs]), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations of the same or the like), (Id., column 25, lines 61-67, Operations management can generally include monitoring and managing the health and performance of information management system 100 by, without limitation, performing error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (discloses operations metrics) (e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the like).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Vibhor and Melle discloses …The system of claim 1…
While suggested in at least Fig. 1A and related text, Vibhor does not explicitly disclose …wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: obtain user availability information associated with the user; and wherein the one or more processors, to compute the plurality of operation metrics, are configured to: compute the plurality of operation metrics further based on the user availability information.
However, Melle discloses …wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: obtain user availability information associated with the user (Melle, ¶ 31, As further shown, the updated graphical user interface for the worker may identify remaining assigned operations for the worker to perform. For example, a particular worker may be available (e.g., qualified, suitable, located appropriately) to be assigned to perform operations 2, 3, and 4. (discloses user availability information) In this case, as the performance information indicated that operation 2 and not operation 3 is to be performed, the graphical user interface may provide an indication to the particular worker that operations 2 and 4 are to be performed by the particular worker, as shown.), (Id., ¶ 74, Operations platform 215 may update the model based on results of performing the set of operations. For example, based on a machine learning algorithm, operations platform 215 may use performance information corresponding to the set of operations to update the model. By iteratively updating the model based on performance information for a set of workers, operations platform 215 improves performance of the model and, thus, improves efficiency of the set of workers and of performance of the set of operations);
and wherein the one or more processors, to compute the plurality of operation metrics, are configured to: compute the plurality of operation metrics further based on the user availability information (Id., ¶ 72, In some implementations, the program may include or be associated with assignment information that identifies particular workers that are to perform one or more of the operations. In some implementations, each operation of the program may be assigned to the same worker. In some implementations, different operations of a program may be assigned to be performed by two or more different workers. For example, operations platform 215 may assign operations based on expertise levels of workers (e.g., when a worker meets a requirement associated with an operation), an availability of the workers, a random selection, a skill required to perform the particular operations, a level of experience of the one or more workers, geographic proximity of the one or more workers to the location associated with the client, one or more past operations performed by the one or more workers with regard to the client, or any other criterion. Additionally, or alternatively, operations may be assigned based on worker selections. For example, a worker may select which operations to perform via the user interface generated by operations platform 215.), (Id., ¶ 74, Operations platform 215 may update the model based on results of performing the set of operations. (discloses computing operation metrics) For example, based on a machine learning algorithm, operations platform 215 may use performance information corresponding to the set of operations to update the model. By iteratively updating the model based on performance information for a set of workers, operations platform 215 improves performance of the model and, thus, improves efficiency of the set of workers and of performance of the set of operations).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the operation identification elements of Vibhor to include the user availability elements of Melle in the analogous art of cloud-based operations administration platforms for the same reasons as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Vibhor and Melle discloses …The system of claim 1…
Vibhor further discloses …wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, via the user interface, an indication that a second single operation is to be identified (Id., column 2, lines 33-47, Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to a system, method, and computer-readable storage medium for a storage management system. Specifically, embodiments described herein include systems and methods for generating and implementing an automated workflow for a networked storage system. For instance, a graphical user interface (e.g., a drag and drop interface) is provided allowing a user to intuitively design the desired workflow. The system can then generate and execute the automated workflow based on the user's input. (discloses user input on an interface) Further embodiments provide intelligent allocation of workflow task execution. For instance, the system can distribute automation tasks to members of a workflow engine pool in order to balance resource usage, reduce automation time, or provide other advantages),
identify, based on the plurality of operation metrics, a second single operation of the plurality of operations operations (Id., column 42, lines 37-62, At block 508, the storage manager 140 allocates the initial workflow activity based on the allocation scheme (discloses identifying operations to be allocated to resources based on operation metrics). The allocation scheme can be similar in many respects to the deployment scheme described above, and can be used to determine which of the workflow engines 161 is to perform the initial workflow activity. Similar to the deployment scheme, the allocation scheme can be based on different factors, such as activity levels, workflow engine resources, physical proximity, communication pathway speeds, failure rates, schedule maintenance or down time, software versions, costs of operation, etc. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme takes into account a probabilistic determination that the initial workflow activity will be completed within a predetermined time frame. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme allows the storage manager 140 to divide the initial workflow activity between workflow engines. In this way, the initial workflow activity can be completed more quickly. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme directs the selection storage manager 140 to select one or more workflow engines 161 from among the workflow engines 161 to which the workflow suite has been deployed. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 selects a different workflow engine to which the workflow suite has not already been deployed), (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. (discloses identifying a single operation of the operations) Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired);
and provide information associated with the identified second single operation for display via an updated user interface, wherein information associated with other operations from the plurality of operations is absent from the updated user interface (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., Fig. 3B, Figure depicts information associated with an identified single operation of workflow).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Vibhor and Melle discloses …The system of claim 1…
Vibhor further discloses …wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: obtain updated operation data associated with the plurality of operations assigned to the user (Id., column 31, lines 50-57, The media agent 144A can also update its index 153 to include data and/or metadata related to the backup copy 116A, (discloses updated operation data) such as information indicating where the backup copy 116A resides on the disk library 108A, data and metadata for cache retrieval, etc. After the 30 day retention period expires, the storage manager 140 instructs the media agent 144A to delete the backup copy 116A from the disk library 108A), (Id., column 41, lines 13-40, In some embodiments, the activity level can be based on a utilization rate of a workflow engine 161. The utilization rate can be based on the amount, size and/or speed of the resources available to the workflow engine (e.g., processing speed, number of processors or processor cores, memory size and speed, communication rates, etc.) (discloses obtaining operation data associated with a plurality of operations (i.e. a workflow)) compared with how close to capacity the resources are operated. For example, a processor of a workflow engine may be relatively slow, but on average only be operating at 30% of its capacity, and therefore may have a low utilization rate and low activity level. In contrast, a relatively fast processor with multiple cores may operate at 95% capacity on average and therefore have a high utilization rate or high activity level. Additional metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine.
(267) In some embodiments, the deployment scheme can be based on resources (speed, size, memory, processor) of the workflow engines. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 may access a stored table or index including a listing of the workflow engines 161 and associated parameters (e.g., associated computing resources). As mentioned above, the resources can relate to the processing speed, number or processors or cores, memory size and speed, and/or communication rates of a particular workflow engine. For example, the deployment scheme may have minimum resource requirements, such as minimum processing speed, memory size, etc. Other deployment schemes may prefer older, smaller, or slower resources), (Id., column 26, lines 1-33, Such information can be provided to users via the user interface 158 in a single, integrated view. For instance, the integrated user interface 158 can include an option to show a “virtual view” of the system that graphically depicts the various components in the system using appropriate icons. The operations management functionality can facilitate planning and decision-making. For example, in some embodiments, a user may view the status of some or all jobs as well as the status of each component of the information management system 100. Users may then plan and make decisions based on this data. For instance, a user may view high-level information regarding storage operations for the information management system 100, such as job status, component status, resource status (e.g., network pathways, etc.), and other information. The user may also drill down or use other means to obtain more detailed information regarding a particular component, job, or the like.
(188) In some cases the information management system 100 alerts a user such as a system administrator when a particular resource is unavailable or congested. (discloses operations assigned to an admin user) For example, a particular primary storage device 104 or secondary storage device 108 might be full or require additional capacity. Or a component may be unavailable due to hardware failure, software problems, or other reasons. In response, the information management system 100 may suggest solutions to such problems when they occur (or provide a warning prior to occurrence). For example, the storage manager 140 may alert the user that a secondary storage device 108 is full or otherwise congested. The storage manager 140 may then suggest, based on job and data storage information contained in its database 146, an alternate secondary storage device 108);
compute a plurality of updated operation metrics based on the updated operation data (Id., column 7, lines 12-35, Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term), to/from information for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object), frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), and aging information (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors, partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists [ACLs]), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations of the same or the like), (Id., column 25, lines 61-67, Operations management can generally include monitoring and managing the health and performance of information management system 100 by, without limitation, performing error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (discloses operations metrics) (e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the like);
identify an updated single operation based on the plurality of updated operation metrics (Id., column 42, lines 37-62, At block 508, the storage manager 140 allocates the initial workflow activity based on the allocation scheme (discloses identifying operations to be allocated to resources based on operation metrics). The allocation scheme can be similar in many respects to the deployment scheme described above, and can be used to determine which of the workflow engines 161 is to perform the initial workflow activity. Similar to the deployment scheme, the allocation scheme can be based on different factors, such as activity levels, workflow engine resources, physical proximity, communication pathway speeds, failure rates, schedule maintenance or down time, software versions, costs of operation, etc. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme takes into account a probabilistic determination that the initial workflow activity will be completed within a predetermined time frame. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme allows the storage manager 140 to divide the initial workflow activity between workflow engines. In this way, the initial workflow activity can be completed more quickly. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme directs the selection storage manager 140 to select one or more workflow engines 161 from among the workflow engines 161 to which the workflow suite has been deployed. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 selects a different workflow engine to which the workflow suite has not already been deployed), (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. (discloses identifying a single operation of the operations) Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired);
and provide information associated with the identified updated single operation for display via an updated user interface, wherein information associated with other operations from the plurality of operations is absent from the updated user interface (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., Fig. 3B, Figure depicts information associated with an identified single operation of workflow).
Regarding Claim 8, Vibhor discloses …A method for single operation identification, comprising: obtaining, by a system, operation data associated with a plurality of operations assigned to a user (Vibhor, column 5, line 61 - column 6, line 3, The applications 110 generally facilitate the operations of an organization (or multiple affiliated organizations), and can include, without limitation, mail server applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server), file server applications, mail client applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Client), database applications (e.g., SQL, Oracle, SAP, Lotus Notes Database), word processing applications (e.g., Microsoft Word), spreadsheet applications, financial applications, presentation applications, browser applications, mobile applications, entertainment applications, and so on), (Id., column 6, lines 53-57, The primary storage devices 104 storing the primary data 112 may be relatively fast and/or expensive (e.g., a disk drive, a hard-disk array, solid state memory, etc.). In addition, primary data 112 may be intended for relatively short term retention (e.g., several hours, days, or weeks)),(Id., column 41, lines 13-40, In some embodiments, the activity level can be based on a utilization rate of a workflow engine 161. The utilization rate can be based on the amount, size and/or speed of the resources available to the workflow engine (e.g., processing speed, number of processors or processor cores, memory size and speed, communication rates, etc.) (discloses obtaining operation data associated with a plurality of operations (i.e. a workflow)) compared with how close to capacity the resources are operated. For example, a processor of a workflow engine may be relatively slow, but on average only be operating at 30% of its capacity, and therefore may have a low utilization rate and low activity level. In contrast, a relatively fast processor with multiple cores may operate at 95% capacity on average and therefore have a high utilization rate or high activity level. Additional metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine.
(267) In some embodiments, the deployment scheme can be based on resources (speed, size, memory, processor) of the workflow engines. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 may access a stored table or index including a listing of the workflow engines 161 and associated parameters (e.g., associated computing resources). As mentioned above, the resources can relate to the processing speed, number or processors or cores, memory size and speed, and/or communication rates of a particular workflow engine. For example, the deployment scheme may have minimum resource requirements, such as minimum processing speed, memory size, etc. Other deployment schemes may prefer older, smaller, or slower resources), (Id., column 26, lines 1-33, Such information can be provided to users via the user interface 158 in a single, integrated view. For instance, the integrated user interface 158 can include an option to show a “virtual view” of the system that graphically depicts the various components in the system using appropriate icons. The operations management functionality can facilitate planning and decision-making. For example, in some embodiments, a user may view the status of some or all jobs as well as the status of each component of the information management system 100. Users may then plan and make decisions based on this data. For instance, a user may view high-level information regarding storage operations for the information management system 100, such as job status, component status, resource status (e.g., network pathways, etc.), and other information. The user may also drill down or use other means to obtain more detailed information regarding a particular component, job, or the like.
(188) In some cases the information management system 100 alerts a user such as a system administrator when a particular resource is unavailable or congested. (discloses operations assigned to an admin user) For example, a particular primary storage device 104 or secondary storage device 108 might be full or require additional capacity. Or a component may be unavailable due to hardware failure, software problems, or other reasons. In response, the information management system 100 may suggest solutions to such problems when they occur (or provide a warning prior to occurrence). For example, the storage manager 140 may alert the user that a secondary storage device 108 is full or otherwise congested. The storage manager 140 may then suggest, based on job and data storage information contained in its database 146, an alternate secondary storage device 108);
computing, by the system, a plurality of operation metrics using… the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics corresponding to a respective operation in the plurality of operations (Id., column 7, lines 12-35, Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term), to/from information for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object), frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), and aging information (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors, partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists [ACLs]), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations of the same or the like), (Id., column 25, lines 61-67, Operations management can generally include monitoring and managing the health and performance of information management system 100 by, without limitation, performing error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (discloses operations metrics) (e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the like), (Id., column 39, lines 12-31, At block 410, the storage manager generates a workflow suite based on the group, order and/or relationship between the subset of display objects, and the workflow activities associated with the subset of the display objects. The workflow suite can include the parameters, properties, and other information regarding the individual workflow activities and the workflow as a whole. For example, the workflow suite can include the order in which workflow activities occur within the workflow, the relationship between different workflow activities, dependencies associated with the workflow activities, the inputs and outputs of the different workflow activities, etc. (discloses workflow dependency information) In some embodiments the storage manager can review the display objects to ensure the order, relationship, and/or group are consistent and/or would not cause an error. For example, the storage manager 140 can review the input and output properties of each workflow activity and check that the outputs of earlier workflow activities match the inputs of subsequent workflow activities);
identifying, by the system and based on the plurality of operation metrics, a single operation of the plurality of operations, that is indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information (Id., column 42, lines 37-62, At block 508, the storage manager 140 allocates the initial workflow activity based on the allocation scheme (discloses identifying operations to be allocated to resources based on operation metrics). The allocation scheme can be similar in many respects to the deployment scheme described above, and can be used to determine which of the workflow engines 161 is to perform the initial workflow activity. Similar to the deployment scheme, the allocation scheme can be based on different factors, such as activity levels, workflow engine resources, physical proximity, communication pathway speeds, failure rates, schedule maintenance or down time, software versions, costs of operation, etc. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme takes into account a probabilistic determination that the initial workflow activity will be completed within a predetermined time frame. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme allows the storage manager 140 to divide the initial workflow activity between workflow engines. In this way, the initial workflow activity can be completed more quickly. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme directs the selection storage manager 140 to select one or more workflow engines 161 from among the workflow engines 161 to which the workflow suite has been deployed. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 selects a different workflow engine to which the workflow suite has not already been deployed), (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. (discloses identifying a single operation of the operations) Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., column 39, lines 12-31, At block 410, the storage manager generates a workflow suite based on the group, order and/or relationship between the subset of display objects, and the workflow activities associated with the subset of the display objects. The workflow suite can include the parameters, properties, and other information regarding the individual workflow activities and the workflow as a whole. For example, the workflow suite can include the order in which workflow activities occur within the workflow, the relationship between different workflow activities, dependencies associated with the workflow activities, the inputs and outputs of the different workflow activities, etc. (discloses workflow dependency information) In some embodiments the storage manager can review the display objects to ensure the order, relationship, and/or group are consistent and/or would not cause an error. For example, the storage manager 140 can review the input and output properties of each workflow activity and check that the outputs of earlier workflow activities match the inputs of subsequent workflow activities);
and causing, by the system, a user interface to be displayed, wherein the user interface includes an indication of the single operation, wherein the user interface does not include an indication associated with any other operation from the plurality of operations (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., Fig. 3B, Figure depicts information associated with an identified single operation of workflow).
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Regarding Claims 9-14, these claims recite limitations substantially similar to those in claims 2-7, respectfully, and are rejected for the same reasons as stated above.
Regarding Claim 15, Vibhor discloses …A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions, the set of instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a system, cause the system to: obtain operation data associated with a plurality of operations assigned to a user (Vibhor, column 5, line 61 - column 6, line 3, The applications 110 generally facilitate the operations of an organization (or multiple affiliated organizations), and can include, without limitation, mail server applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server), file server applications, mail client applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Client), database applications (e.g., SQL, Oracle, SAP, Lotus Notes Database), word processing applications (e.g., Microsoft Word), spreadsheet applications, financial applications, presentation applications, browser applications, mobile applications, entertainment applications, and so on), (Id., Claim 16, A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to: cause a display to display a plurality of data storage display object…), (Id., column 6, lines 53-57, The primary storage devices 104 storing the primary data 112 may be relatively fast and/or expensive (e.g., a disk drive, a hard-disk array, solid state memory, etc.). In addition, primary data 112 may be intended for relatively short term retention (e.g., several hours, days, or weeks)),(Id., column 41, lines 13-40, In some embodiments, the activity level can be based on a utilization rate of a workflow engine 161. The utilization rate can be based on the amount, size and/or speed of the resources available to the workflow engine (e.g., processing speed, number of processors or processor cores, memory size and speed, communication rates, etc.) (discloses obtaining operation data associated with a plurality of operations (i.e. a workflow)) compared with how close to capacity the resources are operated. For example, a processor of a workflow engine may be relatively slow, but on average only be operating at 30% of its capacity, and therefore may have a low utilization rate and low activity level. In contrast, a relatively fast processor with multiple cores may operate at 95% capacity on average and therefore have a high utilization rate or high activity level. Additional metrics, or combinations thereof, can be used to determine the activity level of a workflow engine.
(267) In some embodiments, the deployment scheme can be based on resources (speed, size, memory, processor) of the workflow engines. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 may access a stored table or index including a listing of the workflow engines 161 and associated parameters (e.g., associated computing resources). As mentioned above, the resources can relate to the processing speed, number or processors or cores, memory size and speed, and/or communication rates of a particular workflow engine. For example, the deployment scheme may have minimum resource requirements, such as minimum processing speed, memory size, etc. Other deployment schemes may prefer older, smaller, or slower resources), (Id., column 26, lines 1-33, Such information can be provided to users via the user interface 158 in a single, integrated view. For instance, the integrated user interface 158 can include an option to show a “virtual view” of the system that graphically depicts the various components in the system using appropriate icons. The operations management functionality can facilitate planning and decision-making. For example, in some embodiments, a user may view the status of some or all jobs as well as the status of each component of the information management system 100. Users may then plan and make decisions based on this data. For instance, a user may view high-level information regarding storage operations for the information management system 100, such as job status, component status, resource status (e.g., network pathways, etc.), and other information. The user may also drill down or use other means to obtain more detailed information regarding a particular component, job, or the like.
(188) In some cases the information management system 100 alerts a user such as a system administrator when a particular resource is unavailable or congested. (discloses operations assigned to an admin user) For example, a particular primary storage device 104 or secondary storage device 108 might be full or require additional capacity. Or a component may be unavailable due to hardware failure, software problems, or other reasons. In response, the information management system 100 may suggest solutions to such problems when they occur (or provide a warning prior to occurrence). For example, the storage manager 140 may alert the user that a secondary storage device 108 is full or otherwise congested. The storage manager 140 may then suggest, based on job and data storage information contained in its database 146, an alternate secondary storage device 108);
compute, a plurality of operation metrics using… the operation data and dependency information associated with relationships between the plurality of operations, each operation metric in the plurality of operation metrics being associated with a respective operation in the plurality of operations (Id., column 7, lines 12-35, Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following: the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), the last modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification of the data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data object size (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content (e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term), to/from information for email (e.g., an email sender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format or application type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type of application that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., a current, past or future location of the data object and network pathways to/from the data object), frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object is modified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates, manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), and aging information (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the data object is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors, partition layouts, file location within a file folder directory structure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists [ACLs]), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations of the same or the like), (Id., column 25, lines 61-67, Operations management can generally include monitoring and managing the health and performance of information management system 100 by, without limitation, performing error tracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (discloses operations metrics) (e.g., job success/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generating storage modeling and costing information, and the like), (Id., column 39, lines 12-31, At block 410, the storage manager generates a workflow suite based on the group, order and/or relationship between the subset of display objects, and the workflow activities associated with the subset of the display objects. The workflow suite can include the parameters, properties, and other information regarding the individual workflow activities and the workflow as a whole. For example, the workflow suite can include the order in which workflow activities occur within the workflow, the relationship between different workflow activities, dependencies associated with the workflow activities, the inputs and outputs of the different workflow activities, etc. (discloses workflow dependency information) In some embodiments the storage manager can review the display objects to ensure the order, relationship, and/or group are consistent and/or would not cause an error. For example, the storage manager 140 can review the input and output properties of each workflow activity and check that the outputs of earlier workflow activities match the inputs of subsequent workflow activities);
identify, based on the plurality of operation metrics, a single operation of the plurality of operations that is indicative of completion relative to one or more other operations of the plurality of operations based on the dependency information (Id., column 42, lines 37-62, At block 508, the storage manager 140 allocates the initial workflow activity based on the allocation scheme (discloses identifying operations to be allocated to resources based on operation metrics). The allocation scheme can be similar in many respects to the deployment scheme described above, and can be used to determine which of the workflow engines 161 is to perform the initial workflow activity. Similar to the deployment scheme, the allocation scheme can be based on different factors, such as activity levels, workflow engine resources, physical proximity, communication pathway speeds, failure rates, schedule maintenance or down time, software versions, costs of operation, etc. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme takes into account a probabilistic determination that the initial workflow activity will be completed within a predetermined time frame. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme allows the storage manager 140 to divide the initial workflow activity between workflow engines. In this way, the initial workflow activity can be completed more quickly. In some embodiments, the allocation scheme directs the selection storage manager 140 to select one or more workflow engines 161 from among the workflow engines 161 to which the workflow suite has been deployed. In certain embodiments, the storage manager 140 selects a different workflow engine to which the workflow suite has not already been deployed), (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. (discloses identifying a single operation of the operations) Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., column 39, lines 12-31, At block 410, the storage manager generates a workflow suite based on the group, order and/or relationship between the subset of display objects, and the workflow activities associated with the subset of the display objects. The workflow suite can include the parameters, properties, and other information regarding the individual workflow activities and the workflow as a whole. For example, the workflow suite can include the order in which workflow activities occur within the workflow, the relationship between different workflow activities, dependencies associated with the workflow activities, the inputs and outputs of the different workflow activities, etc. (discloses workflow dependency information) In some embodiments the storage manager can review the display objects to ensure the order, relationship, and/or group are consistent and/or would not cause an error. For example, the storage manager 140 can review the input and output properties of each workflow activity and check that the outputs of earlier workflow activities match the inputs of subsequent workflow activities);
and provide a user interface for display, wherein the user interface includes information associated with the identified single operation and does not include information associated with any other operations from the plurality of operations (Id., column 37, line 57 – column 38, line 15, FIG. 3B depicts the user interface 300 and a display window 350 displaying the properties of a workflow activity. In the illustrated embodiment, the display window 350 enables a user to view the properties of the backup workflow activity 314. Various tabs 352 of the display window 350 relate to various properties of the backup workflow activity 314.
(249) In the illustrated embodiment, the inputs tab 354 is displayed along with various inputs 356 of the backup workflow activity 314. The various inputs 356 are used by the backup workflow activity 314 to determine parameters of the backup or other secondary copy operation. For example, the inputs can be used to determine the type of backup, such as a snapshot or full backup. The input parameters can also determine which client, clients, or portions thereof are to be backed up. Additionally, the inputs can include which data agents will be used during the backup and any subclients within the clients that will be backed up. Other input parameters can be used, such as the frequency of the backup, a termination time of the backup or a time by when the backup needs to be completed, certain criteria to determine which workflow engine 161 should be used to handle the backup, etc. In some embodiments, a user is able to edit the properties of the backup workflow activity 314, such as the inputs, as desired), (Id., Fig. 3B, Figure depicts information associated with an identified single operation of workflow).
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Greyscale
Regarding Claims 16-20, these claims recite limitations substantially similar to those in claims 2-6, respectfully, and are rejected for the same reasons as stated above.
Conclusion
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Maluf et al., U.S. Patent No. 8,224,472 discloses an enhanced project management tool.
Rivard et al., U.S. Patent No. 10,057,712 discloses a mobile device with applications that use a common place card to display data relating to a location.
Firment et al., U.S. Patent No. 10,637,742 discloses cloud migration and maintenance controls.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS D BOLEN whose telephone number is (408)918-7631. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST.
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/NICHOLAS D BOLEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3624 /PATRICIA H MUNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3624
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