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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 (similarly claims 8 and 15) recite: “one or more service devices providing the services”. The examiner is unclear if same services (“the services”) are provided on each of one or more service devices or different services are provided on each corresponding one or more service devices.
Claims 2-7, 9-14 and 16-20 are rejected based on rejection of its corresponding dependent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by
Grida Ben Yahya et al. (Pub 20250088430) (hereafter Grida).
As per claim 1, Grida teaches:
A method for managing services, the method comprising:
obtaining a service management request;
parsing the service management request to obtain intent data; ([Paragraph 46], An API refers to an interface 206 and/or communication protocol between a client device 215 and a server, such that if the client makes a request in a predefined format, the client should receive a response in a specific format or cause a defined action to be initiated. In the cloud provider network context, APIs provide a gateway for customers to access cloud infrastructure by allowing customers to obtain data from or cause actions within the cloud provider network 203, enabling the development of applications that interact with resources and services hosted in the cloud provider network 203. APIs can also enable different services of the cloud provider network 203 to exchange data with one another. Users can choose to deploy their virtual computing systems to provide network-based services for their own use and/or for use by their customers or clients. [Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks.)
using the intent data to obtain one or more policy and rules templates from a policy and rules repository; ([Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks. [Paragraph 91], Non-limiting examples of network functions 422 may include an access and mobility management function, a session management function, a user plane function, a policy control function, an authentication server function, a unified data management function, an application function, a network exposure function, a network function repository, a network slice selection function, and/or others. [Paragraph 13], These service templates requiring defining “nodes” which refers to the fundamental building blocks or components that represent various entities in the network application. These nodes are used to describe the elements of the application's topology, including software components, services, and infrastructure resources, as well as the structure and relationships of the components in the application, along with their properties and requirements. A network orchestrator program or service can interpret these templates and carry out the deployment and management of the specified nodes and their interconnections as defined in the templates.)
generating service management instructions using the one or more policy and rules templates and the intent data, the service management instructions comprising a set of user intended network policy and rules; and
providing the service management instructions to one or more service devices providing the services to cause the one or more service devices to apply the set of user intended network policy and rules to one or more existing or new instances of the services. ([Paragraph 17], Accordingly, as it will be appreciated, generating network service templates to correctly deploy and manage telecommunications networks can be challenging, especially for complex network services. A deep understanding of TOSCA concepts—including node types, relationship types, properties, and capabilities—is required for modeling the application correctly. TOSCA templates not only define initial deployments but also need to consider the entire service lifecycle, including scaling, healing, updates, and decommissioning. This adds complexity to template creation. Further, security is a critical aspect of cloud and network applications. Incorporating security best practices and policies into TOSCA templates can be challenging and requires a thorough understanding of security principles. [Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks. [Paragraph 91], Non-limiting examples of network functions 422 may include an access and mobility management function, a session management function, a user plane function, a policy control function, an authentication server function, a unified data management function, an application function, a network exposure function, a network function repository, a network slice selection function, and/or others. [Paragraph 13], These service templates requiring defining “nodes” which refers to the fundamental building blocks or components that represent various entities in the network application. These nodes are used to describe the elements of the application's topology, including software components, services, and infrastructure resources, as well as the structure and relationships of the components in the application, along with their properties and requirements. A network orchestrator program or service can interpret these templates and carry out the deployment and management of the specified nodes and their interconnections as defined in the templates. [Paragraph 73], The network service/function catalog 268 is also referred to as the NF Repository Function (NRF). In a Service Based Architecture (SBA) 5G network, the control plane functionality and common data repositories can be delivered by way of a set of interconnected network functions built using a microservices architecture. The NRF can maintain a record of available NF instantiations and their supported services, allowing other NF instantiations to subscribe and be notified of registrations from NF instantiations of a given type. The NRF thus can support service discovery by receipt of discovery requests from NF instantiations, and details which NF instantiations support specific services. The network function orchestrator 270 can perform NF lifecycle management including instantiation, scale-out/in, performance measurements, event correlation, and termination. The network function orchestrator 270 can also onboard new NFs, manage migration to new or updated versions of existing NFs, identify NF sets that are suitable for a particular network slice or larger network, and orchestrate NFs across different computing devices and sites that make up the radio-based network 103 (FIG. 1).)
As per claim 2, rejection of claim 1 is incorporated:
Grida teaches wherein the intent data is associated with at least one of a service visibility configuration, a service accessibility configuration, or a service control configuration of the services. ([Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks.)
As per claim 3, rejection of claim 2 is incorporated:
Grida teaches wherein parsing the service management request to obtain intent data comprises:
parsing a natural language statement or information associated with a human action or selection included in the service management request, the natural language statement or the information associated with the human action or selection comprising at least one of a service visibility intent, a service accessibility intent, or a service control intent that affects the service visibility configuration, the service accessibility configuration, or the service control configuration, respectively, of the services. ([Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks.)
As per claim 4, rejection of claim 3 is incorporated:
Grida teaches wherein each of the one or more policy and rules templates comprises at least one of a first symbolic name or a second symbolic name. ([Paragraph 12], Virtualized network functions (VNFs) can also be easier to deploy and manage. For example, network providers can use Network Service Descriptors (NSDs) to define and plan network services, and leverage templates such as TOSCA (Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications) templates to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of network functions specified in NSDs. [Paragraph 13], These service templates requiring defining “nodes” which refers to the fundamental building blocks or components that represent various entities in the network application. These nodes are used to describe the elements of the application's topology, including software components, services, and infrastructure resources, as well as the structure and relationships of the components in the application, along with their properties and requirements. A network orchestrator program or service can interpret these templates and carry out the deployment and management of the specified nodes and their interconnections as defined in the templates. [Paragraph 106], In some embodiments, the NFTO templates 462 may use a grammar that is specific to, or contains enhancements directed to, a particular infrastructure environment. To illustrate, a version of TOSCA that is customized for elements of a particular cloud provider network 203 may be used. For example, a cloud provider network 203 may have proprietary infrastructures, services, types of resources, APIs, and so on. A version of TOSCA with modifications to describe these provider-specific elements may be employed in the NFTO templates 463.)
As per claim 5, rejection of claim 4 is incorporated:
Grida teaches wherein the first symbolic name is resolved by a service development tool at a service development time and the second symbolic name is resolved by a continuous delivery/continuous deployment (CD) pipeline at a service deployment time. ([Paragraph 12], Virtualized network functions (VNFs) can also be easier to deploy and manage. For example, network providers can use Network Service Descriptors (NSDs) to define and plan network services, and leverage templates such as TOSCA (Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications) templates to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of network functions specified in NSDs. [Paragraph 13], These service templates requiring defining “nodes” which refers to the fundamental building blocks or components that represent various entities in the network application. These nodes are used to describe the elements of the application's topology, including software components, services, and infrastructure resources, as well as the structure and relationships of the components in the application, along with their properties and requirements. A network orchestrator program or service can interpret these templates and carry out the deployment and management of the specified nodes and their interconnections as defined in the templates. [Paragraph 129], The chat user interface 533 is where the customer would provide their inputs to the AI assistant service 427 and receive its outputs. Examples of outputs may include, for example, conversational text, configuration files such as NFTO templates 463, or other code-containing files that can be opened in the customer's development environment of choice. As non-limiting examples, a user may express their requests with intents like: “deploy a network function in high availability mode,” “consider data plane development kit features in the deployment,” “consider efficient latency,” or throughput nominal ranges to take into account during the deployments. With respect to observability, a customer may, for example, query sanity checks of the security rules, ask to list the API calls or sequences and drill down on some of them, ask for an analysis of the API call outputs, and so on. In some cases, a customer can use recursive prompts to append to NFTO templates 463 and build out portions of the radio-based network 103 iteratively. [Paragraph 12], Virtualized network functions (VNFs) can also be easier to deploy and manage. For example, network providers can use Network Service Descriptors (NSDs) to define and plan network services, and leverage templates such as TOSCA (Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications) templates to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of network functions specified in NSDs. [Paragraph 17], Accordingly, as it will be appreciated, generating network service templates to correctly deploy and manage telecommunications networks can be challenging, especially for complex network services. A deep understanding of TOSCA concepts—including node types, relationship types, properties, and capabilities—is required for modeling the application correctly. TOSCA templates not only define initial deployments but also need to consider the entire service lifecycle, including scaling, healing, updates, and decommissioning. [Paragraph 106], In some embodiments, the NFTO templates 462 may use a grammar that is specific to, or contains enhancements directed to, a particular infrastructure environment. To illustrate, a version of TOSCA that is customized for elements of a particular cloud provider network 203 may be used. For example, a cloud provider network 203 may have proprietary infrastructures, services, types of resources, APIs, and so on. A version of TOSCA with modifications to describe these provider-specific elements may be employed in the NFTO templates 463.)
As per claim 6, rejection of claim 5 is incorporated:
Grida teaches wherein the set of user intended network policy and rules constructed from the one or more policy and rules templates are associated with at least one of public application programming interfaces (APIs), external APIs, internal APIs, or private APIs. ([Paragraph 46], An API refers to an interface 206 and/or communication protocol between a client device 215 and a server, such that if the client makes a request in a predefined format, the client should receive a response in a specific format or cause a defined action to be initiated. In the cloud provider network context, APIs provide a gateway for customers to access cloud infrastructure by allowing customers to obtain data from or cause actions within the cloud provider network 203, enabling the development of applications that interact with resources and services hosted in the cloud provider network 203. APIs can also enable different services of the cloud provider network 203 to exchange data with one another. Users can choose to deploy their virtual computing systems to provide network-based services for their own use and/or for use by their customers or clients. [Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks. [Paragraph 73], The network service/function catalog 268 is also referred to as the NF Repository Function (NRF). In a Service Based Architecture (SBA) 5G network, the control plane functionality and common data repositories can be delivered by way of a set of interconnected network functions built using a microservices architecture. The NRF can maintain a record of available NF instantiations and their supported services, allowing other NF instantiations to subscribe and be notified of registrations from NF instantiations of a given type. The NRF thus can support service discovery by receipt of discovery requests from NF instantiations, and details which NF instantiations support specific services. The network function orchestrator 270 can perform NF lifecycle management including instantiation, scale-out/in, performance measurements, event correlation, and termination. The network function orchestrator 270 can also onboard new NFs, manage migration to new or updated versions of existing NFs, identify NF sets that are suitable for a particular network slice or larger network, and orchestrate NFs across different computing devices and sites that make up the radio-based network 103 (FIG. 1).)
As per claim 7, rejection of claim 6 is incorporated:
Grida teaches wherein the service management request is obtained from a client device requesting the services provided by the one or more service devices, the one or more existing or new instances of the services applied with the set of user intended network policy and rules are provided to the client device, and the client device does not have access to any policy and rules included in the one or more policy and rules templates stored in the policy and rules repository for guiding a user of the client device during a generation of the service management request. ([Paragraph 46], As indicated above, users can connect to virtualized computing devices and other cloud provider network 203 resources and services, and configure and manage telecommunications networks such as 5G networks, using various interfaces 206 (e.g., APIs) via intermediate network(s) 212. An API refers to an interface 206 and/or communication protocol between a client device 215 and a server, such that if the client makes a request in a predefined format, the client should receive a response in a specific format or cause a defined action to be initiated. In the cloud provider network context, APIs provide a gateway for customers to access cloud infrastructure by allowing customers to obtain data from or cause actions within the cloud provider network 203, enabling the development of applications that interact with resources and services hosted in the cloud provider network 203. APIs can also enable different services of the cloud provider network 203 to exchange data with one another. Users can choose to deploy their virtual computing systems to provide network-based services for their own use and/or for use by their customers or clients. [Paragraph 18], Beneficially, the embodiments of the present disclosure address these challenges, among others, by enabling users to express their intent about the type and quality of network that they want to provide, and in return generating a network service template for a network that matches that intent, as well as by enabling users to make natural language queries about the state of their network and returning accurate information about network performance together with any recommended improvements. For example, a user may express respective intents to deploy a network function with high availability, with low latency, and/or with throughput in a nominal range. As will be described, the corresponding generated network configuration can be customized to support the intent (e.g., with infrastructure deployed across two or more infrastructure sites in order to provide high availability, or with infrastructure deployed at an edge location to provide low latency). Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce the use of an intent-based virtual assistant, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), to automate and simplify the configuration and management of radio-based networks. [Paragraph 73], The network service/function catalog 268 is also referred to as the NF Repository Function (NRF). In a Service Based Architecture (SBA) 5G network, the control plane functionality and common data repositories can be delivered by way of a set of interconnected network functions built using a microservices architecture. The NRF can maintain a record of available NF instantiations and their supported services, allowing other NF instantiations to subscribe and be notified of registrations from NF instantiations of a given type. The NRF thus can support service discovery by receipt of discovery requests from NF instantiations, and details which NF instantiations support specific services. The network function orchestrator 270 can perform NF lifecycle management including instantiation, scale-out/in, performance measurements, event correlation, and termination. The network function orchestrator 270 can also onboard new NFs, manage migration to new or updated versions of existing NFs, identify NF sets that are suitable for a particular network slice or larger network, and orchestrate NFs across different computing devices and sites that make up the radio-based network 103 (FIG. 1). [Paragraph 96], The AI assistant service 427 may be executed to assist in intent-driven deployment, configuration, and management of radio-based networks 103. In various embodiments, the AI assistant service 427 may, in response to a natural language prompt, generate templates and/or other configuration data for deploying network functions 422 and resources in the cloud provider network 203 that would implement the network functions 422. In various embodiments, the AI assistant service 427 may, in response to a natural language prompt, provide observational information about the radio-based network 103 such as status, health, bottlenecks, security issues, and so forth. )
As per claims 8-14, these are non-transitory machine-readable medium claims corresponding to the method claims 1-7. Therefore, rejected based on similar rationale.
As per claims 15-20, these are data processing system claims corresponding to the method claims 1-6. Therefore, rejected based on similar rationale.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mico et al. (Pub 20240428260) discloses artificial intelligence contextual customer service automation wherein AI-based chatbot is leveraged for policy building, user intent analysis, policy rules and pre-built templates.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONG U KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-1313. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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/DONG U KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2197
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