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 .
Detailed Action
Claims 1-20 are pending in this Office Action.
Claims 1, 5-6, 9-11, 15-16, 19-20 are amended.
No claims are cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed in the amendment filed 9/2/2025, have been fully considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection. The reasons set forth below.
Applicant’s invention as claimed:
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 11,178,009 by Mohanram et al.
1. (Currently Amended) A network configuration feature extraction method performed by a network configuration feature extraction apparatus including at least one processor and a memory, comprising:
obtaining a first configuration feature according to a preset rule set and based on a network element configuration file (Mohanram: col. 3, line 61 – col. 4, line 35; preset because its L_model policy) comprising configurations corresponding to one or more network functions, wherein the preset rule set comprises a first rule and a second rule (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 36- col. 5, line 40; “L_model represents configurations of devices as objects of a configuration tree as well as their relationship”); and
extracting a first configuration object and a second configuration object from the network element configuration file using the first rule (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 10-35; SDN provisioning and types of group config),
wherein the second rule comprises a connection relationship between the first configuration object and the second configuration object, and the first configuration feature indicates parameter attributes and/or function attributes of the first configuration object and the second configuration object (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 10-35; the tree relationships and configurations; col. 5, lines 8-35; flat rules; Figure 5 illustrates parameters and attributes).
2. (Original) The method according to claim 1, wherein the connection relationship comprises a semantic connection relationship and/or a topology connection relationship (Mohanram: col. 9, lines 59- col. 10, line 33).
3. (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 2, wherein the semantic connection relationship comprises relationship, a parameter matching relationship, a companion relationship, a logical operation matching relationship, a family commonality relationship, a collaboration relationship, and/or an inclusion relationship (Mohanram: col. 9, lines 59- col. 10, line 33; col. 11, lines 25-40).
4. (Original) The method according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration feature comprises values of the parameter attributes and/or quantities of function attributes of the first configuration object and the second configuration object (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 10-35; the tree relationships and configurations; col. 5, lines 8-35; flat rules; Figure 5 illustrates parameters and attributes of objects).
5. (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
obtaining a second configuration feature according to the preset rule set and based on the network element configuration file, wherein the preset rule set further comprises a third rule and a fourth rule, a third configuration object is extract from the network element configuration file using the third rule, the fourth rule comprises a connection relationship between attributes of the third configuration object, and the second configuration feature indicates a parameter attribute and/or a function attribute the third configuration object (Mohanram: col. 16, lines 30- col. 17, line 36; Mohanram teaches additional models Li_Model and Ci_Model, Hi_model which provide additional configurations that import or define configurations and attributes of switch or specific models and individual levels and their relationships).
6. (Currently Amended) The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprising:
obtaining a plurality of configuration features according to the preset rule set and based on the network element configuration file (Mohanram: col. 3, lines 60- col. 4, lines 35; extract the configurations and build the L_model), wherein the plurality of configuration features comprises the first configuration feature (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 10-35; col. 5, lines 8-35; flat rules); and
obtaining a processing result based on the plurality of configuration features (Mohanram: col. 3, lines 60- col. 4, lines 35;).
7. (Original) The method according to claim 6, wherein the obtaining a processing result based on the plurality of configuration features comprises:
obtaining a first anomaly detection result based on an anomaly detection model and the plurality of configuration features (Mohanram: col. 5, lines 40-59; col. 21, lines 3-18).
8. (Original) The method according to claim 6, wherein the obtaining a processing result based on the plurality of configuration features comprises:
obtaining a classification result based on the plurality of configuration features, wherein the classification result comprises one or more feature types (Mohanram: col. 21, lines 52-67; col. 23, lines 8-22).
9. (Original) The method according to claim 8, wherein the obtaining a classification result based on the plurality of configuration features comprises:
classifying the plurality of configuration features based on one or more topology connection relationships comprised in the preset rule set, to obtain the one or more feature types, wherein the one or more topology connection relationships comprise a topology connection relationship of a network element involved in the network element configuration file in a network, and configuration features of a same connection relationship in the one or more topology connection relationships belong to a same feature type (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 10-35; the tree relationships and configurations; col. 5, lines 8-35; col. 22, lines 8-22).
10. (Original) The method according to claim 8, wherein the obtaining a classification result based on the plurality of configuration features comprises:
classifying the plurality of configuration features based on one or more semantic connection relationships comprised in the preset rule set, to obtain the one or more feature types, wherein configuration features of a same connection relationship in the one or more semantic connection relationships belong to a same feature type (Mohanram: col. 4, lines 10-35; the tree relationships and configurations; col. 5, lines 8-35; col. 22, lines 8-22).
Claims 11-20 are rejected as being substantially similar in scope to claims 1-10 above.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
U. S. Patent No. 6,930,985 by Rathi
U. S. Patent No. 11,627,040 by Rastogi et al.
U. S. Patent No. 7,870,238 by Pusateri et al.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN R BRUCKART whose telephone number is (571)272-3982. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH: 7-6p.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
BENJAMIN R. BRUCKART
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2424
/BENJAMIN R BRUCKART/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2424