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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 20 is 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 20 details the category information of the first host is different from category information of the second host. It is unclear of the meaning in regards to the functionality of the claim elements. It is understood that the category information as used in the original disclosure is associated with the application wherein depending on the type of application this could dictate whether one can be allocated memory or to what capacity (Note paragraph 0061-0063 of the specification). However, herein the category information is applied to the host devices which at best would imply that the host devices are of different types and managed in the same fashion using the switch to allocate memory devices to a respective host. The examiner has not been able to find any location of using category information of the host to directly result in allocation of memory of a certain type or capacity as performed in the language of the claims. Thus the clarity of the claim is deficient.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WANG et al. (Publication 2022/0222118) in view of YUAN et al. (Publication 2024/0385957).
As to claim 1, WANG teaches a system comprising: a plurality of memory devices including a first memory device and a second memory device that is different from the first memory device (remote memory server nodes); a host (client nodes) configured to communicate with the plurality of memory devices; and a switch (switch) connecting the host and the plurality of memory devices (see abstract; [0032]), the switch configured to receive a memory allocation request from the host, and allocate, in response to the received memory allocation request, at least one of the plurality of memory devices to the host (see abstract; [0032, 0037, 0040, 0043-0051]).
Further, WANG teaches assigning grade information to host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; EN: the specification indicates grade information appears to be priority information in prioritizing resource allocation to one host / using one device compared to another – note specification paragraphs 0063. Therefore, WANG’s classification of node as client nodes (requesting extra remote memory) and server nodes (donating extra local memory for other nodes to use) with determination of a priority based on the reliability of the client / server, would constitute a grade information assigned to the host and memory devices.
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While WANG teaches the switch classifies host and memory devices with grade information (see figure 3 and [0045-0046) and determines when to grant memory resources to a host device, it does not explicitly indicate that the determination is based on grade information of the host and grade information of the plurality of memory devices.
YUAN teaches a known algorithm for in response to the received memory allocation request, at least one of the plurality of memory devices to the host based on grade information of the host and grade information of the plurality of memory devices (EN: based on the request, determining latency / requirements associated with host and thereby grade information and selecting memory that satisfies latency / requirements associated with memory [0133-0137, 0143-0148; 0153-0163, 0176-0180]). It would be obvious that the combination of WANG and YUAN before the effective filing of the claimed invention would allow the allocation of resources based on a determined classification of an unreliable host(e.g. has a latency) and thus is matched / allocated resources from a source that reliably satisfies those requirements.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to apply the algorithm of YUAN in the system of WANG in order to allocate memory to the host ([0176]).
As to claim 2, WANG and YUAN teach the switch is further configured to receive device information from the first memory device, determine a grade of the first memory device as one of first to M-th grades (M is 2 or greater integer) based on the device information received from the first memory device, and generate memory device grade information indicating the grade of the first memory device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, thus the device information being interpreted into requirements / capacity / metrics that are received and determines the classification of devices / hosts for resource allocation. Note: WANG assigning grade information to host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN using requirements, including latency requirements in determining resource providing resources to allocate at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 3, YUAN teaches the device information includes at least one of device type information, bandwidth information, latency information (delay requirement), cell capacity information, voltage information, and temperature information corresponding to the first memory device ([0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 4, WANG and YUAN teach the switch includes a device information register configured to store first device information indicating status of the first memory device and the grade information of the first memory device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, and thus no distinction between the two pieces of information. Therefore since the switch receives the information for determining resource allocation decisions on memory devices that satisfies the requirements – storing of the information on the switch reads on the limitations See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 5, YUAN teaches the first memory device further includes a first memory controller configured to transfer the device information to the switch ([0022, 0046-0048, 0078-0080, 0145-146, 0163]).
As to claim 6, WANG and YUAN teaches the switch is further configured to determine a grade of the host based on receiving the memory allocation request from the host and generate host grade information indicating the grade of the host, and generate the memory device grade information indicating the grade of the first memory device when the first memory device is connected to the switch (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, thus the device information being interpreted into requirements / capacity / metrics that are received and determines the classification of devices / hosts for resource allocation. Note: WANG assigning grade information to host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN using requirements, including latency requirements in determining resource providing resources to allocate at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
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As to claim 7, YUAN teaches the memory allocation request includes category information of an application that is executed on the host, and the switch is further configured to determine a grade of the host as one of first to N-th grades (N is 2 or greater integer) based on the category information of the application (0098-0099 indicating the application of a certain type triggers a memory allocation request that is handled by switch / network device. Further EN: there is no express algorithm or description on how the category information is received and interpreted into grades, and thus no distinction between how the information is used to determine the grade. Therefore since the switch receives the information for determining resource allocation decisions on memory devices that satisfies the requirements – this reads on the limitations See further WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 8, WANG when combined with YUAN teaches the switch is further configured to allocate the first memory device to the host based on the grade of the host being a first grade (reliable when limited memory available), allocate the second memory device to the host based on the grade of the host being a second grade (less reliable when limited memory available), and the grade of the second memory device is less than the grade of the first memory device ([0045-0049; EN: the specification indicates grade information appears to be priority information in prioritizing resource allocation to one host / using one device compared to another – note specification paragraphs 0063. Therefore, WANG’s classification of node as client nodes (requesting extra remote memory) and server nodes (donating extra local memory for other nodes to use) with determination of a priority based on the reliability of the client / server, would constitute a grade information assigned to the host and memory devices. See also YUAN (EN: based on the request, determining latency / requirements associated with host and thereby grade information and selecting memory that satisfies latency / requirements associated with memory [0133-0137, 0143-0148; 0153-0163, 0176-0180]). It would be obvious that the combination of WANG and YUAN before the effective filing of the claimed invention would allow the allocation of resources based on a determined classification of an unreliable host(e.g. has a latency) and thus is matched / allocated resources from a source that reliably satisfies those requirements.
As to claim 9, WANG teaches a method comprising: receiving device information (reliability) from a plurality of memory devices (remote memory server nodes) including a first memory device and a second memory device that is different from the first memory device (one server device more reliable than another); determining grades of the plurality of memory devices based on the device information (classifications of server nodes which indicates a server node’s reliability); receiving a memory allocation request including category information of a host from the host (one client device more reliable than another); determining a grade of the host based on the category information (classifications of client nodes which indicates a client node’s reliability); and allocating (via switch) at least one of the plurality of memory devices to the host based on grade information of the host and grade information of the plurality of memory devices (see abstract; [0032, 0037, 0040, 0043-0051]).
While WANG teaches the switch classifies host and memory devices with grade information (see figure 3 and [0045-0046) and determines when to grant memory resources to a host device, it does not explicitly indicate that the determination is based on the request including category information of an application.
YUAN teaches a known algorithm for receiving a memory allocation request including category information of an application that is executed on a host from the host; determining a grade of the host based on the category information; and allocating at least one of the plurality of memory devices to the host based on grade information of the host and grade information of the plurality of memory devices (0098-0099 indicating the application of a certain type triggers a memory allocation request that is handled by switch / network device. See also YUAN (EN: based on the request, determining latency / requirements associated with host and thereby grade information and selecting memory that satisfies latency / requirements associated with memory [0133-0137, 0143-0148; 0153-0163, 0176-0180]). It would be obvious that the combination of WANG and YUAN before the effective filing of the claimed invention would allow the allocation of resources based on a determined classification of an unreliable host(e.g. has a latency) and thus is matched / allocated resources from a source that reliably satisfies those requirements.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to apply the algorithm of YUAN in the system of WANG in order to allocate memory to the host ([0176]).
As to claim 10, WANG in combination with YUAN teaches the determining of the grades of the plurality of memory devices comprises: determining a grade of the first memory device as one of first to M-th grades (M is 2 or greater integer) based on the device information received from the first memory device; and generating memory device grade information indicating the grade of the first memory device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, thus the device information being interpreted into requirements / capacity / metrics that are received and determines the classification of devices / hosts for resource allocation. Note: WANG assigning grade information, e.g. reliability and determinations, to be a host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN using requirements, including latency requirements in determining resource providing resources to allocate at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
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As to claim 11, YUAN teaches the device information includes at least one of device type information, bandwidth information, latency information (delay requirement), cell capacity information, voltage information, and temperature information corresponding to the first memory device ([0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine..
As to claim 12, WANG in combination with YUAN teaches the determining of the grade of the host comprises: determining the grade of the host based on the memory allocation request received from the host; and generating host grade information indicating the grade of the host, and the determining of the grades of the plurality of memory devices comprises: generating the memory device grade information indicating the grade of the first memory device based on the first memory device being connected to the switch device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, thus the device information being interpreted into requirements / capacity / metrics that are received and determines the classification of devices / hosts for resource allocation. Note: WANG assigning grade information, e.g. reliability and determinations, to be a host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN using requirements, including latency requirements in determining resource providing resources to allocate at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
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As to claim 13, WANG in combination with YUAN teaches the determining of the grade of the host comprises determining a grade of the host to be one of first to N-th grades (N is 2 or greater integer) based on the category information device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, thus the device information being interpreted into requirements / capacity / metrics that are received and determines the classification of devices / hosts for resource allocation. Note: WANG assigning grade information, e.g. reliability and determinations, to be a host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN using requirements, including latency requirements in determining resource providing resources to allocate at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 14, WANG when combined with YUAN teaches the allocating of at least one of the plurality of memory devices to the host comprises: allocating the first memory device to the host based on the grade of the host being a first grade (more reliable memory device); and allocating the second memory device to the host based on the grade of the host being a second grade (less reliable memory device), and the grade of the second memory device being less than the grade of the first memory device ([0045-0049; EN: the specification indicates grade information appears to be priority information in prioritizing resource allocation to one host / using one device compared to another – note specification paragraphs 0063. Therefore, WANG’s classification of node as client nodes (requesting extra remote memory) and server nodes (donating extra local memory for other nodes to use) with determination of a priority based on the reliability of the client / server, would constitute a grade information assigned to the host and memory devices. See also YUAN (EN: based on the request, determining latency / requirements associated with host and thereby grade information and selecting memory that satisfies latency / requirements associated with memory [0133-0137, 0143-0148; 0153-0163, 0176-0180]). It would be obvious that the combination of WANG and YUAN before the effective filing of the claimed invention would allow the allocation of resources based on a determined classification of an unreliable host(e.g. has a latency) and thus is matched / allocated resources from a source that reliably satisfies those requirements.
As to claim 15, WANG teaches a system comprising: a plurality of memory devices including a first memory device and a second memory device that is different from the first memory device (remote memory server nodes); a plurality of hosts including a first host configured to communicate with the plurality of memory devices and a second host that is different from the first host (client nodes); and a switch (switch) connecting the plurality of hosts and the plurality of memory devices, the switch configured to receive memory allocation requests from at least two of the plurality of hosts, and allocate, in response to the received memory allocation requests, at least one of the plurality of memory devices to each of the plurality of hosts (see abstract; [0032, 0037, 0040, 0043-0051]).
Further, WANG teaches assigning grade information to host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; EN: the specification indicates grade information appears to be priority information in prioritizing resource allocation to one host / using one device compared to another – note specification paragraphs 0063. Therefore, WANG’s classification of node as client nodes (requesting extra remote memory) and server nodes (donating extra local memory for other nodes to use) with determination of a priority based on the reliability of the client / server, would constitute a grade information assigned to the host and memory devices.
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While WANG teaches the switch classifies host and memory devices with grade information (see figure 3 and [0045-0046) and determines when to grant memory resources to a host device, it does not explicitly indicate that the determination is based on grade information of the host and grade information of the plurality of memory devices.
YUAN teaches a known algorithm for in response to the received memory allocation requests, at least one of the plurality of memory devices to each of the plurality of hosts based on grade information of the plurality of hosts and grade information of the plurality of memory devices (EN: based on the request, determining latency / requirements associated with host and thereby grade information and selecting memory that satisfies latency / requirements associated with memory [0133-0137, 0143-0148; 0153-0163, 0176-0180]). It would be obvious that the combination of WANG and YUAN before the effective filing of the claimed invention would allow the allocation of resources based on a determined classification of an unreliable host(e.g. has a latency) and thus is matched / allocated resources from a source that reliably satisfies those requirements.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to apply the algorithm of YUAN in the system of WANG in order to allocate memory to the host ([0176]).
As to claim 16, WANG and YUAN teach the switch is further configured to receive device information from the first memory device, determine a grade of the first memory device to be one of first to M-th grades (M is 2 or greater integer) based on the device information received from the first memory device, and generate memory device grade information indicating the determined grade of the first memory device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, thus the device information being interpreted into requirements / capacity / metrics that are received and determines the classification of devices / hosts for resource allocation. Note: WANG assigning grade information to host and memory devices (client nodes and server nodes) based on factors ([0045-0049; See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN using requirements, including latency requirements in determining resource providing resources to allocate at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
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As to claim 17, YUAN teaches the device information includes at least one of device type information, bandwidth information, latency information (delay information), cell capacity information, voltage information, and temperature information corresponding to the first memory device ([0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
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As to claim 18, WANG and YUAN teach the switch includes a device information register configured to store first device information indicating status of the first memory device and the grade information of the first memory device (EN: there is no express algorithm or mapping on how the device information is received and interpreted into grades, and thus no distinction between the two pieces of information. Therefore since the switch receives the information for determining resource allocation decisions on memory devices that satisfies the requirements – storing of the information on the switch reads on the limitations See WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 19, YUAN teaches the memory allocation request includes category information of an application that is executed on the first host, and the switch is further configured to determine a grade of the first host to be one of first to N-th grades (N is 2 or greater integer) based on the category information of the application (0098-0099 indicating the application of a certain type triggers a memory allocation request that is handled by switch / network device. Further EN: there is no express algorithm or description on how the category information is received and interpreted into grades, and thus no distinction between how the information is used to determine the grade. Therefore since the switch receives the information for determining resource allocation decisions on memory devices that satisfies the requirements – this reads on the limitations See further WANG at abstract; [0059, 0062-0066, ] and YUAN at [0132-0136]). Refer to claim 1 for the motivation to combine.
As to claim 20, WANG when combined with YUAN teaches category information of the first host is different from category information of the second host (WANG, [0102], “…the server cluster may employ heterogeneous serves having different configurations.”; WANG, [0031], “The embodiments provide solutions in multiple existing problems. As explained above, in multi-node clusters applications running on different nodes may exhibit different memory footprints, some over utilizing their memory capacity while others may under-utilize their memory capacity…”] ; EN: since the servers are heterogeneous, ), the switch is further configured to allocate the first memory device to the first host and allocate the second memory device to the second host, based on the grade of the first host being greater than the grade of the second host, the grade of the first memory device being greater than or equal to the grade of the second memory device, and based on the grade of the first host being less than the grade of the second host and the grade of the first memory device being less than or equal to the grade of the second memory device (more reliable clients are given reliable memory resources that meet their requirements and less reliable clients are given less reliable memory resources that meet their requirements) ([0045-0049; EN: the specification indicates grade information appears to be priority information in prioritizing resource allocation to one host / using one device compared to another – note specification paragraphs 0063. Therefore, WANG’s classification of node as client nodes (requesting extra remote memory) and server nodes (donating extra local memory for other nodes to use) with determination of a priority based on the reliability of the client / server, would constitute a grade information assigned to the host and memory devices. See also YUAN (EN: based on the request, determining latency / requirements associated with host and thereby grade information and selecting memory that satisfies latency / requirements associated with memory [0133-0137, 0143-0148; 0153-0163, 0176-0180]). It would be obvious that the combination of WANG and YUAN before the effective filing of the claimed invention would allow the allocation of resources based on a determined classification of an unreliable host(e.g. has a latency) and thus is matched / allocated resources from a source that reliably satisfies those requirements.
Conclusion
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/LEWIS A BULLOCK JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2199
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