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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
This is in response to communications filed on 5/26/26.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 20 recites “the pre-boot environment”, which lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamlin et al (US Patent 11979282), in view of Sun et al (US Patent Application Publication 2026/0119195 – FP is 2/27/24), further in view of Phoung et al (US Patent 8977733)
For claim 1, Hamlin et al teach the following limitations: An Information Handling System (IHS) (Fig 1 – Fig 12), comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution (line 39, col 31 through line 9, col 32 mention about memory storing instructions to be executed by the processor), cause the IHS to: execute a pre-boot application prior to an Operating System of the IHS taking control of the IHS (Fig 12A step 1205 mention initialization of the I HS and lines 58-67 of col 7 mention that the booting is performed by BIOS to load OS; lines 3-59 of col 23 mention that the firmware is loaded during initialization; thus BIOS and firmware is the pre-boot application prior to OS taking control); receive telemetry data (lines 10-23 of col 13; lines 54-60 of col 17 mention receiving telemetry data by orchestrator 501A; Fig 6 shows 501A of platform 300; thus IHS 300 receives telemetry data) from an Embedded Controller (EC) (lines 5-20 of col 8; lines 22-30 of col 19 mention that telemetry data is collected from applications 412-414; lines 10-11 of col 18 mention that agent 413 may be replaced with EC 409; therefore, the telemetry data is received from EC 409 to orchestrator 501A of iHS 300) coupled to the processor (Fig 1 shows the coupled network); and while the pre-boot application is being executed (lines 30-60 of col 23 mention that the firmware may implement procedure for …, firmware also includes PI by which capabilities may be configured to maintain within thermal constraints such as operating in quiet/cool mode) , and in response to a determination that a policy is met based, at least in part, upon the telemetry data (Fig 8; line 27, col 20 through line 18 col 21 mention that orchestrator may enforce a policy rule based on telemetry data), modify a network communication of a (lines 10-25 of col 21 mention telemetry based thermal management; lines 45-58 of col 22 mention thermal management includes network driver to apply the performance strategies; lines 30-60 of col 23; lines 1-30 of col 28; lines 1-12 of col 2 mention that the network controller settings has been changed in response to report of a change of operation (i.e., telemetry)).
For the limitations “modify network communication of a pre-boot application”, Hamlin teaches configuring the network device before loading OS (lines 30-60 of col 23; upon initialization … implement procedures for power, performance and thermal characteristics of these network controllers … capabilities of network controller are configured … to maintain within thermal constraints … further initialization includes loading OS; thus the pre-boot network communication application is configured). Therefore, Hamlin appears to teach modify the network communication of the pre-boot firmware while the pre-boot application is being executed. However, for further clarification Examiner cites Sun et al that teaches the following limitations:
while the pre-boot application is being executed (Fig 4 and Fig 5 describe the BIOS operation where the PXE function of the network interface is enabled/disabled for the network interface card), modify a network communication of a pre-boot application (Fig 2, Fig 4 and Fig 5 describe network interface control during BIOS execution – “enable PXE function of the smart network interface card and update to the BIOS interface”; [0089] mention that server configured with smart network interface card with PXE function being enabled to install and boot the cloud system; thus, the a network communication of the pre-boot application is modified; Fig 5 also shows manual settings change during BIOS execution [0124][0163][0168])
It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the configuration/settings of the pre-boot application while the pre-boot application is being executed, since that way the appropriate system can be booted and thermal envelop can be maintained when temperature is high or less power is available. Sun et al teaches BIOS PXE functions can be enabled or disabled during BIOS execution. With the teachings of Sun et al, the network communication of the pre-boot application of Hamlin can be modified during execution of the pre-boot application. Hamlin provides performance reduction to implement thermal strategies (lines 45-51 of col 22; lines 30-35 of col 21), which can be further enhanced by selecting appropriate booting as mentioned in [0089] of Sun. To explain further, Examiner cites Phoung et al teaching modify a network communication of a pre-boot application based upon telemetry data (Fig 4; col 9 mentions that modified configuration includes PXE boot configuration; PXE is a pre boot application; lines 50-63 of col 5; lines 40-45 of col 6; lines 1-22 of col 5 – network settings are configured when host is in enhanced standby mode, which is a telemetry data (lines 20-31 of col 4 – power status of host)). Therefore, with the combined teachings, the system of Hamlin, as modified by Sun in view of Phoung, can additionally incorporate thermal management by modifying the network communication of the pre-boot application while the pre-boot application is being executed.
For claim 2, wherein the pre-boot application comprises a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)/Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) application configured to communicate with a remote server in a pre-boot environment (Phoung col 9, PXE is a BIOS based application configured to communicate with remote server in a pre-boot environment). Additionally Sun teaches PXE to install the OS in the server ([0003]-[0004]).
For claim 4, wherein the telemetry data comprises temperature data for one or more thermal zones of the processor (Hamlin Fig 9 – Fig 11 Hamlin; lines 10-21 of col 21).
For claim 5, wherein the temperature data indicates an overtemperature condition (Hamlin lines 50-60 of col 23 – thermal constraints).
For claim 6, wherein the policy associates the temperature data with the modification to the network communication (lines 30-60 of col 23; lines 40-67 of col 27 lines 47-52 of col 22 Hamlin).
For claim 7, wherein the modification comprises establishing or switching the network communication from a first speed or bandwidth to a second speed or bandwidth, and wherein the second speed or bandwidth is smaller than the first speed or bandwidth (lines 47-52 of col 22 mention performance reduction to reduce heat; lines 33-35 of col 21 mention modifying frequency of operation Hamlin).
For claim 8, wherein the modification comprises establishing or switching the network communication from a first network technology to a second network technology, and wherein the second network technology consumes less power than the first network technology (Hamlin lines 12-32 of col 30; lines 30-40 of col 31 mention various types of networks and specify settings for a particular network and selecting settings to adjust power during use inattentiveness; thus during user inattentiveness system allows the selection of network types; Phoung further teaches that PXE/ SAN/other types can be enabled disabled; thus with the combination, it is possible to switch to another network type for less power consumption).
For claim 9, wherein the temperature data falls within a selected range (lines 55-57 of col 22 Hamlin temperature crosses selected trip point).
For claim 10, Hamlin teaches wherein the modification comprises establishing or switching the network communication from a first speed or bandwidth to a second speed or bandwidth, and wherein the second speed or bandwidth is greater than the first speed or bandwidth (lines 30-60 of col 23 lines 10-21 of col 21, mention about selecting network setting based on thermal constraints; thus, with safe temperature range, the settings will have faster speed; lines 10-32 of col 30).
For claim 11, Hamlin teaches wherein the modification comprises establishing or switching the network communication from a first network technology to a second network technology, and wherein the second network technology consumes more power than the first network technology (lines 10-32 of col 30, video games require more power and settings of the particular network is selected accordingly; Phoung further teaches that PXE/ SAN/other types can be enabled/disabled; thus with the combination, it is possible to switch to another network type with more power consumption required by the application).
For claim 12, Hamlin teaches the policy comprises one or more rules usable by the pre-boot application to select a modification to the network communication (the rules are thermal management as mentioned in lines 30-60 of col 23) based, at least in part, upon context information (Fig 7 Fig 8 Hamlin mention about context information) .
For claim 13, Hamlin teaches wherein the context information comprises at least one of: a location of the IHS, an identity of a user of the IHS, a serial number or service tag of the IHS, a predicted duration of a download operation, or a current number of boot attempts (lines 35-60 of col 12 – location).
For claim 14, Hamlin teaches wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to modify, based at least in part upon the telemetry data, at least one of: a speed of a cooling fan coupled to a chassis of the IHS, or a power state of the processor (lines 32-42 of col 10; lines 30-35 of col 21).
For claim 15, Hamlin teaches wherein the processor and the memory are part of a heterogenous computing platform selected from the group consisting of: a System-On-Chip (SoC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) (lines 25-35 of col 4)
For claim 16, Hamlin teaches wherein the heterogenous computing platform comprises a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor coupled to an interconnect selected from the group consisting of: an Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA) bus, a QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) bus, and a HyperTransport (HT) bus (lines 50-60 of col 6).
For claim 17, Hamlin et al teach the following limitations: In an Information Handling System (IHS) (Fig 1 – Fig 3), a method comprising: executing a pre-boot application prior to an Operating System of the IHS taking control of the IHS (Fig 12A step 1205 mention initialization of the I HS and lines 58-67 of col 7 mention that the booting is performed by BIOS to load OS; lines 3-59 of col 23 mention that the firmware is loaded during initialization; thus BIOS and firmware is the pre-boot application prior to OS taking control); determining that a policy is met (Fig 8; line 27, col 20 through line 18 col 21 mention that orchestrator may enforce a policy rule based on telemetry data; the policy includes thermal management; lines 10-20 of col 21; lines 48-52 of col 22), by an Embedded Controller (EC) coupled to a host processor of the HIS (lines 49-67 of col 20; orchestrator 501A can be implemented as EC lines 20-27 of col 17; Fig 6 host OS 400 is run by host processor), based at least in part upon thermal data obtained by the EC from the host processor (telemetry data is collected from host OS lines 20-30 of col 19; host OS is executed by host processor; telemetry data includes thermal data; lines 10-20 of col 21; lines 30-60 of col 23; lines 1-30 of col 28); and while the pre-boot application is being executed (lines 30-60 of col 23 mention that the firmware may implement procedure for …, firmware also includes PI by which capabilities may be configured to maintain within thermal constraints such as operating in quiet/cool mode) in response to the determination, selecting a network communication (Fig 12 B step 1248; lines 10-25 of col 21 mention telemetry based thermal management; lines 45-58 of col 22 mention thermal management includes network driver to apply the performance strategies; lines 30-60 of col 23; lines 1-30 of col 28) of a (lines 10-25 of col 21 mention telemetry based thermal management; lines 45-58 of col 22 mention thermal management includes network driver to apply the performance strategies; lines 30-60 of col 23; lines 1-30 of col 28; lines 1-12 of col 2 mention that the network controller settings has been changed in response to report of a change of operation (i.e., telemetry)).
For the limitations “selecting network communication of the pre-boot application”, Hamlin teaches configuring the network device before loading OS (lines 30-60 of col 23; upon initialization … implement procedures for power, performance and thermal characteristics of these network controllers … capabilities of network controller are configured … to maintain within thermal constraints … further initialization includes loading OS; thus the pre-boot network communication application is configured). Therefore, Hamlin teaches modify the network communication of the pre-boot firmware while the pre-boot application is being executed. However, for further clarification Examiner cites Sun et al that teaches the following limitations:
while the pre-boot application is being executed (Fig 4 and Fig 5 describe the BIOS operation where the PXE function of the network interface is enabled/disabled for the network interface card), modify/select a network communication of a pre-boot application (Fig 2, Fig 4 and Fig 5 describe network interface control during BIOS execution – “enable PXE function of the smart network interface card and update to the BIOS interface”; [0089] mention that server configured with smart network interface card with PXE function being enabled to install and boot the cloud system; thus, the a network communication of the pre-boot application is modified; Fig 5 also shows manual settings change during BIOS execution [0124][0163][0168])
It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the configuration/settings of the pre-boot application while the pre-boot application is being executed, since that way the appropriate system can be booted and thermal envelop can be maintained when temperature is high or less power is available. Sun et al teaches BIOS PXE functions can be enabled or disabled during BIOS execution. With the teachings of Sun et al, the network communication of the pre-boot application of Hamlin can be modified during execution of the pre-boot application. Hamlin provides performance reduction to implement thermal strategies (lines 45-51 of col 22; lines 30-35 of col 21), which can be further enhanced by selecting appropriate booting as mentioned in [0089] of Sun. To explain further, Examiner cites Phoung et al teaching modify/select a network communication of a pre-boot application based upon telemetry data (Fig 4; col 9 mentions that modified configuration includes PXE boot configuration; PXE is a pre boot application; lines 50-63 of col 5; lines 40-45 of col 6; lines 1-22 of col 5 – network settings are configured when host is in enhanced standby mode, which is a telemetry data (lines 20-31 of col 4 – power status of host)). Therefore, with the combined teachings, the system of Hamlin, as modified by Sun in view of Phoung, can additionally incorporate thermal management by modifying the network communication of the pre-boot application while the pre-boot application is being executed.
For claim 18, Hamlin teaches wherein the context information comprises at least one of: a location of the IHS, an identity of a user of the IHS, a serial number or service tag of the IHS, a predicted duration of a download operation, or a current number of boot attempts (lines 35-60 of col 12 – location).
For claim 19, Hamlin et al teach the following limitations: A non-transitory hardware memory device having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of an Information Handling System (IHS) (line 39, col 31 through line 9, col 32 mention about memory storing instructions to be executed by the processor; Fig 1 – Fig 3 show the HIS networked together), cause the processor to: execute a pre-boot application prior to an Operating System of the IHS taking control of the IHS (Fig 12A step 1205 mention initialization of the I HS and lines 58-67 of col 7 mention that the booting is performed by BIOS to load OS; lines 3-59 of col 23 mention that the firmware is loaded during initialization; thus BIOS and firmware is the pre-boot application prior to OS taking control); receive telemetry data (lines 10-23 of col 13; lines 54-60 of col 17 mention receiving telemetry data by orchestrator 501A; Fig 6 shows 501A of platform 300; thus IHS 300 receives telemetry data); and while the pre-boot application is being executed (lines 30-60 of col 23 mention that the firmware may implement procedure for …, firmware also includes PI by which capabilities may be configured to maintain within thermal constraints such as operating in quiet/cool mode) and based, at least in part, upon the telemetry data (Fig 8; line 27, col 20 through line 18 col 21 mention that orchestrator may enforce a policy rule based on telemetry data), select or modify a network connection of a (lines 10-25 of col 21 mention telemetry based thermal management; lines 45-58 of col 22 mention thermal management includes network driver to apply the performance strategies; lines 30-60 of col 23; lines 1-30 of col 28; lines 1-12 of col 2 mention that the network controller settings has been changed in response to report of a change of operation (i.e., telemetry)).
For the limitations “select or modify network communication of a pre-boot application”, Hamlin teaches configuring the network device before loading OS (lines 30-60 of col 23; upon initialization … implement procedures for power, performance and thermal characteristics of these network controllers … capabilities of network controller are configured … to maintain within thermal constraints … further initialization includes loading OS; thus the pre-boot network communication application is configured). Therefore, Hamlin appears to teach modify the network communication of the pre-boot firmware while the pre-boot application is being executed. However, for further clarification Examiner cites Sun et al that teaches the following limitations:
while the pre-boot application is being executed (Fig 4 and Fig 5 describe the BIOS operation where the PXE function of the network interface is enabled/disabled for the network interface card), modify a network communication of a pre-boot application (Fig 2, Fig 4 and Fig 5 describe network interface control during BIOS execution – “enable PXE function of the smart network interface card and update to the BIOS interface”; [0089] mention that server configured with smart network interface card with PXE function being enabled to install and boot the cloud system; thus, the a network communication of the pre-boot application is modified; Fig 5 also shows manual settings change during BIOS execution [0124][0163][0168])
It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the configuration/settings of the pre-boot application while the pre-boot application is being executed, since that way the appropriate system can be booted and thermal envelop can be maintained when temperature is high or less power is available. Sun et al teaches BIOS PXE functions can be enabled or disabled during BIOS execution. With the teachings of Sun et al, the network communication of the pre-boot application of Hamlin can be modified during execution of the pre-boot application. Hamlin provides performance reduction to implement thermal strategies (lines 45-51 of col 22; lines 30-35 of col 21), which can be further enhanced by selecting appropriate booting as mentioned in [0089] of Sun. To explain further, Examiner cites Phoung et al teaching modify a network communication of a pre-boot application based upon telemetry data (Fig 4; col 9 mentions that modified configuration includes PXE boot configuration; PXE is a pre boot application; lines 50-63 of col 5; lines 40-45 of col 6; lines 1-22 of col 5 – network settings are configured when host is in enhanced standby mode, which is a telemetry data (lines 20-31 of col 4 – power status of host)). Therefore, with the combined teachings, the system of Hamlin, as modified by Sun in view of Phoung, can additionally incorporate thermal management by modifying the network communication of the pre-boot application while the pre-boot application is being executed.
Claim(s) 3, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamlin et al (US Patent 11979282), in view of Sun et al (US Patent Application Publication 2026/0119195) further in view of Phoung et al (US Patent 8977733), further in view of Yang et al (US Patent Application Publication 20170052854).
For claim 3, Hamlin mentions initiating maintenance procedure and initiating firmware updates (lines 15-30 of col 28). Sun teaches installation of an OS in the server through PXE ([0003][0004][0089][0095]). Hamlin in view of Sun in view of Phoung does not explicitly mention downloading a recovery partition or hard drive image from the remote server. Yang teaches downloading a recovery system including downloading disk image file from a remote server in the pre-boot ( [0014]-[0022]; [0033]). It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to download the recovery files from a remote server during pre-boot environment so that system can recover and boot safely when corrupted.
For claim 20, Hamlin mentions initiating maintenance procedure and initiating firmware updates (lines 15-30 of col 28). Sun teaches installation of an OS in the server through PXE ([0003][0004] [0095][0089]). Hamlin in view of Sun in view of Phoung does not explicitly mention downloading a recovery partition or hard drive image from the remote server. Yang teaches downloading a recovery system including downloading disk image file from a remote server in the pre-boot (lines [0014]-[0022]; [0033]). It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to download the recovery files from a remote server during pre-boot environment so that system can recover and boot safely when corrupted.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because of the new ground of rejection. However, Hamlin and Phoung are still relied upon for rejection and Examiner is addressing the arguments regarding these references.
Applicant argues that Hamlin does not teach modifying a configuration of that network device while a pre-boot application is currently being executed in which pre-boot application is communicating using that network device. According to the applicant, Hamlin merely teaches configuring a network device for its usage after the OS has been loaded.
Examiner disagrees that Hamlin’s configuring a network device is performed after the OS has been loaded. The following passage of Hamlin mentions that the network device configuration has been performed by BIOS before loading the OS. According to lines 30-60 of Hamlin,
As described, upon initialization of an IHS, instructions to be loaded for use by hardware components of the IHS, such as firmware and other settings, may be validated as authentic based on comparisons of the instructions to be loaded against reference signatures corresponding to authentic instructions. Upon successful validation of such instructions, each of the devices of the heterogenous computing platform of the IHS loads the validated instructions and operates based on execution of these trusted instructions. In embodiments, this validated firmware to be loaded by components of the heterogenous computing platform may include firmware loaded by network controllers coupled to the IHS, where this firmware may implement procedures for reporting power, performance and thermal characteristics of these network controllers for use by embodiments in managing these network controllers. In these embodiments, the firmware loaded for operation by the network controllers of the IHS also includes an API by which capabilities of a network controller may be configured in order to adapt the performance of the network controller to changes in the context of the user's operation of the IHS and/or to maintain operation of the IHS within specified thermal constraints, such as operating in a quiet mode or in a cool mode. Once firmware instructions for use by the network controller(s) and devices of the heterogeneous computing platform have been validated, further initialization of the IHS may include loading operating system instructions, such as operating system 400 of FIG. 4, that includes user space 402 and kernel space 401 applications.
Therefore, firmware includes API to configure the network controller to maintain the operation within thermal constraints. After that, OS is loaded. Thus, Hamlin teaches modifying a configuration of that network device while a pre-boot application is currently being executed (Hamlin - firmware loaded for operation by the network controllers of the IHS also includes an API by which capabilities of a network controller may be configured) in which pre-boot application is communicating using that network device (Hamlin - firmware including API communicates with network controller to communicate). The newly cited reference Sun teaches enabling PXE during BIOS execution to install cloud system OS ([0095]). Thus, the pre-boot execution BIOS is executed in Sun to modify the configuration of the network device to enable/disable PXE (Fig 4-Fig 5) to install a cloud service OS (i.e., requiring communication using the PXE of the smart network interface card). Therefore, the combination of references teaches and makes obvious of the limitations of the claims.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAHMIDA RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8159. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10 AM - 7 PM. 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. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Jung can be reached at 571-270-3779. 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.
/FAHMIDA RAHMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2175
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