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 .
1. This communication is in response to claims 1-20 filed on 05/29/2024.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-14 and 18-20 objected to because of the following informalities:
2. Claims 1 and 11 recite receiving “an activation request of the shared lower-level entity” and claims 4 and 14 recite “an activation request of the NSSI”. Although these limitations are understood to refer to an activation request to activate the shared lower-level entity/NSSI, Applicant is urged to specify this in the claim language by amended the claims to recite “an activation request to activate the shared lower-level entity” and “an activation request to activate the NSSI”, respectively, in order to avoid ambiguously regarding what is intended to the request being “of” the shared lower-level entity/NSSI.
3. Claims 2-4, 8, 9, 12-14, and 18-20 recite instances of “the higher-level entities”. Although these recitations are understood to refer to the “one or more of multiple higher-level entities” disclosed in claims 1 and 11, from which claims 2-4, 8, 9, 12-14, and 18-20 respectively depend, Applicant is urged to amend the recitations in the dependent claims to “the one or more of multiple higher-level entities” in order to provide clear and consistent antecedent basis throughout the claims.
4. Claims 5-7 recite “transmitting, at the NSSMF”. Although these recitations are understood to refer to transmitting by the NSSMF, Applicant is urged to amend the claims to recite, “transmitting, by the NSSMF” in order to clarify this.
5. Claim 5 recites, “an element management system (EMS) which managed MFs”, written in past tense form. It is believed that this is intended to refer to an EMS currently managing MFs, and Applicant is urged to amend this recitation to recite, “an element management system (EMS) which manages MFs”.
6. Claims 9 and 19 recite a “deactivation request of the shared lower-level entity”. Although this recitation is understood to refer to a deactivation request for deactivation of the shared lower-level entity, Applicant is urged to amend these recitations to recite, “deactivation request to deactivate the shared lower-level entity” in order to clarify this.
Additionally, the second limitation of claims 9 and 19 recite “the shard lower-level entity”, believed to be a type intended to recite “the shared lower-level entity”.
7. Claims 10 and 20 recite “the lower-level entity” in the preamble. Although this recitation is understood to refer to the shared lower level-entity previously disclosed in claims 9 and 19, from which claims 10 and 20 respectively depend, Applicant is urged to amend the preambles of claims 10 and 20 to “the shared lower-level entity” in order to provide clear and consistent antecedent basis throughout the claims.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 3, 6, 10, 13, 16, and 20 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. Specifically for the following reasons:
8. Claims 3 and 13 recite the limitation "the lower-level entities". There is insufficient antecedent basis for plural lower-level entities in the claims. Specifically, claims 1 and 10, from which claims 3 and 13 respectively depend, only provide for a single shared lower-level entity.
For purposes of examination, references to the lower-level entities in claims 3 and 13 are interpreted as referring to the shared lower-level entity disclosed in claims 1 and 10, respectively.
9. Claims 6 and 16 recite instances of “the EMS” and “the MFs”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for both of these limitations in the claims.
For purposes of examination, these recitations are interpreted as referring to an element management system (EMS) and managed functions (MFs), respectively.
10. Claims 10 and 20 recite “the NSSMF” and “the NSSI” in the preamble of the claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for both of these limitations in the claims.
For purposes of examination, these recitations are interpreted as referring to a network slice subnet management function (NSSMF) and a network slice subnet instance (NSSI), respectively.
Further, the identifying limitation of these claims introduce NSIs sharing “one NSSI”. It is unclear whether references to “the NSSI” in the subsequent limitations of the claims are intended to refer to the managed NSSI recited in the preamble, the one NSSI recited in the identifying limitation, or whether each of these recitations are intended to refer to the same NSSI.
For purposes of examination, NSSI throughout the claims are interpreted as referring to any NSSI of the system.
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)(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.
11. Claims 1-3, 8, 9, 11-13, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bor Yaliniz et al. (US 2019/0223055).
Regarding claim 1, Bor Yaliniz teaches a method of operating a management node in a wireless communication system with a network slicing environment, comprising:
as one or more of multiple higher-level entities (NSI, [0272]) sharing a lower-level entity (A shared NSSI refers to an NSSI for which there are other services deployed thereon, [0200]) managed by the management node (the NSSMF 1202 provides information, including without limitation, the NSSI ID, and tools, including without limitation, interfaces, for monitoring, reporting fault, performance and/or security management of the service being deployed on the NSSI, [0204]) are activated (a request to the NSMF 1201 to activate the NSI. In some examples, the NSI is automatically activated, [0272]; the NSMF 1201 activates 2651 the NSI, [0316]), receiving an activation request of the shared lower-level entity (the NSSMF 1202 receives 1751 an activation request from the 3GPP entity 1301, [0205]; such activation may comprise commissioning of the NSSIs, [0316]; NSI activation may trigger NSSI activation, [0319]); and
in response to the activation request, activating the shared lower-level entity for the one or more activated higher-level entities (In response thereto, the NSSMF 1202 activates 1752 the NSSI, [0205]; the NSMF 1201 receives responses 2722 that indicate that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been activate, [0322]).
Regarding claim 2, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 1, wherein receiving the activation request comprises:
based on the higher-level entities being managed by different second management nodes (the NSMF 1201 may establish openness with other network management entities, such as subscribing to updates on remaining capacity and/or obtaining interfaces for access to information. The NSMF 1021 may receive the NSI or related request(s) from the CSMF or another NSMF 1201, [0234]; NSMF 1201 may determine NSI and non-3GPP requirements by querying 2332a and 2332b its constituent management entities 2105 (and to other NSMFs (not shown) about their capabilities, [0288]), receiving the activation request from a management node which manages the one or more activated higher-level entities among the second management nodes (the NSSMF 1202 may itself receive a request 1244 to reserve resources for use by the NSMF 1201, [0152]).
Regarding claim 3, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 1, wherein receiving the activation request comprises:
based on multi-level entities comprising the higher-level entities and the lower-level entities being managed by the management node (association information with the corresponding NSI for the NSSI(s) that the NSSMF 1202 may use to differentiate traffic, [0156]), detecting occurrence of the activation request inside the management node (Such triggers 1810 may include, without limitation, an internal and/or external timer alarm 1811 indicating that the NSSI is to be activated, which may in some examples, be an activateNssiTime( ) function and/or a TimerDone( ) function, [0210]).
Regarding claim 8, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 1, wherein activating comprises,
activating the shared lower-level entity (In response thereto, the NSSMF 1202 activates 1752 the NSSI, [0205]; the NSMF 1201 receives responses 2722 that indicate that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been activate, [0322]) for an activated entity set among the higher-level entities (once the NSI has been activated, the NSMF 1201 sends 2253 a network slice activation notice to the 3GPP entity 2101, [0272]; NSI activation may include any actions that make the NSI active to provide communication services. NSI activation may trigger NSSI activation, [0319]); and
deactivating the shared lower-level entity (De-activation 1145 is initiated by a trigger 1910 that is generated or received. Such triggers 1910 may include, without limitation, an internal and/or external timer alarm 1911 indicating that the NSSI is to be de-activated, [0217]) for an other deactivated entity set among the higher-level entities (NSI de-activation includes any actions that make the NSI inactive and not providing any communication services. NSI de-activation may trigger NSSI de-activation to de-activate constituent NSSI(s) that are not used by other NSI(s), [0343]).
Regarding claim 9, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
as one or more of the higher-level entities are deactivated (NSI de-activation includes any actions that make the NSI inactive and not providing any communication services, [0343]), receiving a deactivation request of the shared lower-level entity (a request 1912 from the 3GPP entity 1301 to de-activate the NSSI, [0217]; If a de-activation request 2912 was received, the NSMF 1201 sends 2961 a response, [0357]); and
in response to the deactivation request, deactivating the shard lower-level entity for the one or more deactivated higher-level entities (NSI de-activation may trigger NSSI de-activation to de-activate constituent NSSI(s) that are not used by other NSI(s), [0343]).
Regarding claim 11, Bor Yaliniz teaches a management node in a wireless communication system with a network slicing environment, comprising:
a transceiver; and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, connected to the transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
as one or more of multiple higher-level entities (NSI, [0272]) sharing a lower-level entity (A shared NSSI refers to an NSSI for which there are other services deployed thereon, [0200]) managed by the management node (the NSSMF 1202 provides information, including without limitation, the NSSI ID, and tools, including without limitation, interfaces, for monitoring, reporting fault, performance and/or security management of the service being deployed on the NSSI, [0204]) are activated (a request to the NSMF 1201 to activate the NSI. In some examples, the NSI is automatically activated, [0272]; the NSMF 1201 activates 2651 the NSI, [0316]), receive an activation request of the shared lower-level entity (the NSSMF 1202 receives 1751 an activation request from the 3GPP entity 1301, [0205]; such activation may comprise commissioning of the NSSIs, [0316]; NSI activation may trigger NSSI activation, [0319]), and
in response to the activation request, activate the shared lower-level entity for the one or more activated higher-level entities (In response thereto, the NSSMF 1202 activates 1752 the NSSI, [0205]; the NSMF 1201 receives responses 2722 that indicate that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been activate, [0322]).
Regarding claim 12, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
based on the higher-level entities being managed by different second management nodes (the NSMF 1201 may establish openness with other network management entities, such as subscribing to updates on remaining capacity and/or obtaining interfaces for access to information. The NSMF 1021 may receive the NSI or related request(s) from the CSMF or another NSMF 1201, [0234]; NSMF 1201 may determine NSI and non-3GPP requirements by querying 2332a and 2332b its constituent management entities 2105 (and to other NSMFs (not shown) about their capabilities, [0288]), receive the activation request from a management node configured to manage the one or more activated higher-level entities among the second management nodes (the NSSMF 1202 may itself receive a request 1244 to reserve resources for use by the NSMF 1201, [0152]).
Regarding claim 13, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
based on multi-level entities comprising the higher-level entities and the lower-level entities being managed by the management node (association information with the corresponding NSI for the NSSI(s) that the NSSMF 1202 may use to differentiate traffic, [0156]), detect occurrence of the activation request inside the management node (Such triggers 1810 may include, without limitation, an internal and/or external timer alarm 1811 indicating that the NSSI is to be activated, which may in some examples, be an activateNssiTime( ) function and/or a TimerDone( ) function, [0210]).
Regarding claim 18, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
activate the shared lower-level entity (In response thereto, the NSSMF 1202 activates 1752 the NSSI, [0205]; the NSMF 1201 receives responses 2722 that indicate that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been activate, [0322]) only for an activated entity set among the higher-level entities (once the NSI has been activated, the NSMF 1201 sends 2253 a network slice activation notice to the 3GPP entity 2101, [0272]; NSI activation may include any actions that make the NSI active to provide communication services. NSI activation may trigger NSSI activation, [0319]), and
deactivate the shared lower-level entity (De-activation 1145 is initiated by a trigger 1910 that is generated or received. Such triggers 1910 may include, without limitation, an internal and/or external timer alarm 1911 indicating that the NSSI is to be de-activated, [0217]) for other deactivated entity set among the higher-level entities (NSI de-activation includes any actions that make the NSI inactive and not providing any communication services. NSI de-activation may trigger NSSI de-activation to de-activate constituent NSSI(s) that are not used by other NSI(s), [0343]).
Regarding claim 19, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
as one or more of the higher-level entities are deactivated (NSI de-activation includes any actions that make the NSI inactive and not providing any communication services, [0343]), receive a deactivation request of the shared lower-level entity (a request 1912 from the 3GPP entity 1301 to de-activate the NSSI, [0217]; If a de-activation request 2912 was received, the NSMF 1201 sends 2961 a response, [0357]); and
in response to the deactivation request, deactivate the shard lower-level entity for one or more deactivated higher-level entities (NSI de-activation may trigger NSSI de-activation to de-activate constituent NSSI(s) that are not used by other NSI(s), [0343]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
12. Claims 4-7 and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bor Yaliniz in view of Fang (US 2020/0228405).
Regarding claim 4, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the management node comprises a network slice subnet management function (NSSMF) configured to manage a network slice subnet instance (NSSI) including the lower-level entity,
receiving the activation request comprises:
receiving, at the NSSMF, from a network slice management function (NSMF) which manages network slice instances (NSIs) including the higher-level entities, an activation request of the NSSI for a specific NSI of the NSIs (the NSSMF 1202 receives 1751 an activation request from the 3GPP entity 1301, [0205]; such activation may comprise commissioning of the NSSIs, [0316]; NSI activation may trigger NSSI activation, [0319]; the NSSMF 1202 may itself receive a request 1244 to reserve resources for use by the NSMF 1201, [0152]), wherein
activating comprises,
activating, at the NSSMF, the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI (In response thereto, the NSSMF 1202 activates 1752 the NSSI, [0205]; the NSMF 1201 receives responses 2722 that indicate that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been activate, [0322]).
However, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose partially activating the NSSI.
Fang teaches partially activating a NSSI shared by NSIs for a specific NSI (the network slice subnet instantiation request further includes a deployment area of the network slice subnet instance, and the network service instantiation request further includes the deployment area of the network slice subnet instance, [0060]; The network slice subnet instance may not need to provide a complete end-to-end network service. The network slice subnet instance may be a set of network functions of a same equipment vendor in the network slice instance, or may be a set of network functions classified based on domains, for example, a network slice subnet instance of a core network and a network slice subnet instance of an access network. A network slice subnet instance may be shared by a plurality of network slice instances, [0091]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to instantiate sets of network functions of a network slice subnet instance in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Fang to optimize resource usage by only activating network functions necessary to meet specific requirements of activated NSIs. One would be motivated to combine these teachings and to utilize an element management system for orchestrating the management of individual network functions within an NSSI to facilitate automated provisioning and dynamic scalability.
Regarding claim 5, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose the method of claim 4, wherein partially activating, at the NSSMF, the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI comprises transmitting, at the NSSMF, a managed function (MF) activation request for the specific NSI to an element management system (EMS) which managed MFs, to allow the EMS to configure some of the MFs as an MF to activate for the specific NSI in response to the MF activation request.
Fang teaches wherein partially activating, at a NSSMF, the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI comprises:
transmitting, at the NSSMF, a managed function (MF) activation request for the specific NSI to an element management system (EMS) which managed MFs (sending, by the network slice subnet management function entity, a service configuration request to an element management system corresponding to the network slice subnet management function entity, where the service configuration request includes the service configuration requirement information, [0041]; a network function is customized and tailored, and a corresponding network function is orchestrated and managed, [0085]; sends the service configuration requirement information 1 to an EMS 1 corresponding to the NSSMF, [0149]), to allow the EMS to configure some of the MFs as an MF to activate for the specific NSI in response to the MF activation request (An element management system (EMS) is an element management system of a network function, and is configured to deliver service configuration of the network function to the network function, [0098]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to instantiate sets of network functions of a network slice subnet instance in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Fang to optimize resource usage by only activating network functions necessary to meet specific requirements of activated NSIs. One would be motivated to combine these teachings and to utilize an element management system for orchestrating the management of individual network functions within an NSSI to facilitate automated provisioning and dynamic scalability.
Regarding 6, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose the method of claim 4, wherein partially activating, at the NSSMF, the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI comprises transmitting, at the NSSMF, an MF configuration request for the specific NSI to the EMS which manages the MFs, to allow the EMS to configure an MF for the specific NSI by missing some of the MFs in response to the MF configuration request.
Fang teaches wherein partially activating, at the NSSMF, the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI comprises:
transmitting, at the NSSMF, an MF configuration request for the specific NSI to the EMS which manages the MFs (sending, by the network slice subnet management function entity, a service configuration request to an element management system corresponding to the network slice subnet management function entity, where the service configuration request includes the service configuration requirement information, [0041]; a network function is customized and tailored, and a corresponding network function is orchestrated and managed, [0085]; sends the service configuration requirement information 1 to an EMS 1 corresponding to the NSSMF, [0149]), to allow the EMS to configure an MF for the specific NSI by missing some of the MFs in response to the MF configuration request (An element management system (EMS) is an element management system of a network function, and is configured to deliver service configuration of the network function to the network function, [0098]; the network slice template further includes a service configuration file, and the service configuration file is used for service configuration of the network function, to implement a service function or some service functions, [0029]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to instantiate sets of network functions of a network slice subnet instance in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Fang to optimize resource usage by only activating network functions necessary to meet specific requirements of activated NSIs. One would be motivated to combine these teachings and to utilize an element management system for orchestrating the management of individual network functions within an NSSI to facilitate automated provisioning and dynamic scalability.
Regarding claim 7, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 4, wherein partially activating, at the NSSMF, the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI comprises:
transmitting, at the NSSMF, a network reconfiguration request for enabling network communication related to the specific NSI to a network controller (NSI modification in the operation phase may include several work flows, including, without limitation, changes in NSI capacity, changes in NSI topology and/or NSI reconfiguration. NSI modification can be triggered, without limitation, by receiving new NSI-related requirements, by receiving new communication service requirements and/or automatically as a result of NSI supervision. NSI modification may trigger NSSI modification, [0327]), to allow the network controller to reconfigure a network in response to the network reconfiguration request (The NSSMF 1202 completes 1742 the preparation of the network environment by finalizing the reservations, updating policy, on-boarding any additional functions and/or any other configurations. In some examples, this may include preparations by the constituent management entities 1205 that are triggered by signal flows 1743, 1744, 1745 from the NSSMF 1202, [0202]).
Regarding claim 14, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 11, wherein the management node comprises a network slice subnet management function (NSSMF) configured to manage a network slice subnet instance (NSSI) including the lower-level entity, and
wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
receive from a network slice management function (NSMF) configured to manage network slice instances (NSIs) including the higher-level entities, an activation request of the NSSI for a specific NSI of the NSIs (the NSSMF 1202 receives 1751 an activation request from the 3GPP entity 1301, [0205]; such activation may comprise commissioning of the NSSIs, [0316]; NSI activation may trigger NSSI activation, [0319]; the NSSMF 1202 may itself receive a request 1244 to reserve resources for use by the NSMF 1201, [0152]), and
activate the NSSI shared by the NSIs for the specific NSI (In response thereto, the NSSMF 1202 activates 1752 the NSSI, [0205]; the NSMF 1201 receives responses 2722 that indicate that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been activate, [0322]).
However, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose partially activating the NSSI.
Fang teaches at least one processor is configured to:
partially activate a NSSI shared by NSIs for a specific NSI (the network slice subnet instantiation request further includes a deployment area of the network slice subnet instance, and the network service instantiation request further includes the deployment area of the network slice subnet instance, [0060]; The network slice subnet instance may not need to provide a complete end-to-end network service. The network slice subnet instance may be a set of network functions of a same equipment vendor in the network slice instance, or may be a set of network functions classified based on domains, for example, a network slice subnet instance of a core network and a network slice subnet instance of an access network. A network slice subnet instance may be shared by a plurality of network slice instances, [0091]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to instantiate sets of network functions of a network slice subnet instance in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Fang to optimize resource usage by only activating network functions necessary to meet specific requirements of activated NSIs. One would be motivated to combine these teachings and to utilize an element management system for orchestrating the management of individual network functions within an NSSI to facilitate automated provisioning and dynamic scalability.
Regarding claim 15, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose the management node of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to control the management node to transmit a managed function (MF) activation request for the specific NSI to an element management system (EMS) configured to manage MFs, to thus allow the EMS to configure some of the MFs as an MF to activate for the specific NSI in response to the MF activation request.
Fang teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
control a management node to transmit a managed function (MF) activation request for the specific NSI to an element management system (EMS) configured to manage MFs (sending, by the network slice subnet management function entity, a service configuration request to an element management system corresponding to the network slice subnet management function entity, where the service configuration request includes the service configuration requirement information, [0041]; a network function is customized and tailored, and a corresponding network function is orchestrated and managed, [0085]; sends the service configuration requirement information 1 to an EMS 1 corresponding to the NSSMF, [0149]), to thus allow the EMS to configure some of the MFs as an MF to activate for the specific NSI in response to the MF activation request (An element management system (EMS) is an element management system of a network function, and is configured to deliver service configuration of the network function to the network function, [0098]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to instantiate sets of network functions of a network slice subnet instance in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Fang to optimize resource usage by only activating network functions necessary to meet specific requirements of activated NSIs. One would be motivated to combine these teachings and to utilize an element management system for orchestrating the management of individual network functions within an NSSI to facilitate automated provisioning and dynamic scalability.
Regarding claim 16, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose the management node of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to control the management node to transmit an MF configuration request for the specific NSI to the EMS which manages the MFs, to thus allow the EMS to configure an MF for the specific NSI by missing some of the MFs in response to the MF configuration request.
Fang teaches wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
control the management node to transmit an MF configuration request for the specific NSI to the EMS which manages the MFs (sending, by the network slice subnet management function entity, a service configuration request to an element management system corresponding to the network slice subnet management function entity, where the service configuration request includes the service configuration requirement information, [0041]; a network function is customized and tailored, and a corresponding network function is orchestrated and managed, [0085]; sends the service configuration requirement information 1 to an EMS 1 corresponding to the NSSMF, [0149]), to thus allow the EMS to configure an MF for the specific NSI by missing some of the MFs in response to the MF configuration request (An element management system (EMS) is an element management system of a network function, and is configured to deliver service configuration of the network function to the network function, [0098]; the network slice template further includes a service configuration file, and the service configuration file is used for service configuration of the network function, to implement a service function or some service functions, [0029]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to instantiate sets of network functions of a network slice subnet instance in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Fang to optimize resource usage by only activating network functions necessary to meet specific requirements of activated NSIs. One would be motivated to combine these teachings and to utilize an element management system for orchestrating the management of individual network functions within an NSSI to facilitate automated provisioning and dynamic scalability.
Regarding claim 17, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
control the management node to transmit a network reconfiguration request for enabling network communication related to the specific NSI to a network controller (NSI modification in the operation phase may include several work flows, including, without limitation, changes in NSI capacity, changes in NSI topology and/or NSI reconfiguration. NSI modification can be triggered, without limitation, by receiving new NSI-related requirements, by receiving new communication service requirements and/or automatically as a result of NSI supervision. NSI modification may trigger NSSI modification, [0327]), to allow the network controller to reconfigure a network in response to the network reconfiguration request (The NSSMF 1202 completes 1742 the preparation of the network environment by finalizing the reservations, updating policy, on-boarding any additional functions and/or any other configurations. In some examples, this may include preparations by the constituent management entities 1205 that are triggered by signal flows 1743, 1744, 1745 from the NSSMF 1202, [0202]).
13. Claims 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bor Yaliniz in view of Katsalis et al. (US 2021/0044482).
Regarding claim 10, Bor Yaliniz teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the management node comprises the NSSMF for managing the NSSI including the lower-level entity, and
deactivating comprises:
deactivating the NSSI based on the NSIs all being deactivated (the NSMF 1201 may receive a message 2932 confirming that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been de-activated, [0346]); and
maintaining the NSSI in an active state based on the NSIs not all being deactivated (NSSMF receives response indicating that NSSI constituents and TN part are deactivated or not deactivated for some reasons, e.g. share constituents cannot be deactivated, [0013]).
However, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose identifying at the NSSMF whether NSIs sharing one NSSI are all deactivated.
Katsalis teaches identifying at a NSSMF whether NSIs sharing one NSSI are all deactivated (The associated TN-NSSIs are deactivated (if they are not shared with another active NSI). [0102]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to ensure a NSSI shared with another active NSI is not deactivated in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Katsalis given the teachings of Bor Yaliniz that shared constituents cannot be deactivated. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because one would recognize that in order to not deactivate a shared NSSI with an active NSI and disrupt operations, there would have to be a determination of the presence of another active NSI.
Regarding claim 20, Bor Yaliniz teaches the management node of claim 19, wherein the management node comprises the NSSMF for managing the NSSI which is the lower-level entity, and
wherein the at least one processor is configured to,
deactivate the NSSI based on the NSIs all being deactivated (the NSMF 1201 may receive a message 2932 confirming that the NSSI(s) ha(ve) been de-activated, [0346]), and
maintain the NSSI in an active state based on the NSIs not all being deactivated (NSSMF receives response indicating that NSSI constituents and TN part are deactivated or not deactivated for some reasons, e.g. share constituents cannot be deactivated, [0013]).
However, Bor Yaliniz does not explicitly disclose identifying whether NSIs which are the higher-level entities sharing one NSSI are all deactivated.
Katsalis teaches identify whether NSIs which are higher-level entities sharing one NSSI are all deactivated (The associated TN-NSSIs are deactivated (if they are not shared with another active NSI). [0102]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to ensure a NSSI shared with another active NSI is not deactivated in the system/method of Bor Yaliniz as suggested by Katsalis given the teachings of Bor Yaliniz that shared constituents cannot be deactivated. One would be motivated to combine these teachings because one would recognize that in order to not deactivate a shared NSSI with an active NSI and disrupt operations, there would have to be a determination of the presence of another active NSI.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Senarath US 2018/0287894 – an Element Management Systems consisting of systems and applications for managing network elements (NE), and aggregating resources of various NSSIs within an NSI to create an end-to-end network.
Senarath US 2018/0316564 - a NSMF may derive network slice subnet related requirements from network slice related requirements and send those to a NSSMF.
Senarath et al. US 2018/0332485 - a NSSMF may determine that multiple NSIs (instantiated by the NSMF) can share a single NSSI, in which case the NSSMF may allocate each of those NSIs to the NSSI.
Senarath et al. US 2019/0052579 - activating and de-activating a NSI based on service requests.
Choi et al. US 2019/0387411 - when a NSSI includes a virtualized part, a NSSM SP may perform a scaling, update or creation operation of an NS instance.
Yao et al. US 2020/0021487 - A NSMS provider invoking a NSSI allocation procedure and creating the MOI for a NSI.
Bor-Yaliniz et al. US 2020/0154292 – a NSSI consumer (NSI provisioning service) makes a request to a NSSI provider (e.g., NSSMF) to provide service descriptions for each service.
Gupta et al. US 2021/0185695 - a Network Slice Subnet Management Service Provider receiving a provisioning NSSI request from Network Slice Subnet Management Service Consumer with network-slice subnet-related requirements.
Thyagaturu et al. US 2023/0006889 - NSI deactivation triggers for NSSI deactivation to deactivate constituent NSSI(s) which is not used by other NSI(s).
Kita et al. US 2023/0043362 - a plurality of NSIs sharing the same NSSI and a NSSMF function for generating and managing network slice subnets forming a part of a network slice, and to provide NSSI management.
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MADHU WOOLCOCK
Examiner
Art Unit 2451
/MADHU WOOLCOCK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2451