Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/759,401

TECHNIQUES FOR PERFORMING DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM SUPPORT

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Jun 28, 2024
Priority
Sep 02, 2021 — continuation of 12/058,097
Examiner
HUSSAIN, TAUQIR
Art Unit
2446
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Cisco Technology Inc.
OA Round
2 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
694 granted / 822 resolved
+26.4% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+26.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
852
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
§103
75.6%
+35.6% vs TC avg
§102
10.7%
-29.3% vs TC avg
§112
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 822 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Amendment This office action is in response to amendment/reconsideration filed on 03/23/2026, the amendment/reconsideration has been considered. Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, and 15 have been amended, claims 6, 13, 16 are canceled and claims 21-23 are newly added. Claims 1-5, 7-12, 14-15 and 17-23 are pending for examination as cited below. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended claim(s) have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-5, 8-12, 14, 15 and 17-23, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lakhera et al. (US Pub. No.: US 2016/0344688 A1), hereinafter “Lak”. As to claim, Lak discloses the invention including, a method (Lak, Abstract) comprising: obtaining, by a device, a pattern associated with a local network, the pattern including at least one of a prefix or a suffix associated with the local network (Lak, [0064], [0065], determine the prefix, Network helper daemon 420 determines the prefix from one or more received AAAA records using the techniques discussed in RFC 7050…which is hereby incorporated); generating a Domain Name System (DNS) packet that comprises (i) the pattern associated with the local network and (ii) a query for an external network address of an external network (Lak, [0064], creates a DNS query to ‘ipv4only.arp’ to determine the prefix used to synthesize IPv6 address….and [0052-0053], DNS64 server 320 requests an IPv6 AAAA record …DNS server 340… provides an IPv4 A record instead. “DNS” server 320 then synthesizes an AAAA record for the web server…”. Together these paragraphs show that the DNS query includes a request for the external IPv4 address); and sending the DNS packet to a public DNS resolver to synthesize an address for use by the device to facilitate communication between the device and the external network (Lak, [0064], creates a DNS query to ‘ipv4only.arpa’….to query DNS64 320…” [0065], once the network helper daemon 420 receives a record from DNS64 server 320 …. It synthesizes a new IPv6 address…” [0053], DNS64 server 320 then synthesizes an AAAA record for the web server and provides the synthesized record to user device 106.”). As to claim 2. Lak discloses, further comprising: configuring an address space of the local network address to comprise at least a portion of an address space of the external network address (Lak, [0053], the synthesized address is formed as <96 bits of prefix use to route traffic to NAT64 310>: <32 bits of the IPv4 address of the IPv4-only destination>.[0064], a reserved name use to query DNS64 320 to determine the prefix used to synthesize IPv6 addresses (e.g., such that traffic with the prefix is routed through NAT64 server 310). Also see [0065], the network helper daemon 420 receives a record from DNS64 server 320 (or from a local cache), it synthesizes a new IPv6 address using the determined prefix (which directs traffic to NAT64 server 310) and the 32-bit IPv4 address of web server 330.). As to claim 3. Lak discloses, further comprising: mapping the local network address using at least one of a local network prefix or suffix of the external network address (Lak, [0053], the synthesized address is formed as <96 bits of prefix use to route traffic to NAT64 310>: <32 bits of the IPv4 address of the IPv4-only destination>. [0065], [0067],the application 410 creates a new transport layer connection to the synthesized IPv6 address). As to claim 4. Lak discloses, further comprising: enabling the local network to be coupled to a resource on the external network using an address mapping of the external network address to the local network address (Lak, [0051], [0053] and [0067], NAT64/DNS64 310… is configured to interface between an Ipv4 network and an IPv6network and map traffic between the two.). As to claim 5. Lak discloses, wherein the address space of the local network address is larger in size than the address space of the external network address (Lak, [0052], IPv6 addresses are 128 bits, IPv4 addresses are 32 bits[0053], the synthesized IPv6 address is constructed as 96-bit prefix + 32-bit IPv4 suffix.). As to claim 7. Lak discloses, the method further comprising: receiving, from the public DNS resolver, data associated with the query (Lak, [0064], the device queries DNS64, [0065], the device receives a record from DNS64 and [0053], DNS64 provides a synthesized AAAA record in response to the query.). As to claim 21, Lak discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the local network is associated with IPv6 and the external network is associated with IPv4 (Lak, [0049], the device operates on an IPv6-only local network, [0051], the remote server resides on an IPv4-only external network and [0049], [0051], NAT64/DNS64 is used specifically to bridge IPv6 local networks to IPv4 external networks.). As to claim 22, the method of claim 1, wherein the external network address is an IPv4 address (Lak, [0051], the remote server resides on an IPv4-only external network.). As to claims 8-12, 14 and 23 are rejected for same rationale as applied to claims 1-5, 7 and 21-22 above. As to claim 15, and 17-20 are rejected for same rationale as applied to claims 1-5, 7, 21-22, 8-12, 14 and 23 above. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see attached PTO-892. 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 TAUQIR HUSSAIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1247. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00 - 8:00 with IFP. 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, Brian J Gillis can be reached on 571 272-7952. 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. /Tauqir Hussain/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 28, 2024
Application Filed
Dec 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Mar 12, 2026
Interview Requested
Mar 19, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 19, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 23, 2026
Response Filed
May 29, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+26.0%)
3y 0m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 822 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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