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 .
Status of claims
Claims 5-20 are pending in this Office Action.
Claims 1-20 restriction and/or election requirement is withdrawn.
Drawings
The formal drawings received on 07/29/2024 have been entered.
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 5-19 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. Claim limitation “5. … a plurality of Ethernet MAC group (EMG) modules, each servicing a group of one or more Ethernet ports; b) a plurality of packet forwarding engines (PFEs), … a user-interface module adapted to receive a configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs to define a set of active interconnect data links within the set of interconnect data links. 6. … wherein the user-interface module is adapted to receive a second configuration configuring a second association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs, …. 7. … wherein at least one of the EMG modules can transmit packets to only one of the plurality of PFEs. 8. … wherein the user interface module allows each of at least some of the plurality of PFEs to be configured to enable or disable its being shared by more than one EMG module. 18. … wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display an association of ports and PFEs based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs. 19. … wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display, in response to a query to show information about a given interface, any of the plurality of PFEs associated with the given interface based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs.” invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. The disclosure is devoid of any structure that performs the function in the claim. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph;
(b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites what structure, material, or acts perform the entire claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(c) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links the structure, material, or acts disclosed therein to the function recited in the claim, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)).
If applicant is of the opinion that the written description of the specification already implicitly or inherently discloses the corresponding structure, material, or acts and clearly links them to the function so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize what structure, material, or acts perform the claimed function, applicant should clarify the record by either:
(a) Amending the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function and clearly links or associates the structure, material, or acts to the claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(b) Stating on the record what the corresponding structure, material, or acts, which are implicitly or inherently set forth in the written description of the specification, perform the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181.
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.
Claim(s) 5-7, 10, 11, 14-17, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2015101003) in view of Sanghvi (US 20210377164).
5. Li teaches:
A data forwarding device including: – on pages 1-49 (The network device provided by the embodiment of the present invention can separate the forwarding engine from the line card, and can increase the flexibility of the configuration of the interface and the forwarding engine.)
a) a plurality of Ethernet MAC group (EMG) modules, – on pages 1-49 (The line card 104.)
each servicing a group of one or more Ethernet ports; – on pages 1-49 (As shown in FIG. 1, the network device 100 includes multiple forwarding engines 102. The network device 100 further includes a mapper 103 and a line card 104. The line card 104 includes a physical interface, such as a Gigabit Ethernet (GE) interface.)
b) a plurality of packet forwarding engines (PFEs), – on pages 1-49 (As shown in FIG. 1, the network device 100 includes multiple forwarding engines 102.)
each adapted to process packets received from one or more of the EMG modules; – on pages 1-49 (The network device 100 may also include more than two forwarding engines. The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplified by two line cards. The forwarding engine 102 sends the packet to other forwarding engines for processing. The first forwarding engine sends the second packet to a second forwarding engine, or sends the second packet to the mapper.)
c) a set of interconnect data links between the plurality of EMG modules and the plurality of PFEs, – on pages 1-49 (The forwarding engine and the line card of the network device 100 may be in a one-to-one relationship, or may be a one-to-one relationship, or may be a one-to-many relationship, which may be specifically according to the network device 100.)
wherein at least one of the EMG modules can transmit packets to a selectable one of at least two of the plurality of PFEs; and – on pages 1-49 (The mapper 103 is configured to send the packet from the line card to the corresponding forwarding engine 102. The second forwarding engine receives the second packet, and processes the second packet to obtain a third packet.)
d) a user-interface module adapted to receive a configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs to define a set of active interconnect data links within the set of interconnect data links. – on pages 1-49 (The predefined policy includes: a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, a state of a forwarding engine, and a load of a forwarding engine. The main control board 105 is further configured to generate a correspondence between the forwarding engine and the physical interface according to a predefined policy. For example, the predefined policy may be based on a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, and a forwarding engine.)
Li does not explicitly teach:
a user-interface module adapted to receive a configuration.
However, Sanghvi teaches:
a user-interface module adapted to receive a configuration – in paragraphs [0024]-[0120] (Device manager 128 may configure the physical devices by pushing the policy information received via GUI 126 to create a routing instance for a source LR, and to specify particular IP addresses for each LR.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Li with Sanghvi to include a user-interface module adapted to receive a configuration, as taught by Sanghvi, in paragraphs [0003]-[0011], to enable network controllers to auto-generate routing policies for deployment to physical devices (e.g., physical routers and/or switches) that operate to provide packet forwarding via the switch fabric of an interconnected topology of a data center.
20. Claim 20 is substantially similar to claim 5 except for the following limitations:
Li teaches:
- a set of configurable interconnect data links between at least one of the EMG modules and at least one of the PFEs, – on pages 1-49 (The main control board 105 is further configured to generate a correspondence between the forwarding engine and the physical interface according to a predefined policy.)
a) receiving a configuration input for configuring the set of configurable interconnect data links associating each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs; and – on pages 1-49 (The predefined policy includes: a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, a state of a forwarding engine, and a load of a forwarding engine. The main control board 105 is further configured to generate a correspondence between the forwarding engine and the physical interface according to a predefined policy. For example, the predefined policy may be based on a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, and a forwarding engine.)
b) applying the configuration input received such that a set of one or more PFEs receives packets from a set of one or more EMG modules, via one or more of the configurable interconnect data links defining a set of active interconnect data links within the set of configurable interconnect data links, in accordance with the configuration input received. – on pages 1-49 (The predefined policy includes: a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, a state of a forwarding engine, and a load of a forwarding engine. The main control board 105 is further configured to generate a correspondence between the forwarding engine and the physical interface according to a predefined policy. For example, the predefined policy may be based on a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, and a forwarding engine. The network device 100 may also include more than two forwarding engines. The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplified by two line cards. The forwarding engine 102 sends the packet to other forwarding engines for processing. The first forwarding engine sends the second packet to a second forwarding engine, or sends the second packet to the mapper.)
6. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein the user-interface module is adapted to receive a second configuration configuring a second association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs, wherein the second association is different from the first association. – on pages 1-49 (The predefined policy includes: a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, a state of a forwarding engine, and a load of a forwarding engine. The main control board 105 is further configured to generate a correspondence between the forwarding engine and the physical interface according to a predefined policy. For example, the predefined policy may be based on a service configuration, a bandwidth of a physical interface, and a forwarding engine.)
In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960) (Claims at issue were directed to a water-tight masonry structure wherein a water seal of flexible material fills the joints which form between adjacent pours of concrete. The claimed water seal has a "web" which lies in the joint, and a plurality of "ribs" projecting outwardly from each side of the web into one of the adjacent concrete slabs. The prior art disclosed a flexible water stop for preventing passage of water between masses of concrete in the shape of a plus sign (+). Although the reference did not disclose a plurality of ribs, the court held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced.). See MPEP 2144 (VI)(B).
7. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein at least one of the EMG modules can transmit packets to only one of the plurality of PFEs. – on pages 1-49 (The mapper 103 is configured to send the packet from the line card to the corresponding forwarding engine 102. The second forwarding engine receives the second packet, and processes the second packet to obtain a third packet.)
10. The data forwarding device of 5,
Li teaches:
wherein the set of active interconnect data links within the set of interconnect data links permit one of the EMG modules to transmit packets to at least two PFEs. – on pages 1-49 (The mapper 103 is configured to send the packet from the line card to the corresponding forwarding engine 102. The second forwarding engine receives the second packet, and processes the second packet to obtain a third packet.)
11. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein the set of active interconnect data links within the set of interconnect data links permit one of the PFEs to receive packets from at least two EMG modules. – on pages 1-49 (The mapper 103 is configured to send the packet from the line card to the corresponding forwarding engine 102. The second forwarding engine receives the second packet, and processes the second packet to obtain a third packet.)
14. The data forwarding device of 5 – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein a first one of the plurality of EMG modules is associated with a first set of at least one first interface module providing a first number of lanes of data, wherein a second one of the plurality of EMG modules is associated with a second set of at least one second interface module providing a second number of lanes of data, and wherein the second number of lanes of data is greater than the first number of lanes of data. – on pages 1-49 (The network device 100 may also include more than two forwarding engines. The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplified by two line cards. The forwarding engine 102 sends the packet to other forwarding engines for processing. The first forwarding engine sends the second packet to a second forwarding engine, or sends the second packet to the mapper.)
15. The data forwarding device of 14, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein the first set of at least one first interface module is associated with, and services, a first number of at least one port, and wherein the second set of a least one second interface module is associated with, and services, a second number of at least one port. – on pages 1-49 (A network device is provided, including a plurality of forwarding engines, a mapper and a line card; the line card includes a physical interface; the mapper includes an uplink port and a downlink port; and the uplink port is the mapper connection a port of the forwarding engine; a downlink port is a port to which the mapper connects the line card;)
16. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs to define a set of active interconnect data links within the set of interconnect data links is one of a plurality of configuration modes, – on pages 1-49 (The network device 100 may also include more than two forwarding engines. The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplified by two line cards. The forwarding engine 102 sends the packet to other forwarding engines for processing. The first forwarding engine sends the second packet to a second forwarding engine, or sends the second packet to the mapper.)
wherein in a first of the plurality of configuration modes, each PFE services the same number of EMG modules, and – on pages 1-49 (As shown in FIG. 1, the network device 100 includes multiple forwarding engines 102.)
wherein in a second of the plurality of configuration modes, a first PFE services a first number of EMG modules, and a second PFE services a second number of EMG modules, different from the first number. – on pages 1-49 (The forwarding engine and the line card of the network device 100 may be in a one-to-one relationship, or may be a one-to-one relationship, or may be a one-to-many relationship, which may be specifically according to the network device 100.)
17. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Li teaches:
wherein the plurality of plurality of EMG modules consists of four (4) EMG modules, – on pages1-49 (If there are multiple line cards 104 within a network device 100, the physical interfaces on the different line cards 104 may have the same identity.)
wherein the plurality of PFEs consists of two (2) PFEs, and – on pages 1-49 (The switching network chip is configured to exchange packets between the multiple forwarding engines.)
wherein the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs to define a set of active interconnect data links within the set of interconnect data links is one of a plurality of configuration modes, – on pages 1-49 (A forwarding engine load table is used to record the load status of each forwarding engine; the forwarding engine load table can be maintained by the main control board 105, and each forwarding engine can periodically report the load status, or can be actively initiated by the main control board 105. Query the load status of each forwarding engine.)
wherein in a first of the plurality of configuration modes, each PFE services two EMG modules, and – on pages 1-49 (The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes two forwarding engines as an example, and the network device 100 may also include more than two forwarding engines. The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplified by two line cards. The network device 100 may also include a line card. The network device 100 may also include more than two line cards.)
wherein in a second of the plurality of configuration modes, a first of the two PFEs services one (1) EMG modules, and a second of the two PFEs services three (3) EMG modules. – on pages 1-49 (The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes two forwarding engines as an example, and the network device 100 may also include more than two forwarding engines. The network device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is exemplified by two line cards. The network device 100 may also include a line card. The network device 100 may also include more than two line cards.)
Claim(s) 8, 9, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2015101003) in view of Sanghvi (US 20210377164), and further in view of Poon (US 8509069).
8. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of Li and Sanghvi does not explicitly teach:
wherein the user interface module allows each of at least some of the plurality of PFEs to be configured to enable or disable its being shared by more than one EMG module.
However, Poon teaches:
wherein the user interface module allows each of at least some of the plurality of PFEs to be configured to enable or disable its being shared by more than one EMG module. – on lines 1-67 in columns 4-19 (Interfaces 34 couple PFE 30 to other network devices in a network via network links (not shown in FIG. 3) to enable PFE 30, and thereby the router in which PFE 30 resides, to exchange network packets with the coupled network devices.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Li and Sanghvi with Poon to include wherein the user interface module allows each of at least some of the plurality of PFEs to be configured to enable or disable its being shared by more than one EMG module, as taught by Poon, on lines 1-67 in columns 1-4, allow a packet forwarding engine (PFE) of a network device, such as a high-speed router, to dynamically determine whether to cell-share for each packet.
9. The data forwarding device of 8, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Poon teaches:
wherein the enable or disable sharing configuration of a first PFE affects whether or not sharing of a second PFE is enabled or disabled. – on lines 1-67 in columns 4-19 (As PFE 30 maintains a fabric queue 48 for each fabric destination, control module 46 may enable cell sharing on a per-queue basis. PFE 30 may therefore maintain separate cell-sharing state 40 for each of fabric queues 48. As one example, an administrator may program PFE 30 to set whether cell-sharing is enabled for each fabric destination.)
13. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of Li and Sanghvi does not explicitly teach:
wherein each of the plurality of PFEs include a lookup sub-system, and wherein the lookup sub-system performs at least some of (A) packet processing, (B) route lookup, (C) label lookup, (D) firewall, and/or (E) packet classification.
However, Poon teaches:
wherein each of the plurality of PFEs include a lookup sub-system, and wherein the lookup sub-system performs at least some of (A) packet processing, (B) route lookup, (C) label lookup, (D) firewall, and/or (E) packet classification. – on lines 1-67 in columns 4-19 (Interfaces on IFC 21A send packet data, such as a packet header, to a lookup module of PFE 20A for processing.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Li and Sanghvi with Poon to include wherein each of the plurality of PFEs include a lookup sub-system, and wherein the lookup sub-system performs at least some of (A) packet processing, (B) route lookup, (C) label lookup, (D) firewall, and/or (E) packet classification, as taught by Poon, on lines 1-67 in columns 1-4, allow a packet forwarding engine (PFE) of a network device, such as a high-speed router, to dynamically determine whether to cell-share for each packet.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2015101003) in view of Sanghvi (US 20210377164), and further in view of Tripathi (US 7664938).
12. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of Li and Sanghvi does not explicitly teach:
wherein the plurality of EMG modules is greater in number than the plurality of PFEs, and wherein at least two of the plurality of PFEs are provided as slices sharing on-chip memory.
However, Tripathi teaches:
wherein the plurality of EMG modules is greater in number than the plurality of PFEs, and wherein at least two of the plurality of PFEs are provided as slices sharing on-chip memory. – on lines 1-67 in columns 6-28 (Each channel is shown to maintain context information of a number of flows internally on the on-chip memory (not shown) in order to provide fast switching among the flows. It should be understood that the number of slices and the number of channels shown are arbitrary and can vary according to the desired functionality. The details of the use of contexts will be described in detail below. Lexer 208 and filter 212 are shown to share one processor 228 and 232 among the channels 226a-226c within each slice, while each of the channels 226a-226c of the parser is shown to have its own processor 230.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Li and Sanghvi with Tripathi to include wherein the plurality of EMG modules is greater in number than the plurality of PFEs, and wherein at least two of the plurality of PFEs are provided as slices sharing on-chip memory, as taught by Tripathi, on lines 1-67 in columns 1-5, to provide an acceleration device which can implement middleware functions at the rate of the incoming data would increase the throughput.
Claim(s) 18, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (WO 2015101003) in view of Sanghvi (US 20210377164), and further in view of Hilton (US 8934495).
18. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of Li and Sanghvi does not explicitly teach:
wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display an association of ports and PFEs based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs.
However, Hilton teaches:
wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display an association of ports and PFEs based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs. – on lines 1-67 in columns 4-49 (The GUI is configured to display to a user a path view including one or more forwarding paths for packets from input ports to output ports through one or more filters using representations of input ports, filters, output ports and forwarding paths.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Li and Sanghvi with Hilton to include wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display an association of ports and PFEs based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs, as taught by Hilton, on lines 1-67 in columns 1-4, to collect and analyze packets associated with network communications.
19. The data forwarding device of 5, – refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination of Li and Sanghvi does not explicitly teach:
wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display, in response to a query to show information about a given interface, any of the plurality of PFEs associated with the given interface based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs.
However, Hilton teaches:
wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display, in response to a query to show information about a given interface, any of the plurality of PFEs associated with the given interface based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs. – on lines 1-67 in columns 4-49 (The GUI is configured to display to a user a path view including one or more forwarding paths for packets from input ports to output ports through one or more filters using representations of input ports, filters, output ports and forwarding paths.)
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Li and Sanghvi with Hilton to include wherein the user-interface module is adapted to display, in response to a query to show information about a given interface, any of the plurality of PFEs associated with the given interface based on the configuration configuring an association of each of the plurality of EMG modules with each of the plurality of PFEs, as taught by Hilton, on lines 1-67 in columns 1-4, to collect and analyze packets associated with network communications.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD RAZA whose telephone number is (571)272-7734. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M..
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/MUHAMMAD RAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2449