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 .
This office action is in response to Applicant’s communication filed on 01/14/2026. Claims 1- 20 have been examined.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1,9,17 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1,2,6, 9-10,14,17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nokia et al “Multi -Access Gateway – Controller” Release 24.7 – Control Plane Function Guide – Edition 01 July 2024 (Nokia hereinafter) in view of Wang et al. Publication No. US 2021/0392522 A1 ( Wang hereinafter)
Regarding claim 1
Nokia teaches a method of dynamic switching of network function (NF) communication models in a cellular network (Section 3.5.14.7), the method comprising:
receiving, by a first NF, from a service communication proxy (SCP), a failure message during the first NF running in an indirect communication model, wherein the failure message indicates a failure of the SCP, and wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF and a second NF of a set of second NFs communicate through the SCP (Section 3.5.14.7. – Implementation Overview - In the model D method of indirect communication, the SCP is deployed between the NF consumer and the NF producer. The SCP performs the discovery of the NF producer via the NRF. After discovering and selecting the NF producer, further communication between the consumer and the producer only takes place via the SCP - Section 3.5.14.7.2 – SCP Failure handling - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive
response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode ).
responsive to receiving the failure message, switching, by the first NF, from running in the indirect communication model to running in a direct communication model, wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF and the second NF of the set of second NFs communicate without the SCP; and (Section 3.5.14.7.2 – SCP Failure handling - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode).
However, Nokia does not explicitly teach
running the first NF in the direct communication model
Wang teaches
running the first NF in the direct communication model , wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF and the second NF of the set of second NFs communicate without the SCP; (Fig.3, ¶ 0014 – ¶ 0015 - a detection module, configured to detect a second SCP network element when that it is determined that the first SCP network element fails a return module, configured to return to directly communicating with the second NF entity when it is determined that the first SCP network element fails; and ¶ 0073 – after the first SCP network element fails, the communication system may not check, by using a control function entity, whether another valid SCP network element exists. Instead, the first NF entity directly communicates with the second NF entity).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of Wang. The motivation for doing so is to allow first NF entity directly communicates with the second NF entity. In this way, the first NF entity and the second NF entity can continue communication, thus ensuring the continuity and the reliability and availability of a communication system (Wang – Abstract).
Regarding claim 2
Nokia further teaches
wherein switching from running in the indirect communication model to running in the direct communication model further comprises modifying a configuration setting in the first NF (Section 3.5.15.7.2 - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode)
Regarding claim 6
Nokia does not explicitly teach
monitoring a status of the SCP; responsive to receiving a recovery message indicating a recovery of the SCP, switching, by the first NF, from running in the direct communication model to running in the indirect communication model; and running the first NF in the indirect communication model
However, Wang teaches
monitoring a status of the SCP; responsive to receiving a recovery message indicating a recovery of the SCP, switching, by the first NF, from running in the direct communication model to running in the indirect communication model; and running the first NF in the indirect communication model (¶ 0039 – ¶ 0040 - a first receiving module, configured to receive, when the first NF entity returns to directly communicating with the second network entity, a second notification message indicating that the first SCP network element is restored to a valid state or the second SCP network element is restored to a valid state; and ¶ 0040 the switching module is further configured to switch, according to the second notification message, to indirectly communicating with the second NF entity by using the first SCP network element or the second SCP network element).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of Wang. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to simplify the call flow and reduces the number of transactions the NF must manager by delegating discovery and selection entirely to the SCP .
Regarding claim 9
Nokia teaches a computing system to facilitate a cellular network, the computing system (Section 3.5.14.7), comprising
one or more processing devices; and memory communicatively coupled with and readable by the one or more processing devices and having stored therein processor-readable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to perform operations comprising: receiving, by a first NF, from a service communication proxy (SCP), a failure message during the first NF running in an indirect communication model, wherein the failure message indicates a failure of the SCP, and wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF and a second NF of a set of second NFs communicate through the SCP ( Section 3.5.14.7. – Implementation Overview - In the model D method of indirect communication, the SCP is deployed between the NF consumer and the NF producer. The SCP performs the discovery of the NF producer via the NRF. After discovering and selecting the NF producer, further communication between the consumer and the producer only takes place via the SCP - Section 3.5.14.7.2 – SCP Failure handling - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode ).
responsive to receiving the failure message, switching, by the first NF, from running in the indirect communication model to running in a direct communication model, wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF and the second NF of the set of second NFs communicate without the SCP; and (Section 3.5.14.7.2 – SCP Failure handling - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode).
However, Nokia does not explicitly teach
running the first NF in the direct communication model
Wang teaches
running the first NF in the direct communication model , wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF and the second NF of the set of second NFs communicate without the SCP; (Fig.3, ¶ 0014 – ¶ 0015 - a detection module, configured to detect a second SCP network element when that it is determined that the first SCP network element fails a return module, configured to return to directly communicating with the second NF entity when it is determined that the first SCP network element fails; and ¶ 0073 – after the first SCP network element fails, the communication system may not check, by using a control function entity, whether another valid SCP network element exists. Instead, the first NF entity directly communicates with the second NF entity).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of Wang. The motivation for doing so is to allow first NF entity directly communicates with the second NF entity. In this way, the first NF entity and the second NF entity can continue communication, thus ensuring the continuity and the reliability and availability of a communication system (Wang – Abstract).
Regarding claim 10
Nokia further teaches
wherein switching from running in the indirect communication model to running in the direct communication model further comprises modifying a configuration setting in the first NF (Section 3.5.15.7.2 - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode).
Regarding claim 14
Nokia does not explicitly teach
monitoring a status of the SCP; responsive to receiving a recovery message indicating a recovery of the SCP, switching, by the first NF, from running in the direct communication model to running in the indirect communication model; and running the first NF in the indirect communication model
However, Wang teaches
monitoring a status of the SCP; responsive to receiving a recovery message indicating a recovery of the SCP, switching, by the first NF, from running in the direct communication model to running in the indirect communication model; and running the first NF in the indirect communication model (¶ 0039 – ¶ 0040 - a first receiving module, configured to receive, when the first NF entity returns to directly communicating with the second network entity, a second notification message indicating that the first SCP network element is restored to a valid state or the second SCP network element is restored to a valid state; and ¶ 0040 the switching module is further configured to switch, according to the second notification message, to indirectly communicating with the second NF entity by using the first SCP network element or the second SCP network element).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of Wang. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to simplify the call flow and reduces the number of transactions the NF must manager by delegating discovery and selection entirely to the SCP .
Regarding claim 17
Nokia teaches One or more non-transitory, computer-readable storage media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to perform operations (Section 3.5.14.7),comprising:
receiving, by a first network function, from a service communication proxy (SCP), a failure message during the first NF running in an indirect communication model, wherein the failure message indicates a failure of the SCP, and wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF and a second NF of a set of second NFs communicate through the SCP (( Section 3.5.14.7. – Implementation Overview - In the model D method of indirect communication, the SCP is deployed between the NF consumer and the NF producer. The SCP performs the discovery of the NF producer via the NRF. After discovering and selecting the NF producer, further communication between the consumer and the producer only takes place via the SCP - Section 3.5.14.7.2 – SCP Failure handling - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode ).
responsive to receiving the failure message, switching, by the first NF, from running in the indirect communication model to running in a direct communication model, wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF and the second NF of the set of second NFs communicate without the SCP; and ( Section 3.5.14.7.2 – SCP Failure handling - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode).
However, Nokia does not explicitly teach
running the first NF in the direct communication model
Wang teaches
running the first NF in the direct communication model , wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF and the second NF of the set of second NFs communicate without the SCP; (Fig.3, ¶ 0014 – ¶ 0015 - a detection module, configured to detect a second SCP network element when that it is determined that the first SCP network element fails a return module, configured to return to directly communicating with the second NF entity when it is determined that the first SCP network element fails; and ¶ 0073 – after the first SCP network element fails, the communication system may not check, by using a control function entity, whether another valid SCP network element exists. Instead, the first NF entity directly communicates with the second NF entity).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of Wang. The motivation for doing so is to allow first NF entity directly communicates with the second NF entity. In this way, the first NF entity and the second NF entity can continue communication, thus ensuring the continuity and the reliability and availability of a communication system (Wang – Abstract).
Regarding claim 18
Nokia further teaches
wherein switching from running in the indirect communication model to running in the direct communication model further comprises modifying a configuration setting in the first NF (Section 3.5.15.7.2 - The SMF can use the communication model D with an option to fallback to model A, or assume-positive response in the event of a failure from the SCP. The SCP failure handling is triggered if the SCP rejects the request or it does not respond. In the case of a failure between the SMF and the SCP, the client-service configuration defines the communication model and the optional fallback mechanism. Use the following commands to configure the mode and fallback options. configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-sdm mode configure mobile-gateway pdn sba-client-services udm-client nudm-uecm mode)
Claims 3-5, 11-13, 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nokia in view of Wang further in view of 3GPP et al. “3GPP TS 23.501 V 18.6.0 – System architecture for the 5G system” – 2024 – 06 ( 3GPP hereinafter)
Regarding claim 3
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the SCP communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the SCP selects the second NF from the set of second NFs.
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the SCP communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the SCP selects the second NF from the set of second NFs (Section 5.21.3.3 - For Indirect Communication mode, the SCP or NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF and selects another NF producer instance within the same NF Set if the original NF producer instance serving the UE is not available anymore - Section 6.31 - In the case of Indirect Communication with Delegated Discovery, the SCP will discover and select a suitable NF instance and NF service instance based on discovery and selection parameters provided by the requester NF and optional interaction with the NRF. The NRF to be used may be provided by the NF consumer as part of the discovery parameters, e.g. as a result of a NSSF query. The SCP may use the information from a valid cached discovery result for subsequent selections (i.e. the SCP does not need to trigger a new NF discovery procedure to perform the selection – See Section - 6.3.1.1).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery (Section 6.31 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 4
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs(Section 5.21.3.3 - For Indirect Communication mode, the SCP or NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF and selects another NF producer instance within the same NF Set if the original NF producer instance serving the UE is not available anymore – See Section 5.21.3.4, Section 6. 31 -In the case of Indirect Communication without Delegated Discovery, the requester NF uses the discovery result to select a NF instance while the associated NF service instance selection may be done by the requester NF and/or an SCP on behalf of the requester NF – See Section 6.3.2) .
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery (Section 6.31 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 5
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs (Section – 5.21.3.3 - For Direct Communication mode, the NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF. If the NF Service consumer is notified by the NRF or detects by itself (e.g. request is not responded) that the NF producer instance is not available anymore, another available NF producer instance within the same NF Set is selected by the NF Service consumer) .
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery ((Section – 5.21.3.3 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 11
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the SCP communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the SCP selects the second NF from the set of second NFs.
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the SCP communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the SCP selects the second NF from the set of second NFs (Section 5.21.3.3 - For Indirect Communication mode, the SCP or NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF and selects another NF producer instance within the same NF Set if the original NF producer instance serving the UE is not available anymore -See Section 6.31 - In the case of Indirect Communication with Delegated Discovery, the SCP will discover and select a suitable NF instance and NF service instance based on discovery and selection parameters provided by the requester NF and optional interaction with the NRF. The NRF to be used may be provided by the NF consumer as part of the discovery parameters, e.g. as a result of a NSSF query. The SCP may use the information from a valid cached discovery result for subsequent selections (i.e. the SCP does not need to trigger a new NF discovery procedure to perform the selection – See Section - 6.3.1.1).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery (Section 6.31 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 12
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs(Section 5.21.3.3 - For Indirect Communication mode, the SCP or NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF and selects another NF producer instance within the same NF Set if the original NF producer instance serving the UE is not available anymore – See Section 5.21.3.4, Section 6. 31 -In the case of Indirect Communication without Delegated Discovery, the requester NF uses the discovery result to select a NF instance while the associated NF service instance selection may be done by the requester NF and/or an SCP on behalf of the requester NF – See Section 6.3.2) .
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery (Section 6.31 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 13
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs (Section – 5.21.3.3 - For Direct Communication mode, the NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF. If the NF Service consumer is notified by the NRF or detects by itself (e.g. request is not responded) that the NF producer instance is not available anymore, another available NF producer instance within the same NF Set is selected by the NF Service consumer) .
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery ((Section – 5.21.3.3 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 19
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the SCP communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the SCP selects the second NF from the set of second NFs.
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the indirect communication model, the SCP communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the SCP selects the second NF from the set of second NFs (Section 5.21.3.3 - For Indirect Communication mode, the SCP or NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF and selects another NF producer instance within the same NF Set if the original NF producer instance serving the UE is not available anymore -See Section 6.31 - In the case of Indirect Communication with Delegated Discovery, the SCP will discover and select a suitable NF instance and NF service instance based on discovery and selection parameters provided by the requester NF and optional interaction with the NRF. The NRF to be used may be provided by the NF consumer as part of the discovery parameters, e.g. as a result of a NSSF query. The SCP may use the information from a valid cached discovery result for subsequent selections (i.e. the SCP does not need to trigger a new NF discovery procedure to perform the selection – See Section - 6.3.1.1).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery (Section 6.31 – 3GPP).
Regarding claim 20
Nokia does not explicitly teach
wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs
However, 3GPP teaches
wherein, in the direct communication model, the first NF communicates with a network repository function (NRF) for discovery of the set of second NFs, and the first NF selects the second NF from the set of second NFs (Section – 5.21.3.3 - For Direct Communication mode, the NF Service consumer may subscribe to status change notifications of NF instance from the NRF. If the NF Service consumer is notified by the NRF or detects by itself (e.g. request is not responded) that the NF producer instance is not available anymore, another available NF producer instance within the same NF Set is selected by the NF Service consumer) .
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia to include the teachings of 3GPP. The motivation for doing so is to allow the system to perform NF discovery ((Section – 5.21.3.3 – 3GPP).
Claims 7,15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nokia in view of Wang in view of Gochkov et al. Publication No.US 2019/0347352 A1 ( Gochkov hereinafter)
Regarding claim 7
Nokia in view of Wang further teaches wherein monitoring the status of the SCP (Wang - ¶ 0039 – ¶ 0040). However, Nokia in view of Wang does not explicitly teach
sending a dummy signal to the SCP periodically; and receiving, from the SCP, a response indicating whether the SCP is recovered from the failure
Gochkov teaches
sending a dummy signal to a proxy periodically; and receiving, from the proxy, a response indicating whether the proxy is recovered from the failure ( ¶ 0053 - monitoring is performed on a periodic basis such as, for example, every minute. However, monitoring may be performed with any other frequency - ¶ 0058 – ¶ 0059 - the example agent handles the node restoration (Block 538). An example approach to handling the node restoration is described below in connection with FIG. 8. If no local node failure has been identified ( e.g., block 537 returns a result of NO), or upon handling of the local node restoration (e.g., upon completion of block 538), control proceeds to block 540, where the example remote node monitor 225 determines whether a master node failure has been detected. (Block 540) - the remote node monitor may transmit a dummy query to the database 134 of the master node 130 and review a received response as an indication of whether the master node has encountered a failure. If the example remote node monitor 225 identifies that the master node has encountered a failure (e.g., block 540 returns a result of YES), control proceeds to block 545 where the example remote node monitor 225 handles the master node failure. (Block 545). An example approach to handling the failure of the master node is described below in connection with FIG. 6 -See Also Fig.8).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia in view of Wang to include dummy signal taught by Gochkov. The motivation for doing so is to allow for accurate performance verification and troubleshooting.
Regarding claim 15
Nokia in view of Wang further teaches wherein monitoring the status of the SCP (Wang - ¶ 0039 – ¶ 0040). However, Nokia in view of Wang does not explicitly teach
sending a dummy signal to the SCP periodically; and receiving, from the SCP, a response indicating whether the SCP is recovered from the failure
Gochkov teaches
sending a dummy signal to a proxy periodically; and receiving, from the proxy, a response indicating whether the proxy is recovered from the failure ( ¶ 0053 - monitoring is performed on a periodic basis such as, for example, every minute. However, monitoring may be performed with any other frequency - ¶ 0058 – ¶ 0059 - the example agent handles the node restoration (Block 538). An example approach to handling the node restoration is described below in connection with FIG. 8. If no local node failure has been identified ( e.g., block 537 returns a result of NO), or upon handling of the local node restoration (e.g., upon completion of block 538), control proceeds to block 540, where the example remote node monitor 225 determines whether a master node failure has been detected. (Block 540) - the remote node monitor may transmit a dummy query to the database 134 of the master node 130 and review a received response as an indication of whether the master node has encountered a failure. If the example remote node monitor 225 identifies that the master node has encountered a failure (e.g., block 540 returns a result of YES), control proceeds to block 545 where the example remote node monitor 225 handles the master node failure. (Block 545). An example approach to handling the failure of the master node is described below in connection with FIG. 6 -See Also Fig.8).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia in view of Wang to include the teachings of Gochkov. The motivation for doing so is to allow for accurate performance verification and troubleshooting.
Claims 8,16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nokia in view of Wang further in view of Turina et al. Publication No. US 2023/0006888 A1 ( Turina hereinafter)
Regarding claim 8
Nokia in view of Wang further teaches
wherein switching from running in the direct communication model to running in the indirect communication model further comprises ( Wang -¶ 0040 - a first receiving module, configured to receive, when the first NF entity returns to directly communicating with the second network entity, a second notification message indicating that the first SCP network element is restored to a valid state or the second SCP network element is restored to a valid state; and ¶ 0040 the switching module is further configured to switch, according to the second notification message, to indirectly communicating with the second NF entity by using the first SCP network element or the second SCP network element).
However, Nokia in view of Wang does not explicitly teach
modifying a configuration setting in the first NF
Turina teaches
modifying a configuration setting in the first NF (¶0019 - wherein the first NF producer node is to migrate from a direct communication mode with a first NF consumer node to an indirect communication mode with the first NF consumer node via a Service Communication Proxy, SCP, node in the communication network. The method in the first NF producer node comprises: updating a stored service address for a network repository function, NRF, node in the communication network to a service address of the SCP node, wherein the NRF node is storing a NF profile for the first NF producer node; and sending a registration request the SCP node, wherein the registration request is a request to register a NF profile for the first NF producer node at the SCP node).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia in view of Wang to include the teachings of Turina. The motivation for doing so is to allow system to migrate from direct communication model to indirect communication model (Turina - ¶0001).
Regarding claim 16
Nokia in view of Wang further teaches
wherein switching from running in the direct communication model to running in the indirect communication model further comprises ( Wang -¶ 0040 - a first receiving module, configured to receive, when the first NF entity returns to directly communicating with the second network entity, a second notification message indicating that the first SCP network element is restored to a valid state or the second SCP network element is restored to a valid state; and ¶ 0040 the switching module is further configured to switch, according to the second notification message, to indirectly communicating with the second NF entity by using the first SCP network element or the second SCP network element).
However, Nokia in view of Wang does not explicitly teach
modifying a configuration setting in the first NF
Turina teaches
modifying a configuration setting in the first NF (¶ 0019 - wherein the first NF producer node is to migrate from a direct communication mode with a first NF consumer node to an indirect communication mode with the first NF consumer node via a Service Communication Proxy, SCP, node in the communication network. The method in the first NF producer node comprises: updating a stored service address for a network repository function, NRF, node in the communication network to a service address of the SCP node, wherein the NRF node is storing a NF profile for the first NF producer node; and sending a registration request the SCP node, wherein the registration request is a request to register a NF profile for the first NF producer node at the SCP node).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nokia in view of Wang to include the teachings of Turina. The motivation for doing so is to allow system to migrate from direct communication model to indirect communication model (Turina - ¶ 0001)
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.
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/YOUNES NAJI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445
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