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 communication is in response to the application filed on 07/29/2024.
Claims 1, 17, 24-26, 28-33, 35-44, and 46 are pending and are rejected. Claims 2-16, 18-23, 27, 34, and 45 have been canceled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/30/24 and 5/15/25 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 17, 24-26, 28-33, 35-36, 38-44, and 46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uriel US 20160285783 A1 ) in view of Serban et al. (US 20200162309 A1), hereafter Serban.
Regarding claim 1, Uriel teaches an orchestrator node, comprising:
processing circuitry configured to ([0023] physical resources (e.g., processor(s)):
receive, from a first virtual security agent, VSA, an indication of a first plurality of wireless devices ([0025] In response to execution of the monitoring instruction received from the example monitoring resource controller 130 (first virtual security agent), the example monitoring agent 105 reports a result of the executed instruction. The monitoring agents 105 execute directly on the CNs 102 (first plurality of wireless devices), each wireless device of the first plurality of wireless devices meeting a first criteria associated with a first level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0039] The example agent controller 210 receives result(s) of the monitoring operation(s) and validates the received result(s) via the example result validator 250. The example result validator 250 analyzes the received result(s) to determine whether the results indicate that the example CNs 102 are operating within an acceptable threshold and provides a validation result to the example agent controller);
in response to the indication of the first plurality of wireless devices, configure a second VSA to monitor communications associated with each of the first plurality of wireless devices ([0028] when the monitoring operation returns a result that exceeds a threshold (e.g., processor utilization of a CN exceeds a threshold of 50%), the monitoring resource controller 130 instructs the monitoring agent 105 of the respective CN to perform additional monitoring operations and/or perform monitoring operations more frequently that consume additional resources, but provide additional information about the operation of the CN);
receive, from the second VSA, an indication of a first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices, each wireless device of the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices meeting a second criteria associated with a second level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0030] a monitoring level is defined to include threshold failure conditions (second criteria associated with a second level) associated with those monitoring operations; [0042] The example memory 220 stores operational data such as, for example a pass/fail flag, a current monitoring level, etc. received from the example agent controller 210. In the illustrated example, the example pass/fail flag is stored as a Boolean value); and
determine to modify a granularity of wireless device monitoring of bi-directional network communications based at least on the indication of the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices ([0035] the administrator 155 may set minimum and/or maximum monitoring levels to be used when monitoring a CN. In examples in which the monitoring level indicates the health of a CN, setting minimum and/or maximum monitoring levels enables the administrator 155 to control a perceived health of the CN).
Uriel does not explicitly teach bi-directional network communications.
Serban teaches bi-directional network communications ([0058] the guided wave communication system 100 can operate in a bi-directional fashion where transmission device 102 receives one or more communication signals 112 from a communication network or device that includes other data and generates guided waves 122 to convey the other data via the transmission medium 125 to the transmission device 101).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the communication between the devices is bi-direction network communications, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so for transmitting and receiving data without requiring an electrical return path.
Regarding claim 17, Uriel teaches a node in communication with a orchestrator node, the node implementing a first virtual security agent, VSA, the node comprising:
processing circuitry configured to ([0023] physical resources (e.g., processor(s)):
monitor a first plurality of wireless devices, each wireless device of the first plurality of wireless devices meeting a first criteria associated with a first level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0039] The example agent controller 210 receives result(s) of the monitoring operation(s) and validates the received result(s) via the example result validator 250. The example result validator 250 analyzes the received result(s) to determine whether the results indicate that the example CNs 102 are operating within an acceptable threshold and provides a validation result to the example agent controller);
determine a first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices meet a second criteria associated with a second level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications different from the first level of monitoring ([0030] a monitoring level is defined to include threshold failure conditions (second criteria associated with a second level) associated with those monitoring operations; [0042] The example memory 220 stores operational data such as, for example a pass/fail flag, a current monitoring level, etc. received from the example agent controller 210. In the illustrated example, the example pass/fail flag is stored as a Boolean value); and
indicate the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices to the orchestrator node for further monitoring by a second VSA ([0079] The monitoring agent performs the monitoring operation(s) and reports the result of the monitoring operation(s) to the agent controller via the example monitoring agent communicator).
Uriel does not explicitly teach bi-directional network communications.
Serban teaches bi-directional network communications ([0058] the guided wave communication system 100 can operate in a bi-directional fashion where transmission device 102 receives one or more communication signals 112 from a communication network or device that includes other data and generates guided waves 122 to convey the other data via the transmission medium 125 to the transmission device 101).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the communication between the devices is bi-direction network communications, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so for transmitting and receiving data without requiring an electrical return path.
Regarding claim 24, Uriel teaches a method implemented by an orchestrator node, the method comprising:
receiving, from a first virtual security agent, VSA, an indication of a first plurality of wireless devices ([0025] In response to execution of the monitoring instruction received from the example monitoring resource controller 130 (first virtual security agent), the example monitoring agent 105 reports a result of the executed instruction. The monitoring agents 105 execute directly on the CNs 102 (first plurality of wireless devices), each wireless device of the first plurality of wireless devices meeting a first criteria associated with a first level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0039] The example agent controller 210 receives result(s) of the monitoring operation(s) and validates the received result(s) via the example result validator 250. The example result validator 250 analyzes the received result(s) to determine whether the results indicate that the example CNs 102 are operating within an acceptable threshold and provides a validation result to the example agent controller);
in response to the indication of the first plurality of wireless devices, configuring a second VSA to monitor communications associated with each of the first plurality of wireless devices ([0028] when the monitoring operation returns a result that exceeds a threshold (e.g., processor utilization of a CN exceeds a threshold of 50%), the monitoring resource controller 130 instructs the monitoring agent 105 of the respective CN to perform additional monitoring operations and/or perform monitoring operations more frequently that consume additional resources, but provide additional information about the operation of the CN);
receiving, from the second VSA, an indication of a first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices, each wireless device of the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices meeting a second criteria associated with a second level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0030] a monitoring level is defined to include threshold failure conditions (second criteria associated with a second level) associated with those monitoring operations; [0042] The example memory 220 stores operational data such as, for example a pass/fail flag, a current monitoring level, etc. received from the example agent controller 210. In the illustrated example, the example pass/fail flag is stored as a Boolean value); and
determining to modify a granularity of wireless device monitoring of bi-directional network communications based at least on the indication of the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices ([0035] the administrator 155 may set minimum and/or maximum monitoring levels to be used when monitoring a CN. In examples in which the monitoring level indicates the health of a CN, setting minimum and/or maximum monitoring levels enables the administrator 155 to control a perceived health of the CN).
Uriel does not explicitly teach bi-directional network communications.
Serban teaches bi-directional network communications ([0058] the guided wave communication system 100 can operate in a bi-directional fashion where transmission device 102 receives one or more communication signals 112 from a communication network or device that includes other data and generates guided waves 122 to convey the other data via the transmission medium 125 to the transmission device 101).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the communication between the devices is bi-direction network communications, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so for transmitting and receiving data without requiring an electrical return path.
Regarding claim 25, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 24, wherein Uriel further teaches the first VSA is configured in a first node and the second VSA is configured in a second node different from the first node ([0031] a rate of resource consumption (e.g., a resource consumption rate) of a first monitoring level may be different from a rate of resource consumption of a second monitoring level).
Regarding claim 26, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 24, Uriel further teaches , in response to the indication of the first plurality of wireless devices, configuring a plurality of VSAs to monitor communications associated with each of the first plurality of wireless devices, the plurality of VSAs including the second VSA ([0018] resources are dynamically allocated using different monitoring levels corresponding to different frequencies at which monitoring operations are performed and/or the types of monitoring operations that are performed); and
each of the plurality of VSAs being associated with a same logical level of granularity of wireless device monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0029] to identify the monitoring operations associated with various monitoring levels of monitoring profiles associated with the example CNs).
Regarding claim 28, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 26, wherein Uriel further teaches the plurality of VSAs correspond to the second VSA and at least one clone of the second VSA ([0047] In response to the validation, the example agent controller may transition from a first monitoring level of the monitoring profile to a second monitoring level of the monitoring profile associated with the CNs; [0059] the second monitoring level may inherit one or more monitoring operations from another monitoring level).
Regarding claim 29, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 26, wherein Serban further teaches plurality of VSAs are configured to inspect the bi-directional network communications at a protocol level different from a protocol level used by the first VSA ([0106] The use of diversity paths with system can enable alternate routing capabilities, load balancing, increased load handling, concurrent bi-directional or synchronous communications; [0290] different of wireless communications can be supported).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the communication between the devices is bi-direction network communications, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so for transmitting and receiving data without requiring an electrical return path.
Regarding claim 30, Uriel and Serban teach the method of any one of Claim 24, wherein Uriel further teaches the first node is one of:
a first type of logical node, in a core network, that is different from a second type of logical node, in the core network, associated with the second node ([0040] monitoring operation(s) of the example monitoring agent(s) 105);
part of the core network while the second node is part of an access network ([0022] The example CNs 102 include an example monitoring agent 105 that executes monitoring operations for their respective CNs 102 to monitor resource utilization); and
in a first type of physical node, in the access network, that is different from a second type of physical node, in the access network, associated with the second node ([0031] a rate of resource consumption (e.g., a resource consumption rate) of a first monitoring level may be different from a rate of resource consumption of a second monitoring level).
Regarding claim 31, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 25, Serban further teaches determining a location within a network to configure the second VSA, the determined location configured to provide the second VSA access to bi-directional network communications of the first plurality of wireless devices for the monitoring of the first plurality of wireless devices , the determined location being based at least on a number the first plurality of wireless devices ([0174] The macro base station can be communicatively coupled to a communication node 1104A that serves as a master or distribution node for other communication nodes distributed at differing geographic locations inside or beyond a coverage area of the macro base station. The communication nodes operate as a distributed antenna system configured to handle communications traffic associated with client devices such as mobile devices (e.g., cell phones) and/or fixed/stationary devices (e.g., a communication device in a residence, or commercial establishment) that are wirelessly coupled to any of the communication nodes ).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the servers are distributed in different locations based on existing node to handle communication of mobile devices, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so to optimize space usage or enhance performance of user equipment.
Regarding claim 32, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 24, Uriel further teaches causing at least a portion of the bi-direction network communication of the first plurality of wireless devices to be steered toward the second VSA ([0040] Different monitoring profiles may be selected for use based on, for example, the type of CN being monitored. For example, a monitoring profile identifying monitoring operations to monitor a database might be used in association with a CN that hosts a database).
Regarding claim 33, Uriel and Serban teach the method of any one of Claim 24, Uriel further teaches comprising one or both:
receiving, from a third VSA, an indication of a second subset of the first subset of the plurality of wireless devices, each wireless device of the second subset meeting a third criteria associated with a third level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0062] Using different thresholds enables control of the monitoring level and, accordingly, resources used by the monitoring operations. For example, a low threshold (e.g., 20% processor utilization) at a first monitoring level might cause the monitoring resource controller to transition to a second monitoring level that utilizes a higher threshold); and
configuring a third VSA to monitor communications associated with the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices, the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices including only a first wireless device ([0062] hold at the second monitoring level until (a) no failure conditions occur for a threshold period of time (causing the example monitoring resource controller to revert to the first monitoring level)).
Regarding claim 34, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 33, Uriel further teaches:
receiving monitoring data, from the third VSA (32), associated with the first wireless device ([0088] the example agent controller may determine whether an instruction from the administrator has been received to increase the monitoring level); and
determining the first wireless device is associated with at least one network attack ([0088] agent controller to determine that the monitoring level should be increased. For example, an indication of an attack against another one of the CNs may cause a heightened level of scrutiny on the one of the CNs under analysis, and may warrant an increase in the monitoring level).
Regarding claim 36, Uriel and Serban teach the method of any one of Claim 33, Uriel further teaches comprising configuring the first VSA in response to at least one network behavior of the first wireless device ([0047] in response to a failure condition, the agent controller may increment the monitoring level and thereby instruct the monitoring agent to perform additional and/or more intensive monitoring operations).
Regarding claim 38, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 33, wherein Uriel further teaches the modified granularity of wireless device monitoring corresponds to the third VSA being configured to provide a higher granularity of wireless device monitoring than a granularity of wireless device monitoring associated with the second VSA ([0065] the monitoring levels may be arranged in any fashion such as, for example, lower monitoring levels being associated with greater resources allocated to the monitoring agent 105 and higher monitoring levels being associated with lesser resources allocated to the monitoring agent).
Regarding claim 39, Uriel and Serban teach the method of any one of Claim 24, wherein Uriel further teaches the modified granularity corresponds to increasing granularity at least in part by decreasing a number of wireless devices to be monitored ([0066] If a failure is detected while executing monitoring operations associated with monitoring level zero 510, the example agent controller 210 increases the monitoring level to monitoring level one).
Regarding claim 40, Uriel teaches a method implemented by a node in communication with a orchestrator node, the node implementing a first virtual security agent, VSA, the method comprising:
monitoring a first plurality of wireless devices, each wireless device of the first plurality of wireless devices meeting a first criteria associated with a first level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications ([0039] The example agent controller 210 receives result(s) of the monitoring operation(s) and validates the received result(s) via the example result validator 250. The example result validator 250 analyzes the received result(s) to determine whether the results indicate that the example CNs 102 are operating within an acceptable threshold and provides a validation result to the example agent controller);
determining a first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices meet a second criteria associated with a second level of monitoring of bi-directional network communications different from the first level of monitoring ([0030] a monitoring level is defined to include threshold failure conditions (second criteria associated with a second level) associated with those monitoring operations; [0042] The example memory 220 stores operational data such as, for example a pass/fail flag, a current monitoring level, etc. received from the example agent controller 210. In the illustrated example, the example pass/fail flag is stored as a Boolean value); and
indicating the first subset of the first plurality of wireless devices to the orchestrator node for further monitoring by a second VSA ([0079] The monitoring agent performs the monitoring operation(s) and reports the result of the monitoring operation(s) to the agent controller via the example monitoring agent communicator).
Uriel does not explicitly teach bi-directional network communications.
Serban teaches bi-directional network communications ([0058] the guided wave communication system 100 can operate in a bi-directional fashion where transmission device 102 receives one or more communication signals 112 from a communication network or device that includes other data and generates guided waves 122 to convey the other data via the transmission medium 125 to the transmission device 101).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the communication between the devices is bi-direction network communications, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so for transmitting and receiving data without requiring an electrical return path ([0031] a rate of resource consumption (e.g., a resource consumption rate) of a first monitoring level may be different from a rate of resource consumption of a second monitoring level).
Regarding claim 41, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 40, wherein Uriel further teaches the first VSA is configured in a first node that is different from a second node providing the second VSA.
Regarding claim 42, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 41, wherein Uriel further teaches the first node is one of:
a first type of logical node, in a core network, that is different from a second type of logical node, in the core network, associated with the second node ([0040] monitoring operation(s) of the example monitoring agent(s) 105);
part of the core network while the second node is part of an access network([0022] The example CNs 102 include an example monitoring agent 105 that executes monitoring operations for their respective CNs 102 to monitor resource utilization); and
in a first type of physical node, in the access network, that is different from a second type of physical node, in the access network, associated with the second node ([0031] a rate of resource consumption (e.g., a resource consumption rate) of a first monitoring level may be different from a rate of resource consumption of a second monitoring level).
Regarding claim 43, Uriel and Serban teach the method of any one of Claim 40, wherein Serban further teaches the first VSA is configured to inspect the bi-direction network communications at a protocol level different from a protocol level used by the second VSA ([0106] The use of diversity paths with system can enable alternate routing capabilities, load balancing, increased load handling, concurrent bi-directional or synchronous communications; [0290] different of wireless communications can be supported).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, the communication between the devices is bi-direction network communications, as taught by Serban. One would be motivated to do so for transmitting and receiving data without requiring an electrical return path.
Regarding claim 44, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 40, wherein Uriel the second level of monitoring is associated with a higher granularity of wireless device monitoring than a granularity of wireless device monitoring associated with the first level of monitoring, wherein the higher granularity corresponds to a decreased number of wireless devices to be monitored compared to a number of wireless devices to be monitored according to the first level of monitoring ([0091] agent controller 210 decreases the monitoring level. (Block 690). In the illustrated example, decreasing the monitoring level results in fewer and/or less resource intensive monitoring operations being performed and/or being performed less frequently by the monitoring agent).
Regarding claim 46, Uriel and Serban teach the method of any one of Claim 40, wherein Uriel further teaches at least a portion of the bi-directional network communications of the first plurality of wireless devices corresponds to communications that are steered to the first VSA ([0040] Different monitoring profiles may be selected for use based on, for example, the type of CN being monitored. For example, a monitoring profile identifying monitoring operations to monitor a database might be used in association with a CN that hosts a database)
Claim 37 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uriel in view of Serban and further in view of Thiele et al. (US 20150095788 A1), hereafter Thiele.
Regarding claim 37, Uriel and Serban teach the method of Claim 33, Uriel does not explicitly teach:
determining the first wireless device has participated in a handover process from a first access node to a second access node; and
causing the third VSA to move from the first access node to the second access node to continue monitoring the first wireless device.
Thiele teaches
determining the first wireless device has participated in a handover process from a first access node to a second access node ([0082] the example host configuration module enables failover clustering); and
causing the third VSA to move from the first access node to the second access node to continue monitoring the first wireless device ([0082] Failover clustering is the ability to automatically move a virtual machine to different hosts if one of the hosts has a hardware failure).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention made to include in the Uriel disclosure, moving to another node when failover is detected, as taught by Thiele. One would be motivated to do so to continue executes applications in another host.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shaw (US 20210329011 A1) and Sato (EP 2645635 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-0657. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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/ANH NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2458