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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to the application filed on 23 September 2024.
Claims 1-20 are presently pending for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/10/2024 has being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
3. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1, 8 and 15 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1,7 and 13 of U.S. Patent No. 12101292. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both sets of claims are directed to dynamic network management systems comprising creation of namespaces associated with cluster of virtual computing instances that utilizes pods for allocating network addresses to the namespaces. Reason for modifying the patented claims would have been to refine and extend claim coverage thus seeks broader claim scope and protection.
For Example:
Instant Application No: 18/893692
Patent No: 12101292
1. A method, comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs; determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length, the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet; reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace; receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace; and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod.
8. A system for network address management, the system comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs; determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length, the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet; reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace; receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace; and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs; determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length, the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet; reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace; receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace; and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod.
1. A method for network address management, comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs; determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet; reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the first namespace; receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace; in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod; determining that an addition of a new pod to the namespace causes a required number of network addresses for the namespace to exceed a number of available network addresses in the first network address pool; and dynamically allocating a second network address pool to the namespace based on the addition of the new pod to the namespace, the second network address pool comprising a second plurality of network addresses in a second subnet, a size of the additional network address pool being determined based on a second specified subset prefix length, the second specified subset prefix length being different from the first specified subset prefix length.
7. A system for network address management, the system comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one processor and the at least one memory configured to: determine a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs; determine, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet; reserve, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace; receive an indication that a pod is added to the namespace; in response to the receiving of the indication, assign a network address from first the network address pool to the pod; determine that an addition of a new pod to the namespace causes a required number of network addresses for the namespace to exceed a number of available network addresses in the first network address pool; and dynamically allocate a second network address pool to the namespace based on the addition of the new pod to the namespace, the second network address pool comprising a second plurality of network addresses in a second subnet, a size of the additional network address pool being determined based on a second specified subset prefix length, the second specified subset prefix length being different from the first specified subset prefix length.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: determine a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs; determine, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet; reserve by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace; receive an indication that a pod is added to the namespace; in response to the receiving of the indication, assign a network address from the first network address pool to the pod; determine that an addition of a new pod to the namespace causes a required number of network addresses for the namespace to exceed a number of available network addresses in the first network address pool; and dynamically allocate a second network address pool to the namespace based on the addition of the new pod to the namespace, the second network address pool comprising a second plurality of network addresses in a second subnet, a size of the additional network address pool being determined based on a second specified subset prefix length, the second specified subset prefix length being different from the first specified subset prefix length.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gawade et al., U. S. Patent No. 11316822 in view of Asveren et al., U. S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0328858.
Regarding claim 1, Gawade discloses a method, comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs (see Gawade, col. 5 lines 49-67 and col. 9 lines 20-28; creation namespace associated with clusters is disclosed); determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length, the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet (see Gawade, col. 17 lines 37-50 and col. 23 lines 51-56; networks address are allocated to namespaces per container pod subnet specification); reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace (see Gawade, col. 3 lines 39-41 and col. 6 lines 19-28; reserving IP address for each associated namespace is provided); receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace (see Gawade, col. 2 line 66-col. 3 line 8 and col. 7 lines 51-60; indication of newly created pod is received).
Although Gawade discloses the invention substantially as claimed, it does not explicitly disclose and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod.
Asveren teaches and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod (see Asveren, ¶ [0006] and [0020]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Asveren with that of Gawade in order to efficiently address allocation of the pods.
Regarding claim 2, Gawade-Asveren teaches further comprising: determining that an addition of a new pod to the namespace causes a required number of network addresses for the namespace to exceed a number of available network addresses in the network address pool; and assigning an additional network address pool to the namespace based on the addition of the new pod to the namespace, wherein the additional network address pool comprises an additional plurality of network addresses in an additional subnet (see Gawade, col. 7 lines 44-56 and col. 9 lines 11-19).
Regarding claim 3, Gawade-Asveren teaches further comprising: determining, based on a removal of a given pod from the namespace, that no network addresses in the additional network address pool are in use by the namespace; and releasing the additional network address pool from the namespace (see Gawade, col. 23 lines 35-42).
Regarding claim 4, Gawade-Asveren teaches further comprising: determining a creation of a new namespace associated with the cluster of computing devices, wherein a different subset of the computing resources of the cluster of computing devices is allocated to the new namespace; and assigning a different network address pool to the new namespace, wherein the different network address pool comprises a different plurality of network addresses in a different subnet (see Gawade, col. 6 lines 18-24).
Regarding claim 5, Gawade-Asveren teaches further comprising releasing the different network address pool from the new namespace based on determining that the new namespace has been deleted (see Asveren, ¶ [0028] and [0061]). Same motivation utilized in claim 1 applies equally to claim 5 as well.
Regarding claim 6, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the first specified subnet prefix length is specified in configuration information for the namespace (see Gawade, col. 3 lines 42-50).
Regarding claim 7, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the pod added to the namespace comprises one or more containers supported by a container engine (see Gawade, col. 23 lines 30-33).
Regarding claim 8, Gawade discloses a system for network address management, the system comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (see Gawade, fig. 2; computing device including a processor and memory is disclosed), cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs (see Gawade, col. 5 lines 49-67 and col. 9 lines 20-28; creation namespace associated with clusters is disclosed); determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length, the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet (see Gawade, col. 17 lines 37-50 and col. 23 lines 51-56; networks address are allocated to namespaces per container pod subnet specification); reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace (see Gawade, col. 3 lines 39-41 and col. 6 lines 19-28; reserving IP address for each associated namespace is provided); receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace (see Gawade, col. 2 line 66-col. 3 line 8 and col. 7 lines 51-60; indication of newly created pod is received).
Although Gawade discloses the invention substantially as claimed, it does not explicitly disclose and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod.
Asveren teaches and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod (see Asveren, ¶ [0006] and [0020]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Asveren with that of Gawade in order to efficiently address allocation of the pods.
Regarding claim 9, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining that an addition of a new pod to the namespace causes a required number of network addresses for the namespace to exceed a number of available network addresses in the network address pool; and assigning an additional network address pool to the namespace based on the addition of the new pod to the namespace, wherein the additional network address pool comprises an additional plurality of network addresses in an additional subnet (see Gawade, col. 7 lines 44-56 and col. 9 lines 11-19).
Regarding claim 10, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the instructions further comprise: determining, based on a removal of a given pod from the namespace, that no network addresses in the additional network address pool are in use by the namespace; and releasing the additional network address pool from the namespace (see Gawade, col. 23 lines 35-42).
Regarding claim 11, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining a creation of a new namespace associated with the cluster of computing devices, wherein a different subset of the computing resources of the cluster of computing devices is allocated to the new namespace; and assigning a different network address pool to the new namespace, wherein the different network address pool comprises a different plurality of network addresses in a different subnet (see Gawade, col. 6 lines 18-24).
Regarding claim 12, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: releasing the different network address pool from the new namespace based on determining that the new namespace has been deleted (see Asveren, ¶ [0028] and [0061]). Same motivation utilized in claim 1 applies equally to claim 5 as well.
Regarding claim 13, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the first specified subnet prefix length is specified in configuration information for the namespace (see Gawade, col. 3 lines 42-50).
Regarding claim 14, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the pod added to the namespace comprises one or more containers supported by a container engine (see Gawade, col. 23 lines 30-33).
Regarding claim 15, Gawade discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining a creation of a namespace associated with a cluster of virtual computing instances (VCIs), each of the VCIs comprising a pod, each pod comprising one or more containers, the namespace having associated therewith a subset of computing resources of the cluster of VCIs (see Gawade, col. 5 lines 49-67 and col. 9 lines 20-28; creation namespace associated with clusters is disclosed); determining, by a network container plugin (NCP), a size of a first network address pool to allocate to the namespace based on a first specified subset prefix length, the network address pool comprising a plurality of network addresses in a subnet (see Gawade, col. 17 lines 37-50 and col. 23 lines 51-56; networks address are allocated to namespaces per container pod subnet specification); reserving, by the NCP, the plurality of network addresses in the subnet exclusively for the namespace by allocating the first network address pool to the namespace (see Gawade, col. 3 lines 39-41 and col. 6 lines 19-28; reserving IP address for each associated namespace is provided); receiving an indication that a pod is added to the namespace (see Gawade, col. 2 line 66-col. 3 line 8 and col. 7 lines 51-60; indication of newly created pod is received).
Although Gawade discloses the invention substantially as claimed, it does not explicitly disclose and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod.
Asveren teaches and in response to the receiving of the indication, assigning a network address from the first network address pool to the pod (see Asveren, ¶ [0006] and [0020]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Asveren with that of Gawade in order to efficiently address allocation of the pods.
Regarding claim 16, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining that an addition of a new pod to the namespace causes a required number of network addresses for the namespace to exceed a number of available network addresses in the network address pool; and assigning an additional network address pool to the namespace based on the addition of the new pod to the namespace, wherein the additional network address pool comprises an additional plurality of network addresses in an additional subnet (see Gawade, col. 7 lines 44-56 and col. 9 lines 11-19).
Regarding claim 17, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining, based on a removal of a given pod from the namespace, that no network addresses in the additional network address pool are in use by the namespace; and releasing the additional network address pool from the namespace (see Gawade, col. 23 lines 35-42).
Regarding claim 18, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: determining a creation of a new namespace associated with the cluster of computing devices, wherein a different subset of the computing resources of the cluster of computing devices is allocated to the new namespace; and assigning a different network address pool to the new namespace, wherein the different network address pool comprises a different plurality of network addresses in a different subnet (see Gawade, col. 6 lines 18-24).
Regarding claim 19, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the operations further comprise: releasing the different network address pool from the new namespace based on determining that the new namespace has been deleted (see Asveren, ¶ [0028] and [0061]). Same motivation utilized in claim 1 applies equally to claim 5 as well.
Regarding claim 20, Gawade-Asveren teaches wherein the subnet prefix length is specified in configuration information for the namespace (see Gawade, col. 3 lines 42-50).
Prior Art of Record
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Please refer to form PTO-892 (Notice of Reference Cited) for a list of relevant prior art.
a. US 10,693,715 is directed to techniques for dynamic allocation of network address spaces in virtual networks implemented in a service provider system are described. Upon a scaling condition of an allocation rule being determined to be satisfied, a network address space of a virtual network can be automatically expanded or contracted. The scaling condition can be specified by a customer associated with the virtual network. The allocation rule may also include an allocation factor that indicates an amount of network addresses that are to be added to or removed from the virtual network.
b. US 20190379590 A1 is directed to remote network management platform that manages a managed network, where one or more worker nodes are configured to execute containerized software applications on behalf of the managed network. Container(s) may be organized into pod(s) and respectively. Each of pod(s) 620A and 620B may include therein one or more containers. Containers in a pod may share storage space, an internet protocol (IP) address (i.e., each pod may be assigned a distinct IP address), IP port space, and operating system namespace, among other shared resources. Pod(s) and may thus be building blocks of a container orchestration engine that facilitates management and execution of software applications in containers.
c. US 20190052598 A1 is directed to a method of managing data packet addressing in a first namespace includes receiving a data packet at a first interface for the first namespace, wherein the first interface is paired with a second interface of a second namespace. The method also includes identifying if the packet is destined for a service node in an underlay network outside of an overlay network for the second namespace, and if destined for a service node outside of an overlay network for the second namespace, modifying addressing in the data packet to support the underlay network and transferring the data packet over a virtual network interface for the virtual machine.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED IBRAHIM whose telephone number is (571)270-1132. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:30AM to 6:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Follansbee can be reached on 571-272-3964. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Mohamed Ibrahim/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2444