DETAILED ACTION
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In para.0044, line 8, change “control memory buffer 112” to “control memory buffer 122”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-10 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wysocki (US 2019/0,034,306).
Referring to claims 1, 10 and 19, Dreier discloses a first storage drive (fig. 4C-2, SSD data drive 1 406) comprising a memory (fig. 4C-2, SSD 406), and configured to:
receive a command (fig. 4C-1, I/O 474; fig. 4C-2, write data 488; fig. 1B, request 340) from a processor (fig. 4C-1, RAID engine initiator 414);
store data (fig. 4C-2, DMA fetch new data 1 486) corresponding to the command in the memory of the first storage drive, and
provide a location (fig. 4C-2, notification 494, write new data 2 490) regarding the data stored in the memory of the first storage drive to a second storage drive (fig. 4C-2, SSD data drive 2 408) connected to the first storage drive; and
transfer (fig. 4C-2, fetch 492 from memory buffer 426; fig. 1B, further request 120) the data from the memory of the first storage drive to a memory of the second storage drive (fig. 4C-2, SSD data drive 406/408) according to a direct memory access request (fig. 4B, DMA fetch of new data 492/496) issued from the second storage drive (fig. 4C-2, RAID processor 408; note, corresponding to S5/S6 as in specification para. 0045) based on the location of the data stored in the memory of the first storage drive.
As to claims 3 and 12, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 1, wherein the command is received from the processor of a server (fig. 1, host 310) comprising server memory (fig. 4C-1, memory buffer 426), and the first storage drive is to retrieve (fig. 4C-1, fetch data 492) the data corresponding to the command from the server memory.
As to claims 4 and 13, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 3, wherein to retrieve the data from the processor of the server memory, the first storage drive issues a direct memory access request (fig. 4C-1, DMA fetch data 492) to the server to trigger the data to be transferred from the server memory to the memory of the first storage drive (fig. 4C-2, DMA fetch data 492).
As to claims 5 and 14, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 1, wherein the first storage drive is a solid state drive SSD (fig. 4C-1, SSD 406), and the memory of the first storage drive is dynamic random access memory (fig. 4C-1, memory buffer 426).
As to claims 6 and 15, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 1, comprising:
a first interface (fig. 1C, interface 12 to host 310); and
a second interface (fig. 1C, interface 12 to storage device 200) distinct from the first interface, wherein the first storage drive is to communicate with the processor of a server (fig. 1C, host 310) using the first interface, and
wherein the first storage drive is to communicate with the second storage drive using the second interface (fig. 1C, interface 12 to storage 200).
As to claims 7 and 16, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 1, set a flag (fig. 4C-2, notification 494) indicating that the second storage drive is referenced (fig. 4C-2, start new data 490) for the transferring of the data.
As to claims 8 and 17, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 1, receive a completion signal (fig. 4C-1, completed RAID I/O 498) from the second storage drive, indicating that the transfer of the data is complete.
As to claims 9, 18 and 20, Dreier discloses the drive of claim 8, dereference (fig. 4C, complete I/O request 499) the second storage drive for the transferring of the data in response to the completion signal.
Conclusion
Applicant’s amendment necessitated the new grounds 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 in THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filled 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 of the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to examiner Cheng-Yuan Tseng whose telephone number is (571)272-9772, and fax number is (571)273-9772. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 09:00 to 17:30 Eastern Time. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alicia Harrington can be reached on (571)272-2330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571)273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at (866)217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call (800)786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or (571)272-1000.
/CHENG YUAN TSENG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2615
