CTNF 18/951,086 CTNF 91248 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 communication from applicant received on May 15, 2026. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 07-42-04 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 15, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application. Claims 1-20 are rejected herein. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-3, 5-9 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu et al. (Hereinafter Qiu, U.S. Publication No. 2020/0334085) in view of Lokesharadhya et al. (Hereinafter Lokesharadhya, U.S. Publication No. 2022/0222097) in view of Satoyama et al. (Hereinafter Satoyama, U.S. Publication No. 2008/0052480) . Regarding claim 1 , Qiu teaches: An apparatus comprising: at least one processing device comprising a processor coupled to a memory; the at least one processing device being configured (See claim 14 of Qiu “ A computer system, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform a method ”) : to obtain, for a first storage system, information characterizing input-output (IO) processing loads (See claim 14 of Qiu “ receiving information indicating sets of pending load of a plurality of storage devices from one or more storage nodes of a distributed storage system ” See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; and sending the target resource to the client node .” See [0037] “ The monitor can periodically notify the controller nodes of the system regarding the resource statistics, which includes pending host and background I/O operations, of a respective storage device of the storage node. The controller nodes can obtain this information and store the information in a resource statistics table. ” See [0038] “ During operation, the client node can send a query requesting a target resource to the controller nodes for a disk operation (e.g., a read or a write operation). ” Information indicating pending load of a plurality of storage devices is obtained for the client node. The client node corresponds to the claimed first storage system.) of respective storage targets of a second storage system (See claim 14 of Qiu “ receiving information indicating sets of pending load of a plurality of storage devices” See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource ” See Storage Node 112, 114 and 116 depicted in Figure 1A and Figure 2A, which corresponds to the second storage system that comprise storage targets.), the first storage system comprising a first set of storage nodes configured to interact with one or more host devices over a network (See Client Nodes 102, 104, 106 depicted in Figure 1A, which correspond to the claimed first storage system. The client nodes are connected to network 120. See [0035] “ Such I/O operations can be referred to as host I/O operations. Host I/O operations are issued in response to the client nodes' (e.g., from the applications/virtual machines running on the client nodes) read/write requests .” See [0053] “ Client node 102 can then send the I/O request to the storage node hosting the target resource .”) , the second storage system comprising a second set of storage nodes, different than the first set of storage nodes, also configured to interact with the one or more host devices over the network (See Storage Node 112, 114 and 116 depicted in Figure 1A and Figure 2A, which corresponds to the second storage system. The storage nodes are connected to network 120. See [0048] “ For example, storage node 116 can issue host I/O operations 152, 154, 156, and 158 on flash dies 162, 164, 166, and 168 respectively .”) , each of the storage nodes of the first and second sets of storage nodes comprising one or more storage targets (See Client Nodes 102, 104, 106 and Storage Node 112, 114 and 116 depicted in Figure 1A, which comprise storage targets.) ; and to configure a data service (See claim 14 of Qiu “ a request for a target resource associated with a disk operation from a client node ”) involving transfer of data from one or more of the first targets of the first storage system to one or more of the storage targets of the second storage system based at least in part on the obtained information (See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; ” See claim 18 of Qiu “ wherein the disk operation is a write operation for a piece of data, and wherein the target resource indicates a destination location of a set of replicas of the piece of data ” See [0038] “ During operation, the client node can send a query requesting a target resource to the controller nodes for a disk operation (e.g., a read or a write operation) .” A write operation (i.e. data service) is configured to transfer data from a client node (i.e. first storage system) to a target resource (i.e. second storage system) that was selected based on pending load information.) ; wherein configuring the data service comprises an initiator associated with the fist storage system selecting a particular subset of the storage targets of the second storage system for use in implementing the data service based at least in part on the obtained information (See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; ” See [0038] “ The global monitor then selects a storage device that can efficiently operate as the target resource (e.g., the most idle storage device with the smallest set of pending I/O load). ” The global monitor corresponds to the claimed initiator. See [0050]-[0052] and Figures 2A-2B, in which the global monitor 180 responds to queries from the client node 102 (i.e. first storage system), thus making the global monitor 180 associated with the client node 102.) ; and wherein the information characterizing the IO processing loads of respective storage targets of the second storage system is obtained by the initiator associated with the first storage system at least in part from discovery information provided by the storage targets of the second storage system, the particular subset of the storage targets of the second storage system including one or more storage targets for which discovery information is transmitted (See [0050] “ global monitor 180 can collect resource statistics on a respective disk of system 110. A monitor 202 running on storage node 112 can collect resource statistics of storage devices 204, 206, and 208 of storage node 112. Similarly, a monitor 212 running on storage node 114 can collect resource statistics of storage devices 214, 216, and 218 of storage node 114. Monitors 202, 212, and 170 then periodically report the collected resource statistics to controller nodes 150, which in turn, provide the collected resource statistics to global monitor 180.” The global monitor 180 can obtain the information characterizing the IO processing loads from information provided by the storage devices in storage node 112.). Qui does not explicitly disclose what Lokesharadhya teaches: responsive to their respective IO processing loads being below a particular level and excluding one or more storage targets for which discovery information is not transmitted responsive to their respective IO processing loads being at or above the particular level (See [0116] “ a virtual machine can be identified to move or receive the session. The device 302 can determine or select a virtual machine 320 to transfer the assignment and/or move the session 344 to, for example, from a first virtual machine 320 having a load value 316 greater than the threshold 314 .” See [0116] “ The device 302 can select at least one virtual machine 320 from a filtered second subset of virtual machines 320 having load values 316 less than the threshold 314. In embodiments, the device 302 can select the virtual machine 320 in the group 324 having the lowest load value 316 or a load value 316 in a target load range .” A filtered subset of target virtual machines are determined that have load values less than a threshold, excluding other virtual machines that do not meet the specified criteria.). It 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 to combine the resource allocation method of Qiu with the load balancing method of Lokesharadhya to reduce and/or prevent overloading of storage devices, thus improving I/O access speed and reducing slowness of the storage devices. Qui and Lokesharadhya do not explicitly disclose what Satoyama teaches: the first set of storage nodes providing a first storage cluster (See [0009] “ a storage system of a cluster configuration having plural storage control units to which plural disk devices are connected ” See [0011]. See Figure 2, in which the first set of storage nodes corresponds to storage control unit 20A which is connected to multiple disk devices (i.e. storage group 31).) for processing IO operations received from the one or more host devices over the network via a first instance of an interface of a first type (See [0041] “ the I/F adapter 40 having received an I/O request from the host 10 ” See [0039] “ The I/F adaptor 40 is a channel connection part ” See network 60 and network 61 depicted in Figure 3 and [0046]. See Figure 2, in which IO operations are received from the host over a network via a first instance of interface I/F 40 for storage control unit 20A.) , the second set of storage nodes providing a second storage cluster (See [0009] “ a storage system of a cluster configuration having plural storage control units to which plural disk devices are connected ” See [0011]. See Figure 2, in which the second set of storage nodes corresponds to storage control unit 20B which is connected to multiple disk devices (i.e. storage group 31).) for processing IO operations received from the one or more host devices over the network via a second instance of the interface of the first type (See [0041] “ the I/F adapter 40 having received an I/O request from the host 10 ” See [0039] “ The I/F adaptor 40 is a channel connection part ” See network 60 and network 61 depicted in Figure 3 and [0046]. See Figure 2, in which IO operations are received from the host over a network via a second instance of interface I/F 40 for storage control unit 20B.) ; and wherein the transfer of data of the data service comprises transferring data from the first storage cluster to the second storage cluster via an interface of a second type different than the first type (See [0043] “ the storage control units 20A, 20B are mutually connected via the switches 25A, 25B in the second embodiment, so that the individual CPUs in the storage control units 20A, 20B can access the memory in the other storage control unit .” See [0044] “ For example, the CPU 21A of the storage control unit 20A can access the memory 21B in the storage control unit 20B via the switch 25. A connection line 64 between the switch 25A of the storage control unit 20A and the switch 25B of the storage control unit 20B may be a bus or a network .” See Figure 2, in which a switch 25A/25B provides the interface to transfer data between storage control unit 20A and storage control unit 20B. Switch 25A/25B is different than I/F adaptor 40.) , the interface of the second type comprising connections established between the first storage cluster and the second storage cluster in a manner that bypasses the one or more host devices (See [0043] “ the storage control units 20A, 20B are mutually connected via the switches 25A, 25B in the second embodiment, so that the individual CPUs in the storage control units 20A, 20B can access the memory in the other storage control unit .” See [0044] “ For example, the CPU 21A of the storage control unit 20A can access the memory 21B in the storage control unit 20B via the switch 25. A connection line 64 between the switch 25A of the storage control unit 20A and the switch 25B of the storage control unit 20B may be a bus or a network .” See Figure 2, in which switch 25A and switch 25B provide a connection line 64 for accessing data that bypasses the host device(s).) ; It 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 to combine the resource allocation method of Qiu and the load balancing method of Lokesharadhya with the storage connection aspect and data transfer method of Satoyama to permit individual CPUs in separate storage clusters to access the memory in the other storage cluster, which would reduce latency and boost processing speeds via direct memory access between the two storage clusters. Regarding claim 2 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first and second storage systems comprise respective first and second distinct clusters of storage nodes of at least one distributed storage system (See Distributed Storage System 110 depicted in Figure 1A, which comprises Client Node 102, 104 and 106 (first distinct cluster) and Storage Node 112, 114 and 116 (second distinct cluster). See Distributed Storage System 110 depicted in Figure 2A, which comprises Client Node 102 (first distinct cluster) and Storage Node 112, 114 and 116 (second distinct cluster).). Regarding claim 3 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the data service comprises at least one of a replication service, a migration service and a copying service (See claim 18 of Qiu “ wherein the disk operation is a write operation for a piece of data, and wherein the target resource indicates a destination location of a set of replicas of the piece of data in the distributed storage system. ”). Regarding claim 5 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of one or more of the storage targets of the second storage system is configured to operate both as a data mobility interface to handle IO operations generated as part of one or more data services (See [0053] “ Client library 220 then generates an I/O request corresponding to the query. ” See [0053] “ Client node 102 can then send the I/O request to the storage node hosting the target resource .” See [0039] “ In some embodiments, the storage device is an open-channel SSD, which allows the storage node to manage data placement inside the SSD and control I/O scheduling of both host and background I/O operations ” Under broadest reasonable interpretation, the storage target may operate as a data mobility interface to handle I/O operations generated as data services from the client.) and as a host-storage interface to handle IO operations received in the storage target from one or more host devices (See [0035]. See [0044] “ such monitoring is limited to the I/O operations from a host device, such as storage node 116, issued to a storage device, such as storage device 148. These host I/O operations are issued in response to read/write requests from client nodes 102, 104, and/or 106 ” See [0048] “ storage node 116 can issue host I/O operations 152, 154, 156, and 158 on flash dies 162, 164, 166, and 168 respectively .” See [0039] “ In some embodiments, the storage device is an open-channel SSD, which allows the storage node to manage data placement inside the SSD and control I/O scheduling of both host and background I/O operations ” Under broadest reasonable interpretation, the storage target may operate as a host-storage interface to handle I/O operations received from the host.). Regarding claim 6 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the IO processing loads of the respective storage targets of the second storage system include processing of IO operations received in the storage targets from one or more host devices (See [0012] “ the system receives sets of pending load of a plurality of storage devices from one or more storage nodes of a distributed storage system. The set of pending load of a respective storage device includes a set of load from host operations and a set of load from background operations on the storage device. ”). Regarding claim 7 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein configuring the data service comprises establishing connectivity to the selected subset of the storage targets of the second storage system in conjunction with initiation of the data service (See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; ” See claim 18 of Qiu “ wherein the disk operation is a write operation for a piece of data, and wherein the target resource indicates a destination location of a set of replicas of the piece of data ” Under broadest reasonable interpretation, a connection is established to the target resource/storage in conjunction with an I/O operation by selecting the target resource as the destination for the write operation.). Regarding claim 8 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least the obtaining is performed in a first metadata manager associated with the first storage system (See [0041] “ System 110 can also include one or more controller nodes 150, which can store and organize the metadata associated with the storage operations and the data stored .” See [0037] “ The monitor can periodically notify the controller nodes of the system regarding the resource statistics, which includes pending host and background I/O operations, of a respective storage device of the storage node. The controller nodes can obtain this information and store the information in a resource statistics table .” See [0038] “ The controller nodes can hierarchically determine the resource statistics, which includes pending I/O operations and associated bytes, of a respective storage node and a respective rack of the system from the obtained information .” See [0045]. See [0046] “ Controller nodes 150 can obtain this information and store the information in a resource statistics table 190 .” See [0049] “ client node 102 can run a client library 220, which allows client node 102 to request resources from controller nodes 150. Client library 220 can communicate with compute nodes 150 to determine a target resource and issue a read or write request to one or more storage nodes associated with the target resource ” The controller nodes 150 (metadata manager) obtain the pending load data and are associated with the client node system, as they communicate back and forth regarding a target resource for data operations.). Regarding claim 9 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the first metadata manager associated with the first storage system is configured to obtain the information from a second metadata manager associated with the second storage system (See [0050] “ Controller nodes 150 can run global monitor 180 ,” See [0050] “ A monitor 202 running on storage node 112 can collect resource statistics of storage devices 204, 206, and 208 of storage node 112. Similarly, a monitor 212 running on storage node 114 can collect resource statistics of storage devices 214, 216, and 218 of storage node 114. Monitors 202, 212, and 170 then periodically report the collected resource statistics to controller nodes 150, which in turn, provide the collected resource statistics to global monitor 180. ” See [0054] “ monitor 170 periodically retrieves flash-die-level resource statistics (e.g., pending I/O operations) from flash dies 162-169 (operation 262). By combining the flash-die-level resource statistics, monitor 170 retrieves disk-level resource statistics for storage device 148 (operation 264). Similarly, monitor 170 can also retrieve disk-level resource statistics for storage devices 144 and 146. Monitor 170 then reports the resource statistics (e.g., by sending a message comprising the resource statistics) to controller nodes 150 (operation 266). In the same way, monitors 202 and 212 also report their respective resource statistics to controller nodes 150 .” See [0055] “ Global monitor 180 on controller nodes 150 can then hierarchically construct resource information from the received resource statistics (operation 268). ” See [0063]-[0065]. The controller nodes 150 (i.e. first metadata manager) obtain the information from monitor 170, 202 and 212 (i.e. second metadata manager(s).) associated with their respective storage nodes 112, 114 and 116 (i.e. second storage system).) Regarding claim 11 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the first metadata manager is implemented at least in part within a management node separate from the first storage system (See rejection of claim 8, in which the first metadata manager corresponds to the controller nodes 150. See Figure 1A, Figure 2A and Figure 2B, in which the controller nodes 150 are separate from the Client Node(s).). Regarding claim 12 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein selecting a particular subset of the storage targets of the second storage system for use in implementing the data service based at least in part on the obtained information comprises selecting a least-loaded subset of the storage targets of the second storage system for use in implementing the data service (See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; ”). Regarding claim 13 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the selected subset of the storage targets of the second storage system that is used in implementing the data service (See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; ”) is adaptively varied over time in response to one or more changes in the IO processing loads of the respective storage targets of the second storage system (See claim 14 of Qiu “ receiving information indicating sets of pending load of a plurality of storage devices from one or more storage nodes of a distributed storage system ” See [0033] “ (i) comprehensively monitoring both host and background I/O operations at the internal channels of an SSD; and (ii) periodically notifying one or more controller nodes regarding the monitored information. The periodic notification allows the controller nodes to maintain comprehensive records of resource statistics (e.g., pending I/O operations and associated bytes) in the distributed storage system. The resource statistics of a storage device can indicate the current runtime resource consumption on that storage device. ” See [0037] “ The monitor can periodically notify the controller nodes of the system regarding the resource statistics, which includes pending host and background I/O operations, of a respective storage device of the storage node. ” See [0050] “ Monitors 202, 212, and 170 then periodically report the collected resource statistics to controller nodes 150, which in turn, provide the collected resource statistics to global monitor 180. ” See claim 14 of Qiu “ selecting, from the plurality of storage devices, a storage device with a smallest set of pending load in the sets of pending load as the target resource; ” The selection of a target resource/storage is varied over time based on periodic monitoring of adjusted/changed load from different storage nodes/devices.). Regarding claim 14 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein obtaining the information characterizing IO processing loads of respective storage targets of the second storage system comprises obtaining the information from discovery log pages (See [0055] “ Global monitor 180 can store the resource statistics of different levels (e.g., from rack-level to flash-die-level) in table 190 (operation 270) .” See [0059] “ FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary resource mapping table storing comprehensive resource statistics in a distributed storage system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present application. Controller nodes 150 can maintain resource statistics table 190, which indicates sets of pending I/O load of a respective storage device of system 110. Table 190 can be a table in a resource database 300 (e.g., a relational database or any other data structure). Table 190 can include a number of columns: a rack 302, a node 304, a storage device 306, and resource statistics 308. These columns can establish a mapping relationship among these entities of system 110. The mapping relationship allows global monitor 180 to store the resource statistics of different levels in table 190 .” Resource statistics table 190 corresponds to the claimed discovery log pages, as it can store the I/O load of storage devices to be accessed/obtained for system use.) that are reported by only those of the storage targets (See [0050] “ A monitor 202 running on storage node 112 can collect resource statistics of storage devices 204, 206, and 208 of storage node 112. Similarly, a monitor 212 running on storage node 114 can collect resource statistics of storage devices 214, 216, and 218 of storage node 114. Monitors 202, 212, and 170 then periodically report the collected resource statistics to controller nodes 150, which in turn, provide the collected resource statistics to global monitor 180. ” See [0054] “ monitor 170 periodically retrieves flash-die-level resource statistics (e.g., pending I/O operations) from flash dies 162-169 (operation 262). By combining the flash-die-level resource statistics, monitor 170 retrieves disk-level resource statistics for storage device 148 (operation 264). Similarly, monitor 170 can also retrieve disk-level resource statistics for storage devices 144 and 146. Monitor 170 then reports the resource statistics (e.g., by sending a message comprising the resource statistics) to controller nodes 150 (operation 266). In the same way, monitors 202 and 212 also report their respective resource statistics to controller nodes 150 .”) Qui does not explicitly disclose what Lokesharadhya teaches: having IO processing loads below a designated threshold (See [0116] “ a virtual machine can be identified to move or receive the session. The device 302 can determine or select a virtual machine 320 to transfer the assignment and/or move the session 344 to, for example, from a first virtual machine 320 having a load value 316 greater than the threshold 314 .” See [0116] “ The device 302 can select at least one virtual machine 320 from a filtered second subset of virtual machines 320 having load values 316 less than the threshold 314. In embodiments, the device 302 can select the virtual machine 320 in the group 324 having the lowest load value 316 or a load value 316 in a target load range .” A filtered subset of target virtual machines are determined that have load values less than a threshold.). It 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 to combine the resource allocation method of Qiu with the load balancing method of Lokesharadhya to reduce and/or prevent overloading of storage devices, thus improving I/O access speed and reducing slowness of the storage devices. Claim 15 and claim 18 are rejected for the same reasons as claim 1. Claim 16 and claim 19 are rejected for the same reasons as claim 13. Claim 17 and claim 20 are rejected for the same reasons as claim 14 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu in view of Lokesharadhya in view of Satoyama in view of Cayton al. (Hereinafter Cayton, U.S. Publication No. 2015/0012607) . Regarding claim 4 , Qiu teaches: The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a given one of the storage targets of the second storage system comprises at least one Non-Volatile Memory …controller of the second storage system (See [0043] “ Storage device 148 can include a number of flash dies (e.g., storage dies, such as NAND dies) 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, and 169. Storage device 148 can also include a controller 140 ”. See [0042] “ A storage node can also include one or more storage devices .” See [0042] “ These storage devices can be high-density non-volatile memory devices, such as NAND-based SSDs .”) Qiu does not explicitly disclose what Cayton teaches: Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) controller (See [0132] “ Causing the data to be readable may enable the second storage server to replicate the data via storing the data to a second storage device controlled by a second NVMe controller maintained at the second storage server .”) While Qiu does teach a nonvolatile memory controller in a storage target of the second storage system, Qiu does not teach the nonvolatile memory controller to be a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) controller. It 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 to perform simple substitution of the known nonvolatile memory controller of Qiu for the NVMe controller described in Clayton to obtain predictable results, such as high-performance/speed data transfer between a computer's processor and its non-volatile memory storage . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu in view of Lokesharadhya in view of Satoyama in view of Cannon al. (Hereinafter Cannon, U.S. Publication No. 2011/0282835) . Regarding claim 10 , Cannon teaches: The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the first metadata manager is implemented at least in part within the first storage system (See Figure 1, which depicts First Metadata Storage 14a as being within the First Storage Environment 2a.). While Qiu does teach a first metadata manager and a first storage system, Qiu does not disclose the first metadata manager to be implemented within the first storage system. Cannon does teach a first metadata manager to be implemented within the first storage system. It 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 to combine the resource allocation method of Qiu with the metadata management method/system of Cannon to provide faster communication between the first metadata manager and the first storage system by disposing the first metadata manager within the first storage system. Such combination would result in the first storage system having more accessibility to the first metadata manager, thus improving communication between the entities. Response to Arguments Applicant's amendments filed May 15, 2026 have been fully considered but are moot, as they are directed to the combination of the amendments filed on May 15, 2026. Newly found prior art Satoyama has been found and used to reject amendments filed on May 15, 2026. Therefore, the independent claims are now rejected under Qiu in view of Lokesharadhya in view of Satoyama. All pending claims in the instant application are rejected herein. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL L WESTBROOK whose telephone number is (571)270-5028. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Reginald Bragdon can be reached at (571) 272-4204. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MICHAEL L WESTBROOK/Examiner, Art Unit 2139 /REGINALD G BRAGDON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 2 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 3 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 4 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 5 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 6 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 7 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 8 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 9 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 10 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 11 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 12 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 13 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 14 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 15 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 16 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 17 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 18 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 19 Art Unit: 2139 Application/Control Number: 18/951,086 Page 20 Art Unit: 2139
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