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 application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/404,629 filed Jan 4, 2024 now U.S. Patent No. 12,278,842, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/371,891 filed Jul 9, 2021 now U.S. Patent No. 11,895,154, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/592,931 filed Jan 9, 2015 now U.S. Patent No. 11,075,948.
Claims 1 – 20 have been examined and are rejected.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/17/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The applicant’s submitted drawings are acceptable for examination purposes.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory 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 time-wise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory 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 non-statutory 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 USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission.
For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to: www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1 – 16 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting over Claims 1 – 20 of U.S. Patent No. 11075948 and U.S. Patent No. 12,278,842.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. The subject matter claimed in the instant application is fully disclosed in the referenced published patent claiming common subject matter. Despite slight difference in phrasing, the claims of 19/028,097 and claims of United States Patent No. 12,278,842 are not patentably distinct. The United States Patent No. 12,278,842 anticipates the instant application. The similarities between the two are highlighted as follows:
Application No. 19/028,097
U.S. Patent No. 12278842 and
U.S. Patent No. 11075948
1. A method of virtual machine network policy management, the method comprising:
associating, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) on a host with a network policy for the VM;
receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the
VM corresponding to the identifier from virtual machine management software configured to
manage one or more VMs on each of a plurality of hosts, the one or more VMs including the VM
on the host; and
updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the
received update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier.
2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the virtual machine management
software is executed on a computing device and is configured to distribute virtual machine
update information to a plurality of network devices, including the network device.
3. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the virtual machine management software is executed on a computing device and is configured to track information related to the
one or more VMs on each of the plurality of hosts and wherein the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from the virtual machine management software comprises a change in the tracked information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier.
4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein the tracked information comprises network interface card information and wherein the change in the tracked information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier comprises a change in the network interface card information of the VM corresponding to the identifier.
5. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising: sending, by the network device, a subscription request to the virtual machine management software that subscribes to information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein receiving the update to the virtual machine information of the VM
corresponding to the identifier is based on the network device being subscribed to the
information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier.
6. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising: querying, by the network device, the virtual machine management software for
information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein a response from the
virtual machine management software based on querying the virtual machine management
software comprises the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier.
7. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising: distributing the updated network policy for the VM to an additional network
device.
8. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the update to the virtual machine information of the VM comprises a virtual machine name change, a virtual machine location change, or a virtual machine networking configuration change.
9. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the network policy comprises a network access policy.
10. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the network policy comprises a quality-
of-service policy.
11. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the network policy comprises a traffic shaping policy.
12. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a packet originating from or destined to the VM; and processing the received packet based on the network policy for the VM.
13. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the identifier of the VM comprises a universally unique identifier of the VM.
14. A method of virtual machine network policy management, the method comprising:
receiving, by a first network device, a network policy for a virtual machine (VM)
on a host connected to a second network device;
detecting, by the first network device, a migration of the VM from the host to an
additional host connected to the first network device; applying, by the first network device, the received network policy for the VM;
receiving, by the first network device, a packet originating from or destined to the VM on the additional host connected to the first network device; and processing the received packet based on the network policy.
15. The method defined in claim 14 further comprising: after receiving the network policy, subscribing, by the first network device, to
receive a notification of a configuration change to the VM.
16. The method defined in claim 15 further comprising: receiving, by the first network device, a notification of migration of the VM based on being subscribed to receive the notification of the configuration change to the VM, wherein the migration of the VM from the host to the additional host is detected based on the received notification of migration of the VM.
(US Patent 12278842)
1. A method for maintaining a persistent virtual machine network policy, the method comprising:
receiving, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) executing on a host connected to the network device;
associating, by the network device, the identifier of the VM with a network policy for the VM;
applying, by the network device, the network policy for the VM;
receiving, by the network device and from VM management software, a notification of a configuration change of the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein the VM management software is configured to manage one or more VMs executing on each of a plurality of hosts, including the VM executing on the host; updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the configuration change of the VM in the received notification, to obtain an updated network policy;
and applying, by the network device, the updated network policy for the VM.
(US Patent 12278842)
2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the VM management software is configured to communicate with a plurality of network devices, including the network device, to distribute configuration change information of the one or more VMs executing on each of the plurality of hosts to the plurality of network devices.
(US Patent 12278842)
3. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the VM management software is configured to track information related to the one or more VMs executing on each of the plurality of hosts and wherein the configuration change of the VM in the notification received by the network device and from the VM management software comprises a change in the tracked information of the VM corresponding to the identifier.
(US Patent 12278842)
4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein the tracked information comprises network interface card information of the one or more VMs executing on each of the plurality of hosts and wherein the change in the tracked information of the VM corresponding to the identifier comprises a change in the network interface card information of the VM corresponding to the identifier.
(US Patent 12278842)
5. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising: sending, by the network device, a subscription request to the VM management software that subscribes to configuration information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein receiving the notification of the configuration change of the VM corresponding to the identifier is based on the network device being subscribed to the configuration information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier.
(US Patent 12278842)
6. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising: querying, by the network device, the VM management software for configuration information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein a response from the VM management software based on querying the VM management software comprises the notification of the configuration change of the VM corresponding to the identifier.
(US Patent 12278842)
7. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising: distributing the updated network policy for the VM to an additional network device.
(US Patent 12278842)
8. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the configuration change of the VM comprises a VM name change, a VM location change, or a VM networking configuration change.
(US Patent 12278842)
9. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the network policy comprises an access control list (ACL).
(US Patent 12278842)
10. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the network policy comprises a quality of service policy.
(US Patent 11075948 and US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0355934 by Yin et al.)
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: subscribing, by the second network device, after receiving the network policy from the first network device, to receive notifications from the VM management software of changes to the configuration of the VM corresponding to the acquired UUID; receiving notification at the second network device from the VM management software that the VM is migrating; detecting, by the second network device, that the VM has migrated from the first host to a second host connected to the second network device; identifying, using the acquired UUID, the network policy associated with the VM; and applying the network policy for the VM on the second network device.
US Patent 11075948 does not explicitly disclose these limitations, however, in an analogous art, US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0355934 (Yin et al.) teaches receiving, by the first network device, a packet originating from or destined to the VM on the additional host connected to the first network device (Yin teaches (in Figs. 5, 8 and ¶214), before the VM 801 migrates, the incoming traffic packets corresponds to the IP address of the NVE node 802a and security list of the first network device i.e. FW device 803a includes an entry corresponding to the VM 801) and processing the received packet based on the network policy (Yin teaches using the network policy (in Figs. 5, 8 and ¶217) after the VM 801 migrates to area 2, the security policy corresponding to the VM 801 is that the number of the UDP <1000pps, and the FW device 803b is now responsible for implementing a firewall of the area 2 and for the entry corresponding to the VM 801)
It would be obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the US Patent 11075948 with US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0355934 for the purpose of providing a method for generating configuration information, and a network control unit, which can improve network configuration efficiency and improve network performance.
(US Patent 11075948)
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: subscribing, by the second network device, after receiving the network policy from the first network device, to receive notifications from the VM management software of changes to the configuration of the VM corresponding to the acquired UUID; receiving notification at the second network device from the VM management software that the VM is migrating; detecting, by the second network device, that the VM has migrated from the first host to a second host connected to the second network device; identifying, using the acquired UUID, the network policy associated with the VM; and applying the network policy for the VM on the second network device.
(US Patent 11075948)
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: subscribing, by the second network device, after receiving the network policy from the first network device, to receive notifications from the VM management software of changes to the configuration of the VM corresponding to the acquired UUID; receiving notification at the second network device from the VM management software that the VM is migrating; detecting, by the second network device, that the VM has migrated from the first host to a second host connected to the second network device; identifying, using the acquired UUID, the network policy associated with the VM; and applying the network policy for the VM on the second network device.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 6 and 8 – 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0122672 to Chen et al. (hereinafter Chen).
Regarding Claim 1, Chen discloses method for configuring a network policy of a virtual network (¶2), which further includes:
method of virtual machine network policy management (Chen discloses (Figs. 2, 3 and 7 and ¶66) virtual machine management center changing network policy configuration of the virtual machine, and updating network policy configuration information related to the virtual machine) the method comprising:
associating, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) on a host with a network policy for the VM (Chen discloses (¶49) creating a mapping relationship between the virtual machine and the network policy using the identifier of the virtual machine)
receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from virtual machine management software configured to manage one or more VMs on each of a plurality of hosts, the one or more VMs including the VM on the host (Chen discloses (¶66) when a virtual machine management center wants to change network policy configuration of the virtual machine, a server receives a network policy change message sent by the virtual machine management center (¶67), where the network policy change message includes a VNID that requires network policy updating and new network policy configuration information, and the server sends (¶69) a network policy change synchronization message to the network device)
and updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the received update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier (Chen discloses (¶72) when a server receives a network policy change message sent by a virtual machine management center, the server sends a network policy change synchronization message to a network device, where the network policy change synchronization message includes a VNID that requires network policy updating and new network policy configuration information, so that the network device updates network policy configuration information in a local network policy list corresponding to the VNID).
Claim 3, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
wherein the virtual machine management software is executed on a computing device and is configured to track information related to the one or more VMs on each of the plurality of hosts (Chen discloses (¶68) network running environment changes or that the quality of service or bandwidth of the virtual machine needs to be changed, and the virtual machine management center vCenter sends a message to the server, for instructing the server to update the network policy of the virtual machine)
and wherein the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from the virtual machine management software comprises a change in the tracked information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier (Chen discloses (¶72) the server sends a network policy change synchronization message to a network device, where the network policy change synchronization message includes a VNID that requires network policy updating and new network policy configuration information, so that the network device updates network policy configuration information in a local network policy list corresponding to the VNID.)
Claim 6, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
querying, by the network device, the virtual machine management software for information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier (Chen discloses (¶48-¶52) the network device, may query, according to the VNID of the virtual machine to be created, whether a network policy list corresponding to the VNID exists; if the network policy list exists, the network may add, according to the pre-association message, an identifier of the virtual machine to be created to the network policy list corresponding to the VNID. In this case, the mapping relationship between the virtual machine to be created)
wherein a response from the virtual machine management software based on querying the virtual machine management software comprises the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier (Chen discloses (Fig. 7:702) (¶115,121) vCenter notifies the VM server of preparing to migrate a VM in, and in (Fig. 7:705) the network device performs association processing for the VM to be migrated in and network policy configuration information corresponding to the VNID.)
Claim 8, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
wherein the update to the virtual machine information of the VM comprises a virtual machine name change, a virtual machine location change, or a virtual machine networking configuration change (Chen teaches (¶198) that if the QoS requirements or Network Bandwidth requirement of a VM changes, then the configuration change for the network running environment is initiated by the virtual machine management center. Furthermore, Chen discloses (Fig. 7) the migration (i.e. location change) of a VM and the corresponding update i.e. synchronization of the network policies between the first and the second network devices. Chen teaches (¶45, ¶56, ¶68 and ¶114) virtual machine management center vCenter sends a message to the server, for instructing the server to update the network policy of the virtual machine, where the message for instructing the server to update the network policy of the virtual machine is referred to as a network policy change message. Specifically, the virtual machine management center vCenter sends the network policy change message to the server through an application programming interface API.)
Claim 9, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
wherein the network policy comprises a network access policy (Chen discloses (¶41) network policy configuration information is used for the network device to configure configuration information of an access control list (ACL). Chen discloses (Fig. 3 and ¶66) that when a virtual machine management center wants to change network policy configuration of the virtual machine, it is necessary to update network policy configuration information related to the virtual machine. Chen discloses (¶68) an example of a network access policy, i.e. if the virtual machine currently has no permission to access an external network, and the virtual machine management center vCenter sets an access permission for the virtual machine to access the external network, then in this case, it is necessary to modify the network policy configuration information of the virtual machine correspondingly. The virtual machine management center vCenter sends a message to the server, for instructing the server to update the network policy of the virtual machine, where the message for instructing the server to update the network policy of the virtual machine is referred to as a network policy change message.)
Claim 10, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
wherein the network policy comprises a quality- of-service policy (Chen discloses (¶41) network policy configuration information is used for the network device to configure configuration information of quality of service (QoS) for the virtual machine corresponding to the VNID.)
Claim 11, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
wherein the network policy comprises a traffic shaping policy (Chen discloses (¶41) network policy configuration information is used for the network device to configure configuration information of an access control list (ACL), quality of service (QoS), or a combination thereof for the virtual machine corresponding to the VNID; the network policy configuration information may also be intrusion protection (IPS) security policy information and intrusion detection IDS (IDS) security policy information.)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0122672 to Chen and in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0124814 to De Silva et al. (hereinafter Silva).
Claim 4, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 3. Further, Chen does not explicitly disclose wherein the tracked information comprises network interface card information and wherein the change in the tracked information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier comprises a change in the network interface card information of the VM corresponding to the identifier. However, in an analogous art, Silva teaches:
wherein the tracked information (Silva teaches (¶34) process for enabling scalable VM tracking in a data center) comprises network interface card information (Silva teaches (¶29 and Fig. 3) VM Identifier (VMID) related to the corresponding network hardware identifiers i.e. MAC address, IP address or Universal Unique Identifier (UUID, ¶21) associated with the physical switch)
and wherein the change in the tracked information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier comprises a change in the network interface card information of the VM corresponding to the identifier (Silva teaches (¶Fig. 6) when a VM is provisioned or a vNIC is added to a VM, the packet including the TLV is forwarded and stored to the physical switch in a table stored in a memory device. As showing in (Fig. 4 and ¶34) the information stored by the physical switch and accessible therefrom includes not only the identity of the vNIC and the MAC address associated therewith, but also the name of the VM with which each vNIC is associated.)
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of virtual machine network policy management, the method comprising: associating, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) on a host with a network policy for the VM; receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from virtual machine management software configured to manage one or more VMs on each of a plurality of hosts, the one or more VMs including the VM on the host; and updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the received update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier, as disclosed by Chen, wherein the tracked information comprises network interface card information and wherein the change in the tracked information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier comprises a change in the network interface card information of the VM corresponding to the identifier, as taught by Silva, for the purpose of implementing the techniques for enabling scalable tracking of virtual machines ("VMs") in a data center fabric (Silva, ¶1).
Claims 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0122672 to Chen and in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0238820 to Matsuoka.
Claim 2, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further Chen discloses:
wherein the virtual machine management software is executed on a computing device (Chen teaches (¶4 and ¶5) creating multiple VMs on a server and configuring general and personalized network policies corresponding to the multiple VM. Chen discloses (Fig. 7) the migration of a VM and the synchronization of the network policies between the first and the second devices)
Chen does not explicitly disclose and is configured to distribute virtual machine update information to a plurality of network devices, including the network device. However, in an analogous art, Matsuoka teaches:
and is configured to distribute virtual machine update information to a plurality of network devices, including the network device (Matsuoka teaches (¶216) the VM information notifying unit 34e of the physical server B 30 notifies the VM information notification message with a packet using a multicast address or a broadcast address as a destination to notify all of the network devices of the VM information notification message.)
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of virtual machine network policy management, the method comprising: associating, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) on a host with a network policy for the VM; receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from virtual machine management software configured to manage one or more VMs on each of a plurality of hosts, the one or more VMs including the VM on the host; and updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the received update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier, as disclosed by Chen, and is configured to distribute virtual machine update information to a plurality of network devices, including the network device, as taught by Matsuoka, for the purpose of implementing a communication control system (¶2).
Claim 13, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, Chen does not explicitly disclose the identifier of the VM comprises a universally unique identifier of the VM. However, in an analogous art, Matsuoka teaches:
wherein the identifier of the VM comprises a universally unique identifier of the VM; Matsuoka teaches (¶62) the VM information DB 14a stores information of the VMs such as a VM name, a running state, a media access control (MAC) address, and a universally unique identifier (UUID).
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 2.
Claims 5, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0122672 to Chen and in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0337940 to Slavov et al. (hereinafter Slavov).
Claim 5, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, Chen does not explicitly disclose sending, by the network device, a subscription request to the virtual machine management software that subscribes to information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein receiving the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier is based on the network device being subscribed to the information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier. However, in an analogous art, Slavov teaches:
sending, by the network device, a subscription request to the virtual machine management software that subscribes to information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier (Slavov teaches (Fig. 2 and ¶68) the cloud manager/SHO 20 receives a request 201 to establish an execution environment for a vM2ME. Slavov teaches receiving provisioning requests (¶45, ¶96) for VM services (i.e. VM 1, VM 2) from subscriber identities (Fig. 4a: Subscriber 1, Subscriber 2) and these requesters may be user equipment (UE) operated by a subscriber to a service offered by a MNO)
wherein receiving the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier is based on the network device being subscribed to the information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier (Slavov teaches (¶62) subscriber is the entity who is identified on the MCIM, is associated with a vM2ME and has a contractual relationship with the MNO to provide services to the vM2ME. The MNO can be the operator of the data-center (M2MEP) where the vM2MEs are running. The subscriber 14 is the owner of VMs 16 (Fig. 1a: here two VMs are shown, but there could be any number), that provide services to users accessing the VMs 16 over the Internet 18. Also, the MNO 12 may provide the virtualization platform for more than one subscriber (Fig. 4a) by having more than one MCIM installed, each serving a different subscriber. Slavov teaches (¶68) the preliminary MCIM is identified by a preliminary connectivity identifier (PCID), which, for example, could be an International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI) number. Slavov teaches (Fig. 2, ¶70) once successfully attached, the Cloud Manager/SHO 20 sends a request 214 for the management domain to install, configure and start the vM2ME, and binding the specific instance of the CM 25 and subscriber's MCIM with the VM).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of virtual machine network policy management, the method comprising: associating, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) on a host with a network policy for the VM; receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from virtual machine management software configured to manage one or more VMs on each of a plurality of hosts, the one or more VMs including the VM on the host; and updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the received update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier, as disclosed by Chen, and sending, by the network device, a subscription request to the virtual machine management software that subscribes to information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, wherein receiving the update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier is based on the network device being subscribed to the information related to the VM corresponding to the identifier, as taught by Slavov, for the purpose of implementing remote provisioning of a Machine Communication Identity Module, (MCIM) for the management of virtual machines in a virtualised computing environment and so enabling 3GPP communications with a virtual machine (Slavov, ¶1).
Claim 15, Chen in view of Slavov discloses all the elements of claim 14. Further, they disclose:
after receiving the network policy, subscribing, by the first network device, to receive a notification of a configuration change to the VM (Slavov teaches (Fig. 1a and ¶12) the subscriber is the entity who is identified on the MCIM, it is the owner of the VMs, and is associated with a vM2ME and has a contractual relationship with the MNO to provide services to the vM2ME. Slavov teaches making use of the 3GPP Machine Communication Identity Module (MCIM) concept for managing VMs (providing identities, security etc.). MCIM is a recent concept studied by the 3GPP (see 3GPP TR 33.812, version 9.2.0, 22.06.2010), "Feasibility study on the security aspects of remote provisioning and change of subscription for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) equipment"). The object is to provide a mechanism by which subscriber devices can download their network credentials from the device's selected home operator (SHO)--i.e. the operator with whom the owner of the device has established a service agreement.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 5.
Claim 16, Chen in view of Slavov discloses all the elements of claim 15. Further, they disclose:
wherein the migration of the VM from the host to the additional host is detected based on the received notification of migration of the VM (Chen discloses (Fig. 7) notifications of the migration of a VM and the network policies synchronization between the first and the second devices. The VM management system notifies the second VM server for the migrating of a first VM in along with the network policy configuration information associated with the identifier of the first virtual machine (such as UUID) and corresponding to the virtual network identification, VNID)
receiving, by the first network device, a notification of migration of the VM based on being subscribed to receive the notification of the configuration change to the VM (Slavov teaches (¶51) the MCIM and CM can also perform Network Address Translation (NAT) functionality if it is desirable that the VM maintains the same IP address when migrated. Slavov teaches notifications 906 (¶114) to the cloud manager/SHO 90 to indicate that the CM 95 and MCIM have been setup, and that there is enough disk space/RAM to host the subscriber's VM, and a notification 918 (¶118) of success (or failure) is returned to the originator of the request 901.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 5.
Claims 7, 12, 14 and 17 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0122672 to Chen and in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0133358 to Yin et al. (hereinafter Yin).
Claim 7, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, Chen does not explicitly disclose distributing the updated network policy for the VM to an additional network device. However, in an analogous art, Yin teaches:
distributing the updated network policy for the VM to an additional network device (Yin teaches (¶28) a correlation is established between a virtual switch and physical network devices first; when an operation event aimed at a virtual machine occurs, a first network policy configuration message is then automatically sent to a virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, and second network policy configuration messages are sent to physical network devices correlated to the virtual switch, so as to instruct the virtual switch and the physical network devices correlated to the virtual switch to perform corresponding network policy configuration. In this way, when an operation event aimed at the virtual machine occurs, policy configuration corresponding to the operation event can be performed in time on the virtual switch and the physical network devices correlated to the virtual switch, thereby supporting the virtualization technology.)
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing date to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the method of virtual machine network policy management, the method comprising: associating, by a network device, an identifier of a virtual machine (VM) on a host with a network policy for the VM; receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier from virtual machine management software configured to manage one or more VMs on each of a plurality of hosts, the one or more VMs including the VM on the host; and updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM, based on the received update to the virtual machine information of the VM corresponding to the identifier, as disclosed by Chen, and distributing the updated network policy for the VM to an additional network device, as taught by Yin, for the purpose of automatically configuring a network policy and support the server virtualization technology (Yin, ¶6).
Claim 12, Chen discloses all the elements of claim 1. Further, Chen does not explicitly disclose receiving a packet originating from or destined to the VM and processing the received packet based on the network policy for the VM. However, in an analogous art, Yin teaches:
receiving a packet originating from or destined to the VM and processing the received packet based on the network policy for the VM (Yin teaches (¶46 - ¶48) the operation event includes a virtual machine migration event, and for a case of virtual machine migration, the identifier of the virtual switch includes both the identifier of the source virtual switch before the migration and the identifier of the target virtual switch after the migration. The sending a virtual network policy configuration message aimed at the virtual machine to a virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine includes: sending, by the server management center device, a virtual network policy deletion message carrying the identifier information of the VM to the source virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, where the virtual network policy deletion message is used to instruct the virtual switch to delete network policy parameters that are previously configured for the virtual port of the virtual machine; and sending, by the server management center device, a virtual network policy creation message carrying the network policy information and the identifier information of the VM to the target virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, where the network policy information may include information such as a VLAN identifier and a bandwidth constraint, and the virtual network policy creation message is used to instruct the target virtual switch to configure network policy parameters, such as a VLAN identifier and a bandwidth constraint, for the virtual port of the virtual machine.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 7.
Regarding Claim 14, Chen discloses method for configuring a network policy of a virtual network (¶2), which further includes:
receiving, by a first network device, a network policy for a virtual machine (VM) on a host connected to a second network device (Chen discloses (¶72) a server exchanges network policy messages with a virtual machine management center, and the server sends a network policy change synchronization message to a network device, where the network policy change synchronization message includes a VNID that requires network policy updating and new network policy configuration information, so that the network device updates network policy configuration information in a local network policy list corresponding to the VNID)
detecting, by the first network device, a migration of the VM from the host to an additional host connected to the first network device, and applying, by the first network device, the received network policy for the VM (Chen discloses (Fig. 7) the migration of a VM and the synchronization of the network policies between the first and the second devices)
Chen does not explicitly disclose receiving, by the first network device, a packet originating from or destined to the VM on the additional host connected to the first network device, and processing the received packet based on the network policy. However, in an analogous art, Yin teaches:
receiving, by the first network device, a packet originating from or destined to the VM on the additional host connected to the first network device and processing the received packet based on the network policy (Yin teaches (¶46 - ¶48) the operation event includes a virtual machine migration event, and for a case of virtual machine migration, the identifier of the virtual switch includes both the identifier of the source virtual switch before the migration and the identifier of the target virtual switch after the migration. The sending a virtual network policy configuration message aimed at the virtual machine to a virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine includes: sending, by the server management center device, a virtual network policy deletion message carrying the identifier information of the VM to the source virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, where the virtual network policy deletion message is used to instruct the virtual switch to delete network policy parameters that are previously configured for the virtual port of the virtual machine; and sending, by the server management center device, a virtual network policy creation message carrying the network policy information and the identifier information of the VM to the target virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, where the network policy information may include information such as a VLAN identifier and a bandwidth constraint, and the virtual network policy creation message is used to instruct the target virtual switch to configure network policy parameters, such as a VLAN identifier and a bandwidth constraint, for the virtual port of the virtual machine.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 7.
Claim 17, Chen in view of Yin discloses all the elements of claim 14. Further, they disclose:
receiving, by the first network device, an additional packet sent to or from the VM on the additional host connected to the first network device (Chen discloses (Fig. 7) migration of a VM and the synchronization of the network policies between the first and the second devices)
wherein the migration of the VM from the host to the additional host is detected based on the additional packet being received when the VM is on the additional host connected to the first network device (Yin teaches (¶46 - ¶48) the operation event includes a virtual machine migration event, and for a case of virtual machine migration, the identifier of the virtual switch includes both the identifier of the source virtual switch before the migration and the identifier of the target virtual switch after the migration. The sending a virtual network policy configuration message aimed at the virtual machine to a virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine includes: sending, by the server management center device, a virtual network policy deletion message carrying the identifier information of the VM to the source virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, where the virtual network policy deletion message is used to instruct the virtual switch to delete network policy parameters that are previously configured for the virtual port of the virtual machine; and sending, by the server management center device, a virtual network policy creation message carrying the network policy information and the identifier information of the VM to the target virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, where the network policy information may include information such as a VLAN identifier and a bandwidth constraint, and the virtual network policy creation message is used to instruct the target virtual switch to configure network policy parameters, such as a VLAN identifier and a bandwidth constraint, for the virtual port of the virtual machine.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 7.
Claim 18, Chen in view of Yin discloses all the elements of claim 17. Further, they disclose:
wherein the VM has an identifier (Chen discloses (¶48-¶52) network device, may query, according to the VNID of the virtual machine to be created, whether a network policy list corresponding to the VNID exists; if the network policy list exists, the network add, according to pre-association message, an identifier of the virtual machine to be created to the network policy list corresponding to the VNID)
and wherein the migration of the VM from the host to the additional host is detected based on the received additional packet having information that corresponds to the identifier of the VM (Chen discloses (Fig. 7) migration of a virtual machine, network policies synchronization, and discloses the process of configuring a network policy of a virtual machine. Chen discloses (¶125 – ¶127) network policy synchronization message includes the VNID of the VM to be migrated in and corresponding network policy configuration information. The VM management system notifies the second VM server for the migrating of a first VM in along with the network policy configuration information associated with the identifier of the first virtual machine (such as UUID) and corresponding to the virtual network identification, VNID)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 7.
Regarding Claim 19, Chen discloses method for configuring a network policy of a virtual network (¶2), which further includes:
maintaining, by a network device connected to a first host on which a virtual machine (VM) is implemented, a list of one or more additional network devices each connected to one or more additional hosts to which the VM can migrate (Chen discloses (¶49) the network device may add, according to the association message, the identifier of the virtual machine to be created to the network policy list corresponding to the VNID, and enable the mapping relationship between the virtual machine to be created and the network policy configuration. Chen discloses (¶96) network device have information of multiple virtual machines may be set in the virtual machine information list. Chen discloses (Fig. 7) migrate a virtual machine VM from a first VM server to a second VM server, and discloses the process of configuring a network policy of a virtual machine)
associating, by the network device, an identifier of the VM with a network policy for the VM (Chen discloses (¶125 – ¶127) network policy synchronization message includes the VNID of the VM to be migrated in and corresponding network policy configuration information)
updating, by the network device, the network policy for the VM (Chen discloses (¶72) when a server receives a network policy change message sent by a virtual machine management center, the server sends a network policy change synchronization message to a network device, where the network policy change synchronization message includes a VNID that requires network policy updating and new network policy configuration information, so that the network device updates network policy configuration information in a local network policy list corresponding to the VNID)
Chen does not explicitly disclose distributing, by the network device, the network policy for the VM to the one or more additional network devices, and distributing, by the network device, the updated network policy for the VM to the one or more additional network devices. However, in an analogous art, Yin teaches:
distributing, by the network device, the network policy for the VM to the one or more additional network devices (Yin teaches (¶61) when the operation event is a virtual machine migration event, the first sending module 12 (i.e. first network device) sends the virtual network policy creation message to a physical network device (i.e. second network device) correlated to a target virtual switch and virtual machine. The physical network policy creation message carries the network policy information and the identifier information of the VM to an access switch correlated to the target virtual switch, ¶54.)
and distributing, by the network device, the updated network policy for the VM to the one or more additional network devices (Yin teaches (¶28) a correlation is established between a virtual switch and physical network devices first; when an operation event aimed at a virtual machine occurs, a first network policy configuration message is then automatically sent to a virtual switch corresponding to the virtual machine, and second network policy configuration messages are sent to physical network devices correlated to the virtual switch, so as to instruct the virtual switch and the physical network devices correlated to the virtual switch to perform corresponding network policy configuration. In this way, when an operation event aimed at the virtual machine occurs, policy configuration corresponding to the operation event can be performed in time on the virtual switch and the physical network devices correlated to the virtual switch, thereby supporting the virtualization technology.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 7.
Claim 20, Chen and Yin disclose all the elements of claim 19. Further Chen discloses:
receiving, by the network device, an update to virtual machine information of the VM from a server connected to the network device and connected to the one or more additional network devices, wherein the network policy for the VM is updated based on the received update to the virtual machine information of the VM (Chen discloses (¶72) when a server receives a network policy change message sent by a virtual machine management center, the server sends a network policy change synchronization message to a network device, where the network policy change synchronization message includes a VNID that requires network policy updating and new network policy configuration information, so that the network device updates network policy configuration information in a local network policy list corresponding to the VNID.)
The motivation to combine the references is similar to the reasons in Claim 7.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HASSAN KHAN whose telephone number is (313) 446-6574 and fax number is (571) 483-7559. The examiner can normally be reached on MONDAY - THURSDAY.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor Christopher L. Parry can be reached on (571) 272-8328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HASSAN A KHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2451
/Chris Parry/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2451
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