Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AlA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AlA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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.
5. Claims 1,9, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kozat et al. (US 20150249587 A1) hereinafter referred as Kozat in view of Modelski et al. (US 7369554 B1) hereinafter Modelski.
Regarding claims 1, 9 and 17, Kozat discloses a router (see figs 1-2) comprising:
Memory (see figs 1-2) ;
one or more processors coupled to the memory (see figs 1-2), the one or more processors configured to:
receive a routing protocol message that includes a route target specified as a bitmask encoded with link administrative group information associated with one or more links (para. [0059] the forwarding plane constitutes all the forwarding elements 301-307 and the links 501-509 between these forwarding elements 301-307. Each of forwarding elements 301-307, upon receiving a packet in an incoming port, makes use of one or more forwarding tables to determine whether the packet must be modified in any fashion, whether any internal state (e.g., packet counters) must be modified, and whether packet must be forwarded to an outgoing port (para. [0071]-[0073] where all the packets with an exact match to ones and zeros as defined in the bit-mask belong to the same flow and they would be routed in exactly the same fashion (i.e., flow-based routing). The headers can include, but are not limited to, MPLS labels, VLAN tags, source & destination MAC addresses, source & destination IP addresses, protocol names, TCP/UDP ports, GTP tunnel identifiers, etc. [0073] where f.sub.2 is still routable, thus for every flow reaching forwarding 304 as the ingress switch, controller 103 instructs 304 to swap the bit-mask of these flows with flow f.sub.2 as the first action in the processing pipeline before the routing action).
wherein each bit of the bitmask corresponds to a different one of a plurality of link administrative groups, and wherein each of the link administrative groups specify a different grouping of one or more subsets of resources of an underlay network (para. [0011] topology and/or path verification in networks with a pre-determined subset of network flows for a communication network, where the network comprises a control plane, a forwarding plane, and one or more controllers. Installing forwarding rules on the forwarding elements for identification of network information, wherein the forwarding rules are grouped into one or more separate control flows; [0074] for every flow reaching forwarding 304 as the ingress switch, controller 103 instructs 304 to swap the bit-mask of these flows with flow f.sub.2 as the first action in the processing pipeline before the routing action. [0100] if the same switch has to process multiple control packets injected for different child nodes of the binary tree, a unique bit-mask is used to differentiate between these control packets. The choice is up to the controllers themselves and any field including the source port, VLAN tags, MPLS labels, etc., see also para. [0071]-0073).
Kozat may not explicitly disclose determining, based on the bitmask, whether to import information carried by the routing protocol message.
However, Modelski discloses determining, based on the bitmask, whether to import information carried by the routing protocol message ((col1 lines 64-67 ), routing protocols, such as, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), have different requirements than the fast-forwarding Internet Protocol (FFIP). For example, routing protocols, such as OSPF and BGP, typically operate in the background (col. 8 lines 14-58), Filter rules allow for the classification and processing (e.g., drop, forward, and/or modify) of data packets. The filter rules may comprise at least one field of a data packet, such as a source address or a destination address… performing a radix search based on a filter instruction that returns a result or a bit-mask 1310 (e.g., a 32-bit mask), wherein the bits of the mask correspond to filter rules. The result may be logically "ANDed" 1320 with contents 1315 of a filter accumulator register, which accumulates information related to filter operations, to perform the filter instruction. The logic device 1320, which may comprise an "AND" gate, allows the filter accumulator register to indicate whether a filter rule remains active, which may be indicated by a set bit. The bits of the filter accumulator register correspond to the bits of the mask. An active filter rule comprises a rule and associated actions that remain "valid" after application of a filter instruction on a particular field. An inactive filter rule comprises a rule and associated actions that are "invalid" after application of a filter instruction on a particular field. Then, in block 1325, a decision is made whether to perform a filter rule. Any active bit (i.e., a set bit) in the filter accumulator register indicates that a filter rule remains active and to be performed, as illustrated in block 1330. On the other hand, if the filter accumulator register contains no active bits (i.e., no filter rules remain active), the filter operation may end, as illustrated in block 1335. This is because no filter rule remains active, and additional filter instructions would yield the same result).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the teaching of Kozat and include determining, based on the bitmask, whether to import information carried by the routing protocol message using the teaching of Modelski. The motivation for doing so would have been in ordered to apply efficient filtering rules, thereby improve routing mechanism.
6. Claims 2-3 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kozat et al. (US 20150249587 A1) hereinafter referred as Kozat in view of Modelski et al. (US 7369554 B1) hereinafter Modelski and further in view of Brandwine et al. (US 20170353394 A1) hereinafter referred as Brandwine.
Regarding claims 3 and 11 claim 2 is incorporated. Kozat in view of Modelski may not explicitly disclose wherein the routing protocol message advertises one or more subsets of resources of the underlay network allocated to a virtual network in which the router participates, wherein the one or more subsets of resources allocated to the virtual network include one or more nodes and one or more links of the underlay network to be used by the virtual network. However, Brandwine discloses wherein the routing protocol message advertises one or more subsets of resources of the underlay network allocated to a virtual network in which the router participates, wherein the one or more subsets of resources allocated to the virtual network include one or more nodes and one or more links of the underlay network to be used by the virtual network ( para. [0030] [0061 and Fig. 2] computing resource can have the bandwidth, latency, and/or other characteristic specified for the virtual subnet. Allocating of the computing resource can be accomplished directly by the resource management system 200 or by communicating an allocation request to a virtual network provisioning system. [0043 ] the network topology comprises a network layout, traffic rules for the network, bandwidth for nodes and/or links,(i.e. subset of resources) latency, and/or other characteristics of the network topology. Further, Fig. 2: network 240, (i.e. established over the underlay network). Also Fig 2. 205 resource manager to determine to allocate computing resources, and Fig 6:615. Fig. 3A: a virtual network including several virtual computing resources allocated in subnet A 302 and subnet B 303, such as computing nodes and/or network devices; para. [0039]-[0040], see also Fig. 3A-B, where the allocated virtual computing resource behaves similarly to a physical computing resource located on a physical subnet having a similar topology to the virtual subnet. For example, logically, X and Y are placed in a separate subnet from Z, thus the administrator expects that communications between the nodes can be controlled through the communications path between the separate subnets, for example, through the placement of firewalls F1 310 and F2 312 or other network devices on the communications path (i.e. physical link of the underlay network), Further, [0043] and Fig. 4: where the network topology comprises a network layout, traffic rules for the network, bandwidth for nodes and/or links, latency, and/or other characteristics of the network topology.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the teaching of Kozat in view of Modelski and include wherein the routing protocol message advertises one or more subsets of resources of the underlay network allocated to a virtual network in which the router participates, wherein the one or more subsets of resources allocated to the virtual network include one or more nodes and one or more links of the underlay network to be used by the virtual network using the teaching of Brandwine. The motivation for doing so would have been in order apply access constraints of an assigned subnet to the allocated computing resources, so that operation of the computing resource becomes easier to understand and/or manage
Regarding claims 3 and 11 claim 2 is incorporated. Kozat in view of Modelski may not explicitly disclose wherein the virtual network comprises one or more network slices on top of the underlay network, wherein each of the one or more network slices is configured with different performance and scaling properties Brandwine discloses wherein the one or more virtual networks comprise one or more network slices on top of the underlay network, wherein each of the one or more networks slices is configured with different performance and scaling properties (para [0039] [0039] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate block diagrams of a virtual network 301 and a corresponding substrate physical network 302. FIG. 3A illustrates a virtual network including several virtual computing resources allocated in subnet A 302 and subnet B 303, such as computing nodes and/or network devices. In one example, a standard user 220 requests the allocation of computing nodes X 304, Y 308, and Z 306. Virtual computing nodes X and Y are connected to a logical router 308. The logical router 308 is connected to firewalls F1 310 and F2 312. The logical router 308 is configured to direct traffic from X to F2 and Y to F2, as would be the case if F1 were a backup firewall…[0040] By applying the access constraints of an assigned subnet to the allocated computing resource, the operation of the computing resource becomes easier to understand and/or manage. This allows an administrator to configure the network and/or security behavior of the allocated computing resource by assigning the computing resource to a virtual subnet. From an administrator's perspective, the allocated virtual computing resource behaves similarly to a physical computing resource located on a physical subnet having a similar topology to the virtual subnet. For example, logically, X and Y are placed in a separate subnet from Z, .. see also and Fig. 3A-B computing nodes 304, 306, and 308).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the teaching of Kozat in view of Modelski and include wherein the virtual network comprises one or more network slices on top of the underlay network, wherein each of the one or more network slices is configured with different performance and scaling properties using the teaching of Brandwine. The motivation for doing so would have been in order apply access constraints of an assigned subnet to the allocated computing resources, so that operation of the computing resource becomes easier to understand and/or manage
7. Claims 6-7, 14-15 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kozat et al. (US 20150249587 A1) hereinafter referred as Kozat and further in view of Modelski et al. (US 7369554 B1) hereinafter Modelski and further in view of Zeng et al. (WO 2022194023 A1) hereinafter referred as Zeng.
Regarding claims 6 and 14, claim 1 is incorporated. Kozat in view of Modelski may not explicitly disclose wherein the control unit is configured to output the routing protocol message to advertise the one or more subset of resources. However, Zeng discloses wherein the control unit is configured to output the routing protocol message to advertise the one or more subset of resources using Border Gateway Protocol-Link State (BGP-LS) advertisements (see page 17 para. [6-7) Please refer to FIG. 3 , which shows a schematic diagram of the format of a BGP-LS packet. The message shown in FIG. 3 is the BGP network layer reachability information (NLRI) used to report the SR policy. The meanings of each field in FIG. 3 are as follows. The protocol-ID field is used to identify the protocol from which the TE policy comes. For example, when the content of the protocol ID field is 9, it indicates that the protocol from which the TE policy comes is Segment Routing).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the teaching of Kozat in view of Modelski and include wherein the routing protocol message includes a flexible- algorithm definition for the one or more subsets of resources, wherein the flexible-algorithm definition is specified as network layer reachability information (NLRI) of the BGP-LS advertisements, wherein the flexible-algorithm definition includes a calculation-type, metric- type, and constraint using the teaching of Zeng. The motivation for doing so would have been in order apply access constraints of an assigned subnet to the allocated computing resources, so that operation of the computing resource becomes easier to understand and/or manage
Regarding claims 7, 15 and 20, claim 6 is incorporated. Kozat in view of Modelski may not explicitly disclose wherein the routing protocol message includes a flexible- algorithm definition for the one or more subsets of resources, wherein the flexible-algorithm definition is specified as network layer reachability information (NLRI) of the BGP-LS advertisements, wherein the flexible-algorithm definition includes a calculation-type, metric- type, and constraint. However, Zeng discloses wherein the routing protocol message includes a flexible- algorithm definition for the one or more subsets of resources, wherein the flexible-algorithm definition is specified as network layer reachability information (NLRI) of the BGP-LS advertisements, wherein the flexible-algorithm definition includes a calculation-type, metric- type, and constraint (see page11 para [3] and page 13 para [3] and The protocol type of the advertisement message includes many situations. Optionally, the advertisement message is a BGP-LS message. BGP LS is an extension of the BGP protocol. BGP LS is usually used to upload topology information to the controller. By extending the BGP LS, the identifier of the network slice and the information of the path are sent to the controller, so as to reuse the existing protocols as much as possible and reduce the implementation complexity).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the teaching of Kozat in view of Modelski and include wherein the virtual network comprises one or more network slices on top of the underlay network, wherein each of the one or more network slices is configured with different performance and scaling properties using the teaching of. The motivation for doing so would have been in order apply access constraints of an assigned subnet to the allocated computing resources, so that operation of the computing resource becomes easier to understand and/or manage
8. Claims 8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kozat et al. (US 20150249587 A1) hereinafter referred as Kozat and further in view of Modelski et al. (US 7369554 B1) hereinafter Modelski and further in view of Kompella (US 7319700 B1) hereinafter Kompella.
Regarding claims 8 and 16 claim 1 is incorporated Brandwine in view of Kozat may not explicitly disclose wherein the link administrative group information comprises a color associated with the one or more links. However, Kompella discloses wherein the particular link attribute comprises a particular color associated with the one or more links (col. 12 lines 45-63, information distribution may be used to provide information about network topology and network loading so that label-switched paths may be determined. The interior gateway protocol (or "IGP") 230 can be extended so that link attributes are included in each router's links-state advertisements. Such link attributes may include, for example, maximum link bandwidth, maximum reservable link bandwidth, current bandwidth reservation, current bandwidth usage and link coloring).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the teaching of Kozat in view of Modelski and include wherein the link administrative group information comprises a color associated with the one or more links using the teaching of Kompella. The motivation for doing so would have been in order to permit head-end node of the path to signal its notion of the constraint semantics to the other nodes in the path in an extensible, interoperable fashion.
Allowable Subject Matter
9. Claim 4-5,12-13 and 18 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon rejected base claims, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gredler et al.(US 9019865 B2) teaches a network device logically located within a first routing protocol domain includes a routing protocol module executing on a control unit to execute an exterior gateway routing protocol. The routing protocol module of the network device receives an exterior gateway routing protocol advertisement from a router logically located within a second routing protocol domain and decodes traffic engineering information for a traffic engineering link from the exterior gateway routing protocol advertisement. A path computation module of the network device computes a traffic engineered path by selecting the traffic engineering link for inclusion in the traffic engineered path based on the traffic engineering information.
Fang et al. (EP 3065353 A1) teaches detecting a first routing message was received at an edge router of the first AS from an edge router of the second AS. The first message identifies the second host as a source and the first host as a destination of a forward route. The method further includes determining that the first message further comprises an indication to implement symmetric routing between the first and second hosts and generating a second routing message for propagating to router(s) within the first AS. The second message identifies the first host as a source and the second host as a destination of a return route, and indicates that data is to be sent via the edge router of the first AS that received the first message.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kidest Mendaye whose telephone number is (571)272-2603. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 7:00 am-5:00pm EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ario Etienne can be reached on (571) 272-4001. 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. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. 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.
07/24/2026/KIDEST MENDAYE/
Examiner, Art Unit 2457
/ARIO ETIENNE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2457
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