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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 2, 4-9, 11-16, and 18-20 are pending. Claims 1, 8, and 15 have been amended as per Applicants' request. Claims 3, 10, and 17 have been canceled as per Applicants' request.
Papers Submitted
It is hereby acknowledged that the following papers have been received and placed of record in the file:
Amended Claims as filed on June 26, 2026
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.
Claim 1, 2, 4-9, 11-16, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teeter et al. (US 2018/0183663) (hereinafter Teeter) (published June 28, 2018) in view of GRUNWALD et al. (US 2021/030164) (hereinafter Grunwald) (published September 30, 2021).
Regarding Claims 1, 8, and 15, taking claim 1 as exemplary, a system comprising:
“Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a networking device 200 is illustrated. In an embodiment, the networking device 200 may be the IHS 100 discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, and/or may include some or all of the components of the IHS 100” (Teeter [0028])
a memory device; a plurality of interface ports operatively coupled with the memory device; and
“Programs and data are stored on a mass storage device 108, which is coupled to processor 102. Examples of mass storage devices may include hard discs, optical disks, magneto-optical discs, solid-state storage devices, and/or a variety other mass storage devices known in the art. IHS 100 further includes a display 110, which is coupled to processor 102 by a video controller 112. A system memory 114 is coupled to processor 102 to provide the processor with fast storage to facilitate execution of computer programs by processor 102” (Teeter [0027])
“The chassis 202 may also house a storage system (not illustrated, but which may include one or more of the mass storage devices 108 discussed above with reference to FIG. 1) that is coupled to the port configuration engine 204 (e.g., via a coupling between the storage system and the processing system) and that includes a port configuration database 206 that is discussed below as including a table in one embodiment, but which may include any of a variety of data storage structures that would enable the functionality discussed below” (Teeter [0028])
a processing device, operatively coupled with the memory device, to perform operations comprising:
“Programs and data are stored on a mass storage device 108, which is coupled to processor 102. Examples of mass storage devices may include hard discs, optical disks, magneto-optical discs, solid-state storage devices, and/or a variety other mass storage devices known in the art. IHS 100 further includes a display 110, which is coupled to processor 102 by a video controller 112. A system memory 114 is coupled to processor 102 to provide the processor with fast storage to facilitate execution of computer programs by processor 102” (Teeter [0027])
receiving, from a host system of a plurality of host systems, a port configuration request,
“As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information” (Teeter [0002] there are multiple users/hosts)
“In an embodiment, in response to determining that a modified configuration for a port has been selected by a user, the port configuration engine may operate to modify the current configuration of that port to provide the modified configuration for that port by disassociating that port from a first predefined port configuration (i.e., the current configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206, and associating that port with a second predefined port configuration (e.g., the modified configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206” (Teeter [0066])
the port configuration request selecting one of a plurality of predefined port configuration options stored in a configuration space of the memory device,
“In an embodiment, in response to determining that a modified configuration for a port has been selected by a user, the port configuration engine may operate to modify the current configuration of that port to provide the modified configuration for that port by disassociating that port from a first predefined port configuration (i.e., the current configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206, and associating that port with a second predefined port configuration (e.g., the modified configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206” (Teeter [0066])
wherein each port configuration option of the plurality of predefined port configuration options specifies a port configuration of a plurality of port configurations,
“In an embodiment, in response to determining that a modified configuration for a port has been selected by a user, the port configuration engine may operate to modify the current configuration of that port to provide the modified configuration for that port by disassociating that port from a first predefined port configuration (i.e., the current configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206, and associating that port with a second predefined port configuration (e.g., the modified configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206” (Teeter [0066] each of the first and second predefined port configuration specifies a port configuration)
for each interface port of the plurality of interface ports, configuring, based on a port configuration of the plurality of port configurations associated with the respective interface port,
“In an embodiment, in response to determining that a modified configuration for a port has been selected by a user, the port configuration engine may operate to modify the current configuration of that port to provide the modified configuration for that port by disassociating that port from a first predefined port configuration (i.e., the current configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206, and associating that port with a second predefined port configuration (e.g., the modified configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206” (Teeter [0066])
But does not explicitly state each port configuration indicating a physical interface and a communication protocol for a respective interface port of the plurality of interface ports; for each interface port of the plurality of interface ports, configuring, an input/output (I/O) controller of each I/O function of a plurality of I/O functions associated with the respective interface port to operate according to the communication protocol of the port configuration associated with the respective interface port; and responsive to receiving a memory access command from the host system of the plurality of host systems, executing the memory access command using the I/O controller of the I/O function connected to the host system.
Teeter and Grunwald discloses each port configuration indicating a physical interface and a communication protocol for a respective interface port of the plurality of interface ports;
“While a specific networking device 200 has been described, one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that networking devices may include many other components and/or components in different configurations in order to provide a variety of conventional networking device functionality known in the art, and those networking devices will fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, other types of information handlings systems having different components and/or configurations, including servers or storage devices that include ports that would benefit from the teachings of the present disclosure, are envisioned as falling within its scope as well” (Teeter [0032])
“The storage controllers 125a, 125b may provide services through some number of network interfaces (e.g., 126a-d) to host computers 127a-n outside of the storage system 124” (Grunwald [0070])
“The internal communication bus may be an Ethernet bus, however, other technologies such as PCIe, InfiniBand, and others, are equally suitable. The chassis provides a port for an external communication bus for enabling communication between multiple chassis, directly or through a switch, and with client systems. The external communication may use a technology such as Ethernet, InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, etc. In some embodiments, the external communication bus uses different communication bus technologies for inter-chassis and client communication. If a switch is deployed within or between chassis, the switch may act as a translation between multiple protocols or technologies. When multiple chassis are connected to define a storage cluster, the storage cluster may be accessed by a client using either proprietary interfaces or standard interfaces such as network file system (‘NFS’), common internet file system (‘CIFS’), small computer system interface (‘SCSI’) or hypertext transfer protocol (‘HTTP’)” (Grunwald [0078] the technology/physical interface and communication protocols used would be part of the port configuration to define how the storage is to be accessed)
for each interface port of the plurality of interface ports, configuring, an input/output (I/O) controller of each I/O function of a plurality of I/O functions associated with the respective interface port to operate according to the communication protocol of the port configuration associated with the respective interface port; and
“In an embodiment, in response to determining that a modified configuration for a port has been selected by a user, the port configuration engine may operate to modify the current configuration of that port to provide the modified configuration for that port by disassociating that port from a first predefined port configuration (i.e., the current configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206, and associating that port with a second predefined port configuration (e.g., the modified configuration) stored in the port configuration database 206” (Teeter [0066])
“The storage system 306 depicted in FIG. 3B also includes communications resources 310 that may be useful in facilitating data communications between components within the storage system 306, as well as data communications between the storage system 306 and computing devices that are outside of the storage system 306, including embodiments where those resources are separated by a relatively vast expanse. The communications resources 310 may be configured to utilize a variety of different protocols and data communication fabrics to facilitate data communications between components within the storage systems as well as computing devices that are outside of the storage system. For example, the communications resources 310 can include fibre channel (‘FC’) technologies such as FC fabrics and FC protocols that can transport SCSI commands over FC network, FC over ethernet (‘FCoE’) technologies through which FC frames are encapsulated and transmitted over Ethernet networks, InfiniBand (‘IB’) technologies in which a switched fabric topology is utilized to facilitate transmissions between channel adapters, NVM Express (‘NVMe’) technologies and NVMe over fabrics (‘NVMeoF’) technologies through which non-volatile storage media attached via a PCI express (‘PCIe’) bus may be accessed, and others” (Grunwald [0134] the I/O controller would be configured based on the technology and protocol selected to be used to access the storage)
responsive to receiving a memory access command from the host system of the plurality of host systems, executing the memory access command using the I/O controller of the I/O function connected to the host system.
“In implementations, storage array controller 110A-D may include an I/O controller or the like that couples the storage array controller 110A-D for data communications, through a midplane (not shown), to a persistent storage resource 170A-B (also referred to as a “storage resource” herein)” (Grunwald [0035])
“Storage managers 274 execute read and write requests from other blades 252 for data and metadata stored in local storage unit 152 NVRAM 204 and flash 206. Authorities 168 fulfill client requests by issuing the necessary reads and writes to the blades 252 on whose storage units 152 the corresponding data or metadata resides. Endpoints 272 parse client connection requests received from switch fabric 146 supervisory software, relay the client connection requests to the authorities 168 responsible for fulfillment, and relay the authorities' 168 responses to clients” (Grunwald [0109])
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the concrete storage-system implementation in which storage controllers communicate with multiple host systems through network interfaces and support multiple communication technologies and protocols of Grunwald with the system in Teeter. In particular, Grunwald's disclosure of I/O controllers, storage resources, client requests, and multiple communications technologies would have provided a known implementation for the configurable ports and port configurations of Teeter. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that configuring the I/O functions associated with a port according to the selected communication protocol would be a conventional application of the port configuration functionality taught by Teeter. The combination would therefore have involved applying known techniques to known components to achieve predictable results, namely, selectively configuring interface ports and their associated I/O functionality to communicate with host systems using an appropriate storage-access protocol. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide greater flexibility and interoperability in a storage system by allowing its interface ports to be configured for different physical interfaces and communication protocols depending on the requirements of the connected host systems and storage environment. Teeter expressly seeks to provide configurable ports through predefined port configurations, while Grunwald recognizes the use of multiple communication fabrics and protocols, including Ethernet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, PCIe, FCoE, NVMe, and NVMe over fabrics. Combining these teachings would therefore allow the storage system of Grunwald to take advantage of Teeter's predefined, selectable port configurations while retaining Grunwald's support for different host-access technologies. Such a combination would have been desirable to accommodate different host systems, improve compatibility with existing infrastructure, and permit a storage system to be deployed in different networking and storage environments without requiring a different hardware configuration for each protocol.
Regarding Claims 2, 9, and 16, Grunwald further discloses wherein the communication protocol comprises one of: non-volatile memory express (NVMe) or non-volatile memory express over fabric (NVMe-oF).
“For example, the communications resources 310 can include fibre channel (‘FC’) technologies such as FC fabrics and FC protocols that can transport SCSI commands over FC network, FC over ethernet (‘FCoE’) technologies through which FC frames are encapsulated and transmitted over Ethernet networks, InfiniBand (‘IB’) technologies in which a switched fabric topology is utilized to facilitate transmissions between channel adapters, NVM Express (‘NVMe’) technologies and NVMe over fabrics (‘NVMeoF’) technologies through which non-volatile storage media attached via a PCI express (‘PCIe’) bus may be accessed, and others” (Grunwald [0134])
Regarding Claims 4, 11, and 18, Grunwald further discloses wherein the physical interface comprises one of: ethernet or peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe).
“The data communications links described herein are collectively illustrated by data communications links 108A-D and may include a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (‘PCIe’) bus, for example” (Grunwald [0043])
Regarding Claims 5, 12, and 19, Grunwald further discloses wherein the plurality of I/O functions associated with the respective interface port comprises a physical function and one or more virtual functions.
“The software resources 314 may also include software that is useful in facilitating and optimizing I/O operations that are directed to the storage resources 308 in the storage system 306. For example, the software resources 314 may include software modules that perform carry out various data reduction techniques such as, for example, data compression, data deduplication, and others. The software resources 314 may include software modules that intelligently group together I/O operations to facilitate better usage of the underlying storage resource 308, software modules that perform data migration operations to migrate from within a storage system, as well as software modules that perform other functions” (Grunwald [0139] the physical function would be the actual I/O movement and the virtual function would be compression or deduplication)
Regarding Claims 6, 13, and 20, Grunwald further discloses wherein each I/O controller is allocated a range of logical block addresses (LBA) of the memory device.
“Data communications links 123a, 123b may be based on non-volatile memory express (‘NVMe’) or NVMe over fabrics (‘NVMf’) specifications that allow external connection to the storage device controller 119A-D from other components in the storage system 117” (Grunwald [0064] the I/O controller is using NVMe)
“The storage systems described above may also be configured to implement NVMe Zoned Namespaces. Through the use of NVMe Zoned Namespaces, the logical address space of a namespace is divided into zones. Each zone provides a logical block address range that must be written sequentially and explicitly reset before rewriting, thereby enabling the creation of namespaces that expose the natural boundaries of the device and offload management of internal mapping tables to the host” (Grunwald [0204] the I/O controller would be allocated the range of LBA that is associated with the zoned namespace that it controls)
Regarding Claims 7 and 14, Teeter and Grunwald further discloses wherein a first subset of the plurality of host systems comprises one or more host systems of a first system on a chip (SOC) connected to a first interface port of the plurality of interface ports, a second subset of the plurality of host systems comprises one or more host systems of a second SOC connected to a second interface port of the plurality of interface ports, a third subset of the plurality of host systems comprises one or more host systems of a third SOC connected to a third interface port of the plurality of interface ports, and a fourth subset of the plurality of host systems comprises host systems of a fourth SOC connected to a fourth interface port of the plurality of interface ports.
“As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated” (Teeter [0002] each user would be a host having requirements on the type communication interface and protocol used to connect to the system)
“The communications resources 310 may be configured to utilize a variety of different protocols and data communication fabrics to facilitate data communications between components within the storage systems as well as computing devices that are outside of the storage system. For example, the communications resources 310 can include fibre channel (‘FC’) technologies such as FC fabrics and FC protocols that can transport SCSI commands over FC network, FC over ethernet (‘FCoE’) technologies through which FC frames are encapsulated and transmitted over Ethernet networks, InfiniBand (‘IB’) technologies in which a switched fabric topology is utilized to facilitate transmissions between channel adapters, NVM Express (‘NVMe’) technologies and NVMe over fabrics (‘NVMeoF’) technologies through which non-volatile storage media attached via a PCI express (‘PCIe’) bus may be accessed, and others” (Grunwald [0134])
“Communication interface 352 may be configured to communicate with one or more computing devices. Examples of communication interface 352 include, without limitation, a wired network interface (such as a network interface card), a wireless network interface (such as a wireless network interface card), a modem, an audio/video connection, and any other suitable interface” (Grunwald [0207] each computing device connected via the respective interface ports would be subset of the host systems/SOC using that type of interface)
Response to Arguments
Response to Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1)
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-9 of remarks, filed June 26, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 2, 4-9, 11-16, and 18-20 under 35 USC § 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Teeter et al. (US 2018/0183663) and GRUNWALD et al. (US 2021/030164).
The amended limitations with regards to port configuration requests selecting from predefined port configurations is now disclosed by the new prior art Teeter et al. (US 2018/0183663).
Response to Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103
Applicant’s arguments, see page 9 of remarks, filed June 26, 2026, with respect to claims 3, 10, and 17 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection of claims 3, 10, and 17 has been withdrawn.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2137
/Arpan P. Savla/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2137
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