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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on July 17, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 9, 15 have been amended, and claims 7, 14, and 19 have been canceled. Claims 1-6, 8-13, 15-18, 2- are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
35 U.S.C 103
Regarding independent claim 1, 8, and 15, Applicant argues that the Office fails to disclose “if the protected computing device does not have a communication connection to the cloud storage facility, perform a second computing device backup of the first logical volume and store the second computing device backup on a second logical volume of the protected computing device, the second computing device backup configured to be merged with a local backup chain partition of the cloud storage facility after the communication connection to the cloud storage facility is reestablished”.
Examiner has carefully considered Applicant’s argument and respectfully disagrees. In response to the preceding argument examiner respectfully submits that the limitation regarding the “if” statements render that only one the two “if” statements needs to be considered when disclosing a system that features multiple optional routes.
Applicant’s other arguments filed with respect to the rejection(s) of independent claims 9 and 15 under U.S.C 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However upon further consideration and in light of Applicant’s amendments, new grounds of rejection are made in view of Joseph (U.S Pub # 20160124814).
Double Patenting
Applicant’s arguments filed with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-20 under have been fully considered and are persuasive.
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.
Claims 1-6, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guturi (US Pub # 20200150897) in view of Bensinger (U.S Pub # 20130191347).
With regards to claim 1, Guturi discloses a system for storing computing device backups, the computing device backups being image-based backups configured to be stored at a cloud storage facility ([0025] backup snapshot may be archived to a cloud)([0087-0088] archive data of a serialized snapshot tree chain may be stored on the cloud), the system comprising a backup agent configured to ([0022] primary system backup):
receive a signal to perform a computing device backup of a protected computing device ([0025] archive policy to archive snapshots to the cloud);
in response to the signal, determine if the protected computing device has a communication connection to the cloud storage facility ([0045] configured to archive corresponding backup snapshots to cloud 121 based on archive policies);
if the protected computing device does have a communication connection to the cloud storage facility, perform a first computing device backup of a first logical volume including sending the computing device backup to the cloud storage facility ([0045] archive backup snapshots based on archive policies).
if the protected computing device does not have a communication connection to the cloud storage facility, perform a second computing device backup of the first logical volume and store the second computing device backup on a second logical volume of the protected computing device, the second computing device backup configured to be merged with a local backup chain partition of the cloud storage facility after the communication connection to the cloud storage facility is reestablished.
Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein the first logical volume comprises a virtual hard disk ([0041] virtual hard drive).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 2, Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein if the protected computing device does not have a communication connection to the cloud storage facility ([0051] if the cloud-based system is deactivated or otherwise becomes unavailable to a user), the backup agent is configured to perform a second computing device backup of the first logical volume and store the second computing device backup on a second logical volume of the protected computing device ([0051] operation of the primary system running at the cloud-based system may failover to a backup system 102,103 to maintain a local backup of the production system).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 3, Guturi further discloses:
designate the second logical volume on the protected computing device (Fig. 1 #104 secondary storage [0037] Secondary storage system 104 is a storage system configured to store file system data included in a backup snapshot received from primary system 102. [0038] may be secondary snapshots); and
pair the first logical volume and the second logical volume to the cloud storage facility (Fig. 1 [0025] archive snapshots to the cloud. [0035] coupled to the cloud).
With regards to claim 4, Guturi further discloses:
receive an identifier for the second logical volume from a user; and
designate the second logical volume based on the identifier (Fig. 1 #104 secondary storage [0037] Secondary storage system 104 is a storage system configured to store file system data included in a backup snapshot received from primary system 102. [0038] may be secondary snapshots).
With regards to claim 5, Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein the second computing device backup of the first logical volume comprises an interposed differential computing device backup that includes a merged version of multiple computing device backups ([0019] differential changes can subsequently be composed and sent to the backup device).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 6, Guturi further discloses:
wherein the image-based backups represent content of the first logical volume exactly as the content was stored on the first logical volume at a point in time ([0022] A backup snapshot represents the state of the primary system at a particular point in time (e.g., the state of the file system data)).
With regards to claim 8, Guturi further discloses:
wherein the backup agent is configured to determine if the protected computing device has the communication connection to the cloud storage facility by monitoring for a check-in signal ([0024] Alternatively, the primary server 101 or a third party (e.g., that performs a service monitoring function) can send the failure notification).
Claims 9-13, 15-18, 20. are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guturi (US Pub # 20200150897) in view of Bensinger (U.S Pub # 20130191347) and in further view of Joseph (U.S Pub # 20160124814).
With regards to claim 9, Guturi discloses a system for storing image-based computing device backups, the system comprising a backup agent configured to:
determine if a protected computing device has a communication connection to a cloud storage facility in response to reaching a scheduled time to perform a computing device backup of the protected computing device ([0045] archive backup snapshots based on archive policies);
in accordance with the protected computing device having a communication connection to the cloud storage facility, initiate the computing device backup to the cloud storage facility ([0045] backup);
a scheduling agent configured to schedule the computing device backup in accordance with the scheduled time ([0039] hourly/weekly backup).
Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
determine the communication connection between the protected computing device and the cloud storage facility becomes unavailable during the computing device backup to the cloud storage facility ([0051] if the cloud-based system is deactivated or otherwise becomes unavailable to a user);
in accordance with the communication connection between the protected computing device and the cloud storage facility becoming unavailable, perform the computing device backup to a logical volume of the protected computing device ([0051] operation of the primary system running at the cloud-based system may failover to a backup system 102,103 to maintain a local backup of the production system).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
Guturi does not disclose however Joseph discloses:
in accordance with the communication connection between the protected computing device and the cloud storage facility being reestablished, send the computing device backup from the logical volume to the cloud storage facility to be merged with a local backup chain partition of the cloud storage facility ([0032] data management application 115 can control the restart process in the event of failure using position information 117, which may represent a mapping of positions in the data backup stream to positions in the backup memory resource 160 where corresponding data from the stream is written. After the failure, the data management application 115 can reestablish a connection between the source storage system 120 and the NDMP server 135 at data backup destination 130. Once the connection has been reestablished, the data management application 115 can signal the backup memory resource 160 to reposition itself to the last consistent position recorded, which may represent the last known good write before the failure occurred. repositioning refers to a sequential stream of bytes being sent over a network, for example to a cloud storage system).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi and Bensinger by Joseph to continue backup after a connection has been reestablished.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to signal the backup memory resource to return to a most recent consistent position in the ordered sequence prior to the failure ([0018]).
With regards to claim 10, Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein performing the computing device backup to the logical volume of the protected computing device comprises copying a remaining portion of an incremental backup to the logical volume ([0044] duplicate to the second backup system and updated with any incremental delta images).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 11, Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein performing the computing device backup to the logical volume of the protected computing device comprises copying an entire incremental backup to the logical volume ([0044] duplicate to the second backup system and updated with any incremental delta images).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 12, Guturi further discloses:
the scheduled time to perform the computing device backup is reached when an hour has elapsed since a previous computing device backup; and
the computing device backup comprises an incremental backup ([0039] hourly backup. [0052] incremental backup).
With regards to claim 13, Guturi further discloses:
the scheduled time to perform the computing device backup is reached when a week has elapsed since a previous computing device backup; and
the computing device backup comprises a full backup ([0039] weekly backup. [0052] full backup).
With regards to claim 15, Guturi discloses a system for storing image-based computing device backups, the system comprising a backup agent configured to:
determine if a protected computing device has a communication connection to a
cloud storage facility in response to reaching a scheduled time to perform a first computing device backup of the protected device ([0039] weekly or hourly backup to cloud storage);
in accordance with the protected computing device having a communication connection to the cloud storage facility, initiate the first computing device backup to the cloud storage facility ([0039] archive data);
pair the logical volume to the cloud storage facility (Fig. 1 [0025] archive snapshots to the cloud. [0035] coupled to the cloud);
Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
determine the communication connection between the protected computing device and the cloud storage facility becomes unavailable during the first computing device backup to the cloud storage facility ([0051] deactivated or becomes unavailable);
in accordance with the communication connection between the protected computing device and the cloud storage facility becoming unavailable:
perform the first computing device backup to a logical volume of the protected computing device ([0051] backup failover); and
wait until a further backup signal is received before performing an additional test to determine if the protected computing device has a communication connection to the cloud storage facility (Fig. 3 [0027] notice of failure after a backup signal); and
in accordance with receiving the further backup signal, determine if the protected computing device has a communication connection to the cloud storage facility (Fig. 3 #307 Yes or no); and
in accordance with the protected computing device having a communication connection to the cloud storage facility, perform a second computing device backup of the logical volume to the cloud storage facility ([0027] send backup 307);
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
Guturi does not disclose however Joseph discloses:
to be merged with a local backup chain partition of the cloud storage facility ([0032] data management application 115 can control the restart process in the event of failure using position information 117, which may represent a mapping of positions in the data backup stream to positions in the backup memory resource 160 where corresponding data from the stream is written. After the failure, the data management application 115 can reestablish a connection between the source storage system 120 and the NDMP server 135 at data backup destination 130. Once the connection has been reestablished, the data management application 115 can signal the backup memory resource 160 to reposition itself to the last consistent position recorded, which may represent the last known good write before the failure occurred. repositioning refers to a sequential stream of bytes being sent over a network, for example to a cloud storage system).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi and Bensinger by Joseph to continue backup after a connection has been reestablished.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to signal the backup memory resource to return to a most recent consistent position in the ordered sequence prior to the failure ([0018]).
With regards to claim 16, Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein performing the computing device backup to the logical volume of the protected computing device comprises copying a remaining portion of an incremental backup to the logical volume ([0044] duplicate to the second backup system and updated with any incremental delta images).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 17, Guturi does not disclose however Bensinger discloses:
wherein performing the computing device backup to the logical volume of the protected computing device comprises copying an entire incremental backup to the logical volume ([0044] duplicate to the second backup system and updated with any incremental delta images).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the date the current invention was effectively filed to have modified Guturi by Bensinger to failover a backup when network communications are unavailable.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order so data changes to the primary system can be frequently transmitted to the one or more secondary sites to keep them updated (Bensinger [0002]).
With regards to claim 18, Guturi further discloses:
scheduling agent configured to schedule the first computing device backup in accordance with the scheduled time ([0039] hourly/weekly backup).
With regards to claim 20, Guturi further discloses:
determine if the protected computing device has the communication connection to the cloud storage facility by monitoring for a check-in signal ([0024] Alternatively, the primary server 101 or a third party (e.g., that performs a service monitoring function) can send the failure notification).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONY WU whose telephone number is (571)272-2033. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9-5).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sanjiv Shah can be reached at (571) 272-4098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TONY WU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2166
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