Prior art

To find the most relevant prior art for US patent 10,020,961 and analyze its potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102, I will use the patent citations listed within the patent itself. I will then provide the requested details for each.

Here's an analysis of the cited prior art:

Prior Art Analysis for US Patent 10,020,961

1. US20100208615A1

• Full Citation: US20100208615A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: August 19, 2010. Filing date: February 17, 2009.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and apparatus for provisioning a network element. It focuses on facilitating the configuration and management of network elements, which can include aspects of network virtualization and tunnel management.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): Given its focus on provisioning network elements and managing network configurations, it could potentially anticipate aspects of Claim 1 and Claim 7 related to the "tunnel manager configured to collect tunnel end point information within a network, and to connect each tunnel end point with a tunnel based on the tunnel end point information collected" and the corresponding method steps.

2. US20100309894A1

• Full Citation: US20100309894A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: December 9, 2010. Filing date: September 7, 2007.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a method and apparatus for allowing a nomadic terminal to access a home network at Layer 2 (L2) level. This involves tunneling techniques to extend L2 connectivity, which is relevant to the L2 switching and tunneling aspects of US10020961.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This reference might anticipate elements of Claim 1 and Claim 7 related to L2 switching within a virtualized network and the use of tunnels for L2 connectivity, particularly the "tunnel packet end point configured to receive a tunnel packet and process the packet such that an L2 switching may be performed, and to transmit the packet to a domain VSI" and "performing the L2 switching on the processed packet."

3. US8223770B2

• Full Citation: US8223770B2
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: July 17, 2012. Filing date: September 17, 2004.
• Brief Description: This patent describes network virtualization in a broader sense, outlining methods and systems for creating virtual networks over a physical infrastructure.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): As a foundational patent on network virtualization, it could potentially anticipate the general concept of a "network virtualization apparatus" and "network virtualization method." Specific sub-elements of Claim 1, Claim 7, and Claim 13, if described in detail within US8223770B2, could also be anticipated.

4. US20130294231A1

• Full Citation: US20130294231A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: November 7, 2013. Filing date: May 2, 2012.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a method of high-speed switching for network virtualization and a high-speed virtual switch architecture. This directly relates to the switching mechanisms within a virtualized network.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This reference is highly relevant to the "domain VSI configured to perform the L2 switching on the processed packet" in Claim 1 and Claim 13, and the "performing the L2 switching on the processed packet" step in Claim 7. It might also anticipate the overall architecture involving virtual switching instances.

5. US20130343385A1

• Full Citation: US20130343385A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: December 26, 2013. Filing date: June 20, 2012.
• Brief Description: This patent application focuses on hypervisor-independent network virtualization, describing methods to achieve network virtualization regardless of the underlying hypervisor. This implies systems and methods for managing virtual networks and packet forwarding.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This could potentially anticipate aspects of Claim 1, Claim 7, and Claim 13 that relate to the general implementation of network virtualization, particularly how tunnel endpoints and switching instances operate in a virtualized environment.

6. US20140269702A1

• Full Citation: US20140269702A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: September 18, 2014. Filing date: March 14, 2013.
• Brief Description: This patent application discusses the interoperability of data plane based overlays and control plane based overlays in a network environment. This addresses how different types of overlay networks interact, which is pertinent to the multi-domain aspects of US10020961.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This reference might anticipate the broader concept of connecting different network virtualization domains and managing tunnels between them, especially as it relates to Claim 7's "connecting tunnel end points within the network virtualization domain to other, tunnel end points within another network virtualization network domain with a unicast tunnel using the new tunnel packet."

7. US20140355419A1

• Full Citation: US20140355419A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: December 4, 2014. Filing date: May 31, 2013.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes pseudo-wire end-to-end redundancy setup over disjoint MPLS transport paths. While focused on MPLS, the concept of establishing redundant paths and managing tunnels for connectivity could be relevant.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This could potentially anticipate aspects of the tunnel management and connection of tunnel end points, particularly as described in the "tunnel manager configured to collect tunnel end point information within a network, and to connect each tunnel end point with a tunnel based on the tunnel end point information collected" in Claim 1 and Claim 13.

8. US20150100704A1

• Full Citation: US20150100704A1
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: April 9, 2015. Filing date: October 4, 2013.
• Brief Description: This patent application details managing software and hardware forwarding elements to define virtual networks. This is highly relevant to the components and processes described in US10020961 for building and operating virtual networks.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This reference is very strong prior art and could potentially anticipate all independent claims (Claim 1, Claim 7, and Claim 13) as it addresses the management of forwarding elements in defining virtual networks, which is central to US10020961. Specific elements such as tunnel managers, packet processing, L2 switching, and tunnel packet generation might be explicitly or implicitly described.

9. US9686180B2

• Full Citation: US9686180B2
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date: June 20, 2017. Filing date: November 5, 2013.
• Brief Description: This patent describes managing routing information for tunnel endpoints in overlay networks. This is directly relevant to how tunnel endpoints are identified and how packets are routed between them in an overlay network, which is a core aspect of US10020961.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This is another strong piece of prior art that could potentially anticipate Claim 1, Claim 7, and Claim 13, particularly the functions of the "tunnel manager configured to collect tunnel end point information within a network, and to connect each tunnel end point with a tunnel" and the subsequent packet processing and transmission using tunnel headers. It directly addresses the management of tunnel endpoints and routing in overlay networks.