Patent 7386630

Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 7386630, I will examine the "Cited By" and "Citations" sections of the patent information provided in the original prompt. The "Citations" section typically lists prior art cited by the applicant or examiner during prosecution, while "Cited By" lists later patents that reference US7386630. For the purpose of identifying prior art, the "Citations" section is most relevant.

Here is an analysis of the patent citations listed in US7386630B2:

Prior Art for US7386630B2

The following patent documents were cited as prior art in US7386630B2:

  1. US6104700A: Policy based quality of service

    • Publication Date: August 15, 2000
    • Filing Date: August 29, 1997
    • Description: This patent describes a system for policy-based quality of service (QoS), focusing on defining and implementing high-level QoS policies in computer networks. It covers methods for prioritizing network traffic based on various criteria.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US6104700A broadly covers policy-based QoS in networks. Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, and 18 of US7386630B2 involve configuring policies (customer, network, mapping) to manage Diffserv over MPLS. While US6104700A predates the specific Diffserv/MPLS integration focus of US7386630B2, it could potentially anticipate the general concept of defining and deploying network policies for traffic management and QoS, particularly regarding the "policy server" and "policy targets" aspects (e.g., configuring policies and deploying them to devices). The novelty in US7386630B2 may lie in the specific application to Diffserv over MPLS and the detailed mapping and tunnel management.

  2. US6154776A: Quality of service allocation on a network

    • Publication Date: November 28, 2000
    • Filing Date: March 20, 1998
    • Description: This patent focuses on allocating QoS on a network, likely involving mechanisms to reserve or guarantee resources for different types of traffic.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US6104700A, this patent broadly addresses QoS allocation. It could potentially anticipate the aspects of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18) that relate to defining network policies for "Diffserv treatment of aggregated traffic" and allocating resources. However, the specific integration with MPLS tunnels and the detailed policy mapping (EXP to PHB) for Diffserv over MPLS may distinguish US7386630B2.

  3. US6625650B2: System for multi-layer broadband provisioning in computer networks

    • Publication Date: September 23, 2003
    • Filing Date: June 27, 1998
    • Description: This patent describes a system for multi-layer broadband provisioning, which could involve setting up and managing services across different network layers.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent's focus on "multi-layer broadband provisioning" could potentially overlap with the broader network configuration and management aspects of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18), especially concerning the deployment of policies across network devices to provision services. The specific "Diffserv over MPLS" integration and policy types (customer, mapping) would likely be distinguishing features.

  4. US6170009B1: Controlling devices on a network through policies

    • Publication Date: January 2, 2001
    • Filing Date: July 17, 1998
    • Description: This patent details methods for controlling network devices using policies, which is a fundamental concept in network management.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses "controlling devices on a network through policies," which is a core concept in all independent claims of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The novelty of US7386630B2 would likely reside in the specific policies (customer, mapping, network) and their application to the Diffserv over MPLS context, including the creation and association of MPLS tunnels and the EXP-to-PHB mapping.

  5. US6751729B1: Automated operation and security system for virtual private networks

    • Publication Date: June 15, 2004
    • Filing Date: July 24, 1998
    • Description: This patent describes an automated system for operating and securing Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). MPLS is often used for VPNs.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While focusing on VPNs and security, this patent could potentially anticipate aspects related to automated configuration and management of network elements for establishing secure or private network connections, as MPLS tunnels are used for VPN support (as mentioned in US7386630B2's detailed description and FIG. 7). Specifically, the "creating a group of MPLS tunnels" in US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18) could be partially anticipated if the VPN system involved automated tunnel creation.

  6. US6856676B1: System and method of controlling and managing voice and data services in a telecommunications network

    • Publication Date: February 15, 2005
    • Filing Date: October 15, 1998
    • Description: This patent covers a system and method for controlling and managing both voice and data services within a telecommunications network. This implies a need for differentiated service handling.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent's focus on managing voice and data services implies QoS capabilities. It could potentially anticipate the "network policy that is configured to define the Diffserv treatment of aggregated traffic" and the general idea of managing different service types (Claims 12, 18). However, the specific "Diffserv over MPLS" architecture and policy translation mechanism of US7386630B2 would likely be distinguishing.

  7. US6408001B1: Method for determining label assignments for a router

    • Publication Date: June 18, 2002
    • Filing Date: October 21, 1998
    • Description: This patent describes a method for determining label assignments for a router, which is directly relevant to MPLS functionality.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant as it deals with MPLS label assignments. All independent claims of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18) involve MPLS tunnels and related configurations. While US6408001B1 might not explicitly cover policy-based management or Diffserv, it could potentially anticipate the underlying technical mechanism of how MPLS labels are handled, which forms a basis for US7386630B2's "mapping policy that maps between an experimental field and a unique per-hop-behavior" in the context of MPLS. The combination of policy management with label assignments for Diffserv would likely be the novel aspect of US7386630B2.

  8. US6167445A: Method and apparatus for defining and implementing high-level quality of service policies in computer networks

    • Publication Date: December 26, 2000
    • Filing Date: October 26, 1998
    • Description: This patent claims a method and apparatus for defining and implementing high-level QoS policies in computer networks.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US6104700A and US6170009B1, this patent focuses on high-level QoS policies and their implementation. It could potentially anticipate the general policy definition and deployment aspects of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The specific combination of customer, network, and mapping policies for Diffserv over MPLS, including tunnel group identifiers and tunneling modes, is likely the distinguishing feature of US7386630B2.

  9. US6522627B1: Managing internet protocol connection oriented services

    • Publication Date: February 18, 2003
    • Filing Date: November 12, 1998
    • Description: This patent describes managing Internet Protocol (IP) connection-oriented services.
    • Potential Anticipation (33 U.S.C. § 102): This patent broadly covers managing IP services. US7386630B2 deals with managing Diffserv over MPLS in IP networks. While the prior art might not explicitly mention Diffserv or MPLS, the underlying concept of managing IP services could potentially anticipate the broader goal of US7386630B2, particularly the "customer policy being configured to govern the treatment of individual customer traffic" (Claims 12, 18).

  10. US6775280B1: Methods and apparatus for routing packets using policy and network efficiency information

    • Publication Date: August 10, 2004
    • Filing Date: April 29, 1999
    • Description: This patent covers methods and apparatus for routing packets using policy and network efficiency information.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant as it explicitly mentions "routing packets using policy." This directly aligns with the policy-based management described in US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The distinguishing features of US7386630B2 would likely be the specific types of policies (customer, network, mapping) tailored for Diffserv over MPLS, including the tunnel group identifier, tunneling mode, and EXP-to-PHB mapping.

  11. US7032022B1: Statistics aggregation for policy-based network

    • Publication Date: April 18, 2006
    • Filing Date: June 10, 1999
    • Description: This patent describes statistics aggregation in a policy-based network environment.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While focused on statistics, the underlying concept of a "policy-based network" could be broadly anticipatory of the policy server and policy management aspects of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The specific application to Diffserv over MPLS and the policy deployment mechanisms of US7386630B2 would likely differentiate it.

  12. US6678264B1: Establishing connections with a pre-specified quality of service across a communication network

    • Publication Date: January 13, 2004
    • Filing Date: June 30, 1999
    • Description: This patent describes establishing connections with pre-specified QoS across a communication network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent directly addresses establishing connections with pre-specified QoS, which is a core objective of Diffserv over MPLS as described in US7386630B2. It could potentially anticipate aspects of "defining a network policy that is configured to define the Diffserv treatment of aggregated traffic" (Claims 12, 18) and the overall goal of providing QoS. The explicit combination of Diffserv with MPLS and the detailed policy translation would likely be distinguishing factors for US7386630B2.

  13. US6680943B1: Establishing bi-directional communication sessions across a communications network

    • Publication Date: January 20, 2004
    • Filing Date: October 1, 1999
    • Description: This patent describes establishing bi-directional communication sessions across a network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is more general about communication sessions. It could potentially anticipate the broader network functionality that US7386630B2 aims to manage, but it is less likely to anticipate the specific policy-based Diffserv over MPLS mechanisms described.

  14. US6611532B1: Methods and apparatus for integrating signaling system number 7 networks with networks using multi-protocol label switching

    • Publication Date: August 26, 2003
    • Filing Date: December 7, 1999
    • Description: This patent is highly relevant as it describes integrating Signaling System Number 7 (SS7) networks with networks using MPLS. This indicates prior art in combining different network technologies with MPLS.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent demonstrates integration with MPLS for another network type. This could potentially anticipate the concept of integrating MPLS with other functionalities, which is fundamental to US7386630B2's "Diffserv over MPLS" approach. While the specific integration of Diffserv with MPLS for QoS is distinct, the broader idea of using MPLS as an underlying transport for other services might be anticipated, impacting the scope of Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, and 18, especially the "MPLS tunnels" aspects.

  15. US6665273B1: Dynamically adjusting multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) traffic engineering tunnel bandwidth

    • Publication Date: December 16, 2003
    • Filing Date: January 11, 2000
    • Description: This patent focuses on dynamically adjusting MPLS traffic engineering tunnel bandwidth.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is highly relevant as it deals directly with MPLS traffic engineering and tunnel management, including dynamic adjustments, which relates to the "tunnel group" and "tunnel characteristics object" in US7386630B2 (FIG. 4F). Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, and 18 of US7386630B2 involve creating and configuring MPLS tunnels. While US6665273B1 may not explicitly combine this with Diffserv in a policy-based manner, it could potentially anticipate aspects of managing MPLS tunnel parameters. The specific policy-based mapping for Diffserv PHBs and tunneling modes in US7386630B2 would likely be the distinguishing elements.

  16. US6778496B1: Distributed call admission and load balancing method and apparatus for packet networks

    • Publication Date: August 17, 2004
    • Filing Date: June 7, 2000
    • Description: This patent describes a distributed call admission and load balancing method for packet networks. This is related to managing network resources and traffic.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent deals with resource management and traffic control in packet networks. It could potentially anticipate aspects of "network policy that is configured to define the Diffserv treatment of aggregated traffic" (Claims 12, 18) by addressing how network resources are managed for different traffic flows.

  17. US6791985B1: ATM transport over multi-protocol label switching

    • Publication Date: September 14, 2004
    • Filing Date: July 12, 2000
    • Description: This patent describes the transport of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) over MPLS.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US6611532B1, this patent demonstrates the use of MPLS as a transport for another network technology (ATM). This could generally anticipate the concept of integrating MPLS with other functionalities, including Diffserv, for which US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18) claims specific policy management.

  18. US7046680B1: Network access system including a programmable access device having distributed service control

    • Publication Date: May 16, 2006
    • Filing Date: November 28, 2000
    • Description: This patent describes a network access system with a programmable access device and distributed service control.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent's focus on "programmable access device" and "distributed service control" could potentially anticipate the policy deployment to network devices and interfaces in US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The specific policies and their integration with Diffserv/MPLS would likely be the distinguishing features.

  19. US20050088977A1: Dynamic virtual private network (VPN) tunnel quality of service (QoS) treatment

    • Publication Date: April 28, 2005
    • Filing Date: December 14, 2000
    • Description: This patent application describes dynamic QoS treatment for VPN tunnels.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is highly relevant as it explicitly discusses "dynamic virtual private network (VPN) tunnel quality of service (QoS) treatment." VPNs often use MPLS tunnels, and QoS is central to Diffserv. This could potentially anticipate the "creating a group of MPLS tunnels" (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18) and the QoS aspects of the customer and network policies in US7386630B2, particularly if the QoS treatment involves differentiated services. The policy-based management layer of US7386630B2, with its specific policy types and translation, may provide novelty.

  20. US7120150B2: Technique for ethernet access to packet-based services

    • Publication Date: October 10, 2006
    • Filing Date: January 30, 2001
    • Description: This patent describes a technique for Ethernet access to packet-based services.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is more focused on access technology. It is less likely to anticipate the specific policy-based Diffserv over MPLS management claimed in US7386630B2.

  21. US6778498B2: Virtual private network (VPN)-aware customer premises equipment (CPE) edge router

    • Publication Date: August 17, 2004
    • Filing Date: March 20, 2001
    • Description: This patent describes a VPN-aware CPE edge router.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent relates to VPNs and edge routers, which are components of the network architecture described in US7386630B2 (e.g., "edge routers 356" in FIG. 3). It could potentially anticipate aspects of how customer traffic is handled at the network edge within a VPN context, which aligns with the "customer policy comprising a tunnel mode and a tunnel group identifier" and mapping customer traffic to MPLS tunnels in US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18).

  22. US6940864B2: Network access traffic sorter

    • Publication Date: September 6, 2005
    • Filing Date: July 16, 2001
    • Description: This patent describes a network access traffic sorter.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on traffic sorting, which is a component of traffic classification and conditioning in Diffserv. It could potentially anticipate the underlying mechanism of classifying traffic, which is part of how the customer policy and Diffserv treatment would operate in US7386630B2.

  23. US6968389B1: System and method for qualifying requests in a network

    • Publication Date: November 22, 2005
    • Filing Date: July 17, 2001
    • Description: This patent describes a system and method for qualifying requests in a network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is more general about request qualification. It is less likely to anticipate the specific policy-based Diffserv over MPLS management claimed in US7386630B2.

  24. US20030053464A1: Method of sending data packets through a multiple protocol label switching MPLS network, and a MPLS network

    • Publication Date: March 20, 2003
    • Filing Date: September 18, 2001
    • Description: This patent application describes a method for sending data packets through an MPLS network and an MPLS network itself.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is highly relevant as it describes fundamental MPLS packet forwarding. All independent claims of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18) involve MPLS networks and tunnels. This prior art could potentially anticipate the underlying MPLS network operations, but it would likely lack the policy-based management layer specifically for Diffserv integration.

  25. US20040258056A1: Provider connection system, packet exchange apparatus thereof, dns server, packet exchange method, and computer program thereof

    • Publication Date: December 23, 2004
    • Filing Date: November 13, 2001
    • Description: This patent application describes a provider connection system, packet exchange apparatus, DNS server, packet exchange method, and related computer program.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is broad, covering various aspects of network infrastructure. It is less likely to anticipate the specific policy-based Diffserv over MPLS management claimed in US7386630B2.

  26. US20030185217A1: Label distribution protocol supporting multiple classes of service in a multi protocol label switching (MPLS) network, methods and MPLS network using thereof

    • Publication Date: October 2, 2003
    • Filing Date: March 28, 2002
    • Description: This patent application describes a label distribution protocol that supports multiple classes of service in an MPLS network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is highly relevant as it directly addresses "multiple classes of service in a multi protocol label switching (MPLS) network" using a label distribution protocol. This directly relates to the goal of Diffserv over MPLS and the use of LSPs for different traffic classes in US7386630B2. It could potentially anticipate the "mapping policy that maps between an experimental field and a unique per-hop-behavior" if the classes of service are analogous to PHBs, and the "customer policy comprising a tunnel mode and a tunnel group identifier" if such classes are tied to customer traffic. The policy server and its translation/deployment functionality in US7386630B2 might offer the distinguishing novelty.

  27. US20060073835A1: Service-oriented protection scheme for a radio access network

    • Publication Date: April 6, 2006
    • Filing Date: May 15, 2002
    • Description: This patent application describes a service-oriented protection scheme for a radio access network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is focused on radio access networks and protection schemes. While US7386630B2 mentions 3G networks (FIG. 7), the core inventive concept of policy-based Diffserv over MPLS management is distinct from a protection scheme.

  28. US7116665B2: Methods and systems for a distributed provider edge

    • Publication Date: October 3, 2006
    • Filing Date: June 4, 2002
    • Description: This patent describes methods and systems for a distributed provider edge.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent relates to the architecture of network edges. Edge devices are central to Diffserv classification and MPLS ingress/egress. This could potentially anticipate aspects of how policies are deployed to "interfaces of devices of a network" and to "egress interface of one of said multi-protocol label switching tunnels" (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18).

  29. US6741595B2: Device for enabling trap and trace of internet protocol communications

    • Publication Date: May 25, 2004
    • Filing Date: June 11, 2002
    • Description: This patent describes a device for enabling trap and trace of IP communications.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is focused on monitoring and troubleshooting. It is unlikely to anticipate the specific policy-based Diffserv over MPLS management claimed in US7386630B2.

  30. US20030231640A1: Minimizing memory accesses for a network implementing differential services over multi-protocol label switching

    • Publication Date: December 18, 2003
    • Filing Date: June 18, 2002
    • Description: This patent application is highly relevant as it explicitly discusses "minimizing memory accesses for a network implementing differential services over multi-protocol label switching." This indicates prior art in the specific technical combination of Diffserv and MPLS.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is extremely relevant as it discusses the implementation of Diffserv over MPLS. While US7386630B2 focuses on policy-based management of this combination, the existence of this prior art suggests that the technical integration of Diffserv and MPLS was known. This could potentially anticipate the broad concept of a "network that includes multi-protocol label switching tunnels" and supporting Diffserv functionality over them (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The distinguishing factor for US7386630B2 would be the explicit policy server architecture, the definition of customer, network, and mapping policies, and the automated translation and deployment of these policies to achieve this integration.

  31. US20040117613A1: System and method for providing a customer controlled network

    • Publication Date: June 17, 2004
    • Filing Date: July 19, 2002
    • Description: This patent application describes a system and method for providing a customer-controlled network.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is relevant to the "customer policy" aspect of US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The idea of allowing customer control over network behavior could be anticipated. The specific mechanisms for customer control, particularly the "tunnel group identifier and a tunneling mode" for Diffserv over MPLS, would likely be the distinguishing features of US7386630B2.

  32. US20050018605A1: Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) edge service extraction

    • Publication Date: January 27, 2005
    • Filing Date: July 22, 2002
    • Description: This patent application describes MPLS edge service extraction.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is relevant to MPLS edge operations, which are critical for Diffserv over MPLS implementation (e.g., ingress/egress interfaces of MPLS edge devices). It could potentially anticipate aspects of how services are handled at the edge of an MPLS network, which forms a part of the policy deployment in US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18).

  33. US20040028054A1: Dynamic bandwidth reallocation

    • Publication Date: February 12, 2004
    • Filing Date: August 12, 2002
    • Description: This patent application describes dynamic bandwidth reallocation.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document relates to resource management, specifically bandwidth. This is relevant to QoS and could potentially anticipate aspects of the "network policy that is configured to define the Diffserv treatment of aggregated traffic" (Claims 12, 18) by addressing how network resources like bandwidth are adjusted.

  34. US20040081197A1: Network routing method and system utilizing label-switching traffic engineering queues

    • Publication Date: April 29, 2004
    • Filing Date: October 25, 2002
    • Description: This patent application describes a network routing method and system utilizing label-switching traffic engineering queues.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is highly relevant as it explicitly covers "label-switching traffic engineering queues," which are central to MPLS traffic engineering and can be used to implement Diffserv PHBs. This could potentially anticipate the mechanisms by which traffic is handled with different QoS characteristics within MPLS, particularly the "network policy" and "mapping policy" related to PHBs in US7386630B2 (Claims 1, 4, 10, 12, 18). The policy-based management layer, including the translation and deployment, would be the likely point of novelty for US7386630B2.

  35. US20040213264A1: Service class and destination dominance traffic management

    • Publication Date: October 28, 2004
    • Filing Date: April 25, 2003
    • Description: This patent application describes service class and destination dominance traffic management.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is relevant to traffic management based on service classes, which is a core concept of Diffserv. It could potentially anticipate the "defining a network policy that is configured to define the Diffserv treatment of aggregated traffic" and how traffic is differentiated (Claims 12, 18). The specific policy-based management of Diffserv over MPLS with explicit tunnel group identifiers and tunneling modes would likely be the distinguishing features of US7386630B2.

Generated 5/29/2026, 8:42:03 PM