`
`____________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`____________
`
`Oracle Corporation,
`NetApp Inc. and
`Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
`Petitioners,
`
`v.
`
`Crossroads Systems, Inc.
`Patent Owner.
`____________
`
`IPR2014-01177
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,934,041
`
`____________
`
`CORRECTED
`
`PETITION FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
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`
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`1 of 67
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`CROSSROADS EXHIBIT
`Oracle Corp. v. Crossroads Systems, Inc.
`IPR2015-0(cid:1005)(cid:1004)(cid:1010)(cid:1010)
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`2142
`
`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`
`
`
`EXHIBIT LIST ........................................................................................................ iv
`I.
`INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
`II. MANDATORY NOTICES ............................................................................. 3
`A.
`Real Party-In-Interest ................................................................................... 3
`B.
`Related Matters ............................................................................................ 3
`C.
`Lead and Back-Up Counsel ......................................................................... 4
`D.
`Service Information ...................................................................................... 4
`III. PAYMENT OF FEES ..................................................................................... 4
`IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW ...................................... 4
`A. Grounds for Standing ................................................................................... 5
`B.
`Identification of Challenge ........................................................................... 5
`1. The Specific Art and Statutory Ground(s) on Which the Challenge Is
`Based ............................................................................................................ 5
`2. How the Construed Claims Are Unpatentable Under the Statutory
`Grounds Identified in 37 C.F.R. § 42.204(b)(2) and Supporting Evidence
`Relied Upon to Support the Challenge ........................................................ 6
`THE ‘041 PATENT ......................................................................................... 6
`V.
`The Preferred Embodiment of the ‘041 Patent ............................................ 6
`A.
`Reexamination of the Grandparent of the ‘041 Patent ................................. 8
`B.
`VI. BROADEST REASONABLE CONSTRUCTION ...................................... 10
`VII. GROUNDS OF UNPATENTABILITY ....................................................... 12
`Claims 1-53 are Rendered Obvious by 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) by CRD-5500
`A.
`User Manual in view of CRD-5500 Data Sheet and Smith ....................... 13
`Introduction of the CRD-5500 References ................................................ 13
`1.
`Introduction of the Smith Reference .......................................................... 16
`2.
`3. The Combined System of CRD-5500 User Manual, CRD-5500 Data Sheet
`and Smith .................................................................................................... 17
`4. Correspondence Between Claims 1-53 and the Combined System of CRD-
`5500 User Manual, CRD-5500 Data Sheet and Smith .............................. 19
`Claims 1-53 Are Rendered Obvious by Kikuchi taken in Combination with
`Bergsten ...................................................................................................... 29
`ii
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`B.
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`C.
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`Introduction of the Kikuchi Reference ....................................................... 29
`1.
`Introduction of the Bergsten Reference ..................................................... 30
`2.
`3. The Combined System of Kikuchi and Bergsten ....................................... 33
`4. Correspondence Between Claims 1-53 and the Combined System of
`Kikuchi and Bergsten ................................................................................. 35
`Claims 1-53 Are Rendered Obvious by Bergsten taken in Combination
`with Hirai ................................................................................................... 45
`Introduction of the Hirai Reference ........................................................... 45
`1.
`2. The Combined System of Bergsten and Hirai ........................................... 46
`3. Correspondence Between Claims 1-53 and the Combined System of
`Bergsten and Hirai ..................................................................................... 49
`VIII. EXPLANATION OF NON-REDUNDANCY .............................................. 58
`IX. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 60
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`iii
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`3 of 67
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`EXHIBIT LIST
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`U.S. Patent No. 7,934,041 (“the ‘041Patent”)
`
`Select Portions of File History of the ‘04 Patent
`
`CRD-4400 SCSI RAID Controller User’s Manual (“CRD-5500 User
`Manual”)
`
`(SUBSTITUTE) CRD-4400 SCSI RAID Controller Data Sheet
`(“CRD-5500 Data Sheet”)
`
`Smith et al., Tachyon: A Gigabit Fibre Channel Protocol Chip,
`Hewlett-Packard Journal, October 1996 (“Smith”)
`
`U.S. Patent No. 6,219,771 to Kikuchi et al. (“Kikuchi”)
`
`U.S. Patent No. 6,073,209 to Bergsten (“Bergsten”)
`
`(SUBSTITUTE) JP Patent Application Publication No. Hei
`5[1993]-181609 to Hirai (“Hirai”)
`
`Infringement Contentions in Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. Oracle
`Corporation, W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-13-cv-00895, Crossroads
`Systems, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. et al., W.D.Tex, Case
`No. 1-13-cv-01025, and Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. NetApp, Inc.,
`W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-14-cv-00149
`
`(SUBSTITUTE) Declaration of Professor Chase, Professor of
`Computer Science at Duke University
`
`Cheating the I/O Bottleneck: Network Storage with Trapeze/Myrinet
`
`Interposed Request Routing for Scalable Network Storage
`
`Cut-Through Delivery in Trapeze: An Exercise in Low-Latency
`Messaging
`
`Structure and Performance of the Direct Access File System
`
`Implementing Cooperative Prefetching and Caching in a Globally-
`Managed Memory System
`
`iv
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`1001
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`1002
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`1003
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`1004
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`1005
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`1006
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`1007
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`1008
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`1009
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`1010
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`1011
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`1012
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`1013
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`
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`1014
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`1015
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`4 of 67
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`1016
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`1017
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`1018
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`1019
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`
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`1020
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`1021
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`1022
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`1023
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`1024
`
`
`1025
`
`
`1026
`
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`1027
`
`
`1028
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`
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`
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`Network I/O with Trapeze
`
`A Cost-Effective, High-Bandwidth Storage Architecture
`
`RAID-II: A High-Bandwidth Network File Server
`
`Payload Caching: High-Speed Data Forwarding for Network
`Intermediaries
`
`Petal: Distributed Virtual Disks
`
`File Server Scaling with Network-Attached Secure Disks
`
`Failure-Atomic File Access in an Interposed Network Storage System
`
`U.S. Patent No. 6,308,228 to Yocum et al. (“Yocum”)
`
`
`
`Select Portions of File History of Reexamination Control No.
`90/007,123 (U.S. Patent No. 5,941,972)
`
`Select Portions of the File History of Reexamination Control No.
`90/007,124 (U.S. Patent No. 6,421,753)
`
`Plaintiff Crossroads Systems, Inc.’s Objections and Responses to
`Defendants’ First Set of Common Interrogatories in Crossroads
`Systems, Inc. v. Oracle Corporation, W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-13-cv-
`00895, Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. et
`al., W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-13-cv-01025, and Crossroads Systems, Inc.
`v. NetApp, Inc., W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-14-cv-00149
`
`(SUBSTITUTE) Storagepath Fibre Channel Drive System,
`SWS/Storagepath, available at
`web.archive.org/web/19970114010450/http://www.storagepath.com/fi
`bre.htm, archived January 14, 1997
`
`Technology Brief Strategic Direction for Compaq Fibre Channel-
`Attached Storage, Compaq Computer Corporation, October 14, 1997
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`v
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`5 of 67
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`
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`1029
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`1030
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`1031
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`
`
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`1032
`
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`1033
`
`
`1034
`
`
`1035
`
`
`1036
`
`
`1037
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`
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`
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`Tantawy (ed.), Fibre Channel (Ch. 5) of High Performance Networks,
`Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1994
`
`Deel et al., Moving Uncompressed Video Faster Than Real Time,
`Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Inc., December
`1996
`
`(SUBSTITUTE) Emulex LightPulse Fibre Channel PCI Host
`Adapter, Emulex Corporation, available at
`web.archive.org/web/19980213052222/http://www.emulex.com/fc/lig
`htpulse2.htm, archived February 13, 1998
`
`Select Portions of File History of Reexamination Control Nos.
`90/007,125 and 90/007,317 (U.S. Patent No. 6,425,035)
`
`Local Area Networks Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 2, Information
`Gatekeepers Inc., February 1997
`
`Litigation Complaint in Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. Oracle
`Corporation, W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-13-cv-00895Asserting
`Infringement of the ‘041 Patent
`
`Litigation Complaint in Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. Huawei
`Technologies Co. Ltd. et al., W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-13-cv-01025
`Asserting Infringement of the ‘041 Patent
`
`Litigation Complaint in Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. NetApp, Inc.,
`W.D.Tex, Case No. 1-14-cv-00149 Asserting Infringement of the ‘041
`Patent
`
`Declaration of Monica S. Ullagaddi authenticating Ex. 1004, Ex. 1027
`and Ex. 1031
`
`
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`I.
`
`INTRODUCTION
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` Petitioners Oracle Corporation, NetApp Inc., and Huawei Technologies
`
`Co., Ltd. (“Petitioners”) respectfully request inter partes review for claims 1-53 of
`
`U.S. Patent No. 7,934,041 (“the ‘041 Patent,” attached as Ex. 1001) in accordance
`
`with 35 U.S.C. §§ 311–319 and 37 C.F.R. § 42.100 et seq. The ‘041 Patent is
`
`directed to a storage router that serves as a bridge between a Fibre Channel and
`
`SCSI channel. More specifically, the ‘041 Patent states that “the storage router of
`
`the present invention is a bridge device that connects a Fibre Channel link directly
`
`to a SCSI bus and enables the exchange of SCSI command set information
`
`between application clients on SCSI bus devices and the Fibre Channel links.” (Ex.
`
`1001 at 5:59-63) The ‘041 Patent explains that this method is accomplished with
`
`native low level block protocols (NLLBP) which enhances system performance
`
`because such an approach “does not involve the overhead of high level protocols
`
`and file systems required by network servers.” (Id. at 5:29-33) The “storage router
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`[also] applies access controls such that virtual local storage can be established in
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`remote SCSI storage devices for workstations on the Fibre Channel link.” (Id. at
`
`5:63-66)
`
`An ancestor of the ‘041 Patent, U.S. Patent No. 5,941,972, which claims
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`similar subject matter, was challenged in an ex parte reexamination (see Ex. 1024)
`
`in which the Patent Owner distinguished over United Kingdom Patent Application
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`Publication No. UK GB 2297636 to Spring. (See Ex. 1024 at pp. 2066-67, Patent
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`Owner’s Response dated July 22, 2005 at pp. 21-22) More particularly, Patent
`
`Owner argued that “Spring’s Ethernet-to-SCSI system does not allow access using
`
`NLLBP.” (Id.) The Examiner agreed that Spring’s Ethernet-to-SCSI system did
`
`not satisfy the NLLBP limitation because the Ethernet side of the bridge used
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`TCP/IP. (Id. at p. 7, Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certification “NIRC”
`
`dated September 23, 2005 at p. 3) The Examiner also found that Spring’s
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`Ethernet-to-SCSI bridge did not operate independently to map between the
`
`“different transport mediums, such that neither entity determines where data is to
`
`be sent, but rather, the router solely dictates where the data will be sent.” (Id.)
`
`Systems corresponding closely to the ‘041 Patent’s preferred embodiment
`
`were taught by prior art which was either not before the Examiner or not applied in
`
`a prior art rejection. The CRD-5500 SCSI RAID Controller by CMD Technology,
`
`Inc. was detailed in product manuals and data sheets released more than a year
`
`before the earliest priority date. Additionally, several other combinations of prior
`
`art predictably yield combined systems in which a storage controller bridges
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`between a Fibre Channel and a SCSI storage disk array and provides access control
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`and virtual local SCSI storage space for host devices on the Fibre Channel. For
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`instance, a skilled artisan would have readily combined the teaching of access
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`control in U.S. Patent No. 6,219,771 to Kikuchi with the virtualized storage
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`controllers taught in U.S. Patent No. 6,073,209 to Bergsten. (See Ex. 1010 at ¶¶
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`123-128) The access control techniques taught in JP Patent Application Publication
`
`No. Hei 5[1993]-181609 to Hirai would likewise have been readily and
`
`predictably combined with the Bergsten system. (See Ex. 1010 at ¶¶ 204-208)
`
`II. MANDATORY NOTICES
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(a)(1), Petitioners provide the following
`
`mandatory disclosures.
`
`A. Real Party-In-Interest
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(b)(1), Petitioners certify that Oracle
`
`Corporation, NetApp Inc., and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. are the real parties-
`
`in-interest.
`
`B. Related Matters
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(b)(2), Petitioners state that the ‘041 Patent is
`
`asserted in co-pending litigation matters captioned Crossroads Systems, Inc. v.
`
`Oracle Corporation, W.D.Tex. Case No. 1-13-cv-00895 (Ex. 1034), Crossroads
`
`Systems, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. et al., W.D.Tex. Case No. 1-13-cv-
`
`01025 (Ex. 1035), and Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. NetApp, Inc., W.D.Tex. Case
`
`No. 1-14-cv-00149 (Ex. 1036). All other related and co-pending litigation matters
`
`are set forth in Exhibit 1026.
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`C. Lead and Back-Up Counsel
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`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(b)(3), Petitioners provide the following
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`designation of counsel: Lead counsel is Greg Gardella (Reg. No. 46,045) and
`
`back-up counsel is Scott A. McKeown (Reg. No. 42,866).
`
`D. Service Information
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.8(b)(4), papers concerning this matter should be
`
`served on the following.
`
`Address: Greg Gardella and Scott McKeown
`Oblon Spivak
`1940 Duke Street
`Alexandria, VA 22314
`cpdocketgardella@oblon.com,
`cpdocketmckeown@oblon.com
`Telephone: (703) 413-3000
`Fax:
`
`(703) 413-2220
`
`Email:
`
`
`III. PAYMENT OF FEES
`
`The undersigned authorizes the Office to charge to Deposit Account No. 15-
`
`0030 the fee required by 37 C.F.R. § 42.15(a) for this Petition for inter partes
`
`review. The undersigned further authorizes payment for any additional fees that
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`might be due in connection with this Petition to be charged to the above referenced
`
`Deposit Account.
`
`IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER PARTES REVIEW
`
`As set forth below and pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.104, each requirement for
`
`inter partes review of the ‘041 Patent is satisfied.
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`A. Grounds for Standing
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(a), Petitioners hereby certify that the ‘041
`
`Patent is available for inter partes review and that the Petitioners are not barred or
`
`estopped from requesting inter partes review challenging the claims of the ‘041
`
`Patent on the grounds identified herein. The ‘041 Patent has not been subject to a
`
`previous proceeding under the AIA and any complaint served on the Real Parties
`
`in Interest referenced above in Section II(B) or privies thereof was served within
`
`the last 12 months.
`
`B. Identification of Challenge
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. §§ 42.104(b) and (b)(1), Petitioners request inter
`
`partes review of claims 1-53 of the ‘041 Patent, and further requests that the Patent
`
`Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) invalidate the same.
`
`1. The Specific Art and Statutory Ground(s) on Which
`the Challenge Is Based
`
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.204(b)(2), inter partes review of the ‘041 Patent
`
`
`
`is requested in view of the following grounds:
`
`(a) Claims 1-53 are rendered obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) by the
`
`combination of The CRD-5500 SCSI RAID Controller User’s Manual (“CRD-5500
`
`User Manual”, Ex. 1003), CRD-5500 SCSI RAID Controller Data Sheet (“CRD-
`
`5500 Data Sheet”, Ex. 1004), and Smith et al., Tachyon: A Gigabit Fibre Channel
`
`Protocol Chip, Hewlett-Packard Journal, October 1996 (“Smith”, Ex. 1005);
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`(b) Claims 1-53 are rendered obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) by U.S.
`
`Patent No. 6,219,771 to Kikuchi et al. (“Kikuchi”, Ex. 1006) in view of U.S. Patent
`
`No. 6,073,209 to Bergsten (“Bergsten”, Ex. 1007); and
`
`
`
`(c) Claims 1-53 are rendered obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) by
`
`Bergsten in view of JP Patent Application Publication No. Hei 5[1993]-181609 to
`
`Hirai (“Hirai”, Ex. 1008).
`
`2. How the Construed Claims Are Unpatentable Under
`the Statutory Grounds Identified in 37 C.F.R.
`§ 42.204(b)(2) and Supporting Evidence Relied Upon to
`Support the Challenge
`
`
`
`Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.204(b)(4), an explanation of how claims 1-53 of
`
`the ‘041 Patent are unpatentable, including the identification of where each claim
`
`element is found in the prior art, is provided in Section VII below. Pursuant to 37
`
`C.F.R. § 42.204(b)(5), the exhibit numbers of the supporting evidence relied upon
`
`to support the challenges and the relevance of the evidence to the challenges
`
`raised, including identifying specific portions that support the challenges, are
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`provided in Section VII.
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`V.
`
`THE ‘041 PATENT
`A. The Preferred Embodiment of the ‘041 Patent
`The ‘041 specification states that “the storage router of the present invention
`
`is a bridge device that connects a Fibre Channel link directly to a SCSI bus and
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`enables the exchange of SCSI command set information between application
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`clients on SCSI bus devices and the Fibre Channel links.” (Ex. 1001 at 5:59-63)
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`This preferred embodiment of storage router 56 is illustrated in Figure 3.
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`According to this preferred embodiment, “storage network 50 includes a Fibre
`
`Channel high speed serial interconnect 52 and a SCSI bus 54 bridged by a storage
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`router 56.” (Id. at 4:27-30) Storage router 56 enables “a large number of
`
`workstations 58 to be interconnected on a common storage transport and to access
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`common storage devices 60, 62 and 64 through native low level, block protocols.”
`
`(Id. at 4:31-34)
`
` Storage router 56 also includes “enhanced functionality to implement
`
`security controls and routing such that each workstation 58 can have access to a
`
`specific subset of the overall data stored in storage devices 60, 62 and 64” which
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`“has the appearance and characteristics of local storage and is referred to…as
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`virtual local storage.” (Id. at 4:35-41) Storage router 56 performs access control
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`and routing “such that each workstation 58 has controlled access to only the
`
`specified partition of storage device 62 which forms virtual local storage for the
`
`workstation 58.” (Id. at 4:56-59)
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`“To accomplish this function, storage router 56 can include routing tables
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`and security controls that define storage allocation for each workstation 58.” (Id. at
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`5:23-25) This provides the advantage that “collective backups and other collective
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`administrative functions” may be performed “more easily.” (Id. at 5:25-29)
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`Further, “[b]ecause storage access involves native low level, block protocols and
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`does not involve the overhead of high level protocols and file systems required by
`
`network servers,” this approach does not impede or slow system performance. (Id.
`
`at 5:29-33)
`
`B. Reexamination of an Ancestor of the ‘041 Patent
`U.S. Patent No. 6,421,753, an ancestor of the ‘041 Patent shares the same
`
`specification, claims similar subject matter, and was challenged in an ex parte
`
`reexamination in 2004. The Examiner rejected all claims of the ‘753 Patent under
`
`35 U.S.C. §103(a) over combinations including United Kingdom Patent
`
`Application Publication No. UK GB 2297636 (“Spring”) in view of United States
`
`Patent No. 5,634,111 (“Oeda”) and further in view of Cummings, Systems
`
`Architectures Using Fibre Channel, Twelfth IEEE Symposium on Mass Storage
`
`Systems, Copyright 1993 IEEE. (See e.g., Ex. 1025 at pp. 553-564, Reexam Non-
`
`final Office Action dated May 24, 2005 at pp. 3-14) Patent Owner distinguished
`
`from Spring on that basis that Spring’s Ethernet-to-SCSI system does not allow
`
`access using NLLBP (id. at pp. 498-500, Patent Owner Response dated July 22,
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`2005 “Patent Owner Response” at pp.19-21):
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`In response to this argument the Examiner issued a NIRC which provided
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`the following reasons for confirmation:
`
`The prior art disclosed by the Patent Owner and cited by the
`Examiner fail to teach or suggest, alone or in combination, all the
`limitations of the independent claims (claims 1 and 4), particularly
`the map/mapping feature which is a one-to-one correspondence, as
`given in a simple table, the map physically resident on a router,
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`whereby the router forms the connection between two separate
`entities over different transport mediums, such that neither entity
`determines where data is to be sent, but rather, the router solely
`dictates where the data will be sent; also the "NLLBP” feature
`referring to a fundamental low level protocol defined by a
`specification/standard that is well known to one of ordinary skill in
`the art, where the NLLBP is used at the router for communications
`with both the first and second transport medium. The SCSI
`protocol/standard is considered a NLLBP. TCP/IP, e.g., used in
`Ethemet communications, however, is not considered to be a
`NLLBP. (Id. at p. 14, Notice of Intent to Issue a Reexam
`Certificate “NIRC” at p. 3)
`
`As such, the Examiner agreed that Spring’s Ethernet-to-SCSI system did not
`
`satisfy the NLLBP limitation because the Ethernet side of the bridge used TCP/IP.
`
`(Id.) The Examiner also found that Spring’s Ethernet-to-SCSI bridge did not teach
`
`a map/mapping feature that is a one-to-one correspondence given in a simple table.
`
`(Id.)
`
`VI. BROADEST REASONABLE CONSTRUCTION
`
`Petitioners base this petition upon the broadest reasonable interpretation of
`
`the claim language. All claimed terms not specifically addressed in this section
`
`have been accorded their broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the patent
`
`specification including their plain and ordinary meaning. Petitioners’ position
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`regarding the scope of the claims under their broadest reasonable interpretation is
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`not to be taken as stating any position regarding the appropriate scope to be given
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`the claims in a court or other adjudicative body under the different claim
`
`interpretation standards that may apply to such proceedings. In particular,
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`Petitioners note that the standard for claim construction used in district courts
`
`differs from the standard applied before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`(“USPTO”). Any claim construction offered by Petitioners in this petition is
`
`directed to the USPTO standard, and Petitioners do not acquiesce or admit to the
`
`constructions reflected herein for any purpose outside of this proceeding.
`
` “Native low-level block protocol” is described in the specification as being
`
`distinct from higher-level protocols that require translation to NLLBP. (Ex. 1001 at
`
`1:43-56; 3:43-54; 5:29-33) Examples of NLLBPs in the ‘041 Patent include
`
`SCSI-2 commands and SCSI-3 Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) commands. (See
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`e.g., id. at 6:56-7:13) The specification distinguishes prior art systems that
`
`provided access “through network protocols that the [network] server must
`
`translate into low level requests to the storage device.” (Id. at 2:12-14)
`
`During the reexamination of the grandparent patent the Patent Owner argued
`
`that a NLLBP is “a set of rules or standards that enable computers to exchange
`
`information and do not involve the overhead of high level protocols and file
`
`systems typically required by network servers,” citing the Markman Order of the
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`U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Crossroads v. Chaparral
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`Network Storage, Inc., Civil Action No. A- 00-CA-217-SS and Crossroads
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`Systems (Texas), Inc., v. Pathlight Technology, Inc., Civil Action No. A-00CA-
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`248-JN. (Ex. 1025 at p. 500, Patent Owner Response at p. 21) Consistent with
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`this, the Examiner found that “[t]he SCSI protocol/standard is considered a
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`NLLBP. TCP/IP, e.g., used in Ethernet communications, however, is not
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`considered to be a NLLBP.” (Id. at p. 14, NIRC at p. 3)
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`For the foregoing reasons, the broadest reasonable interpretation of NLLBP
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`includes a protocol, such as SCSI command protocol, that enables the exchange of
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`information without the overhead of high-level protocols and file systems typically
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`required by network servers.
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`VII. GROUNDS OF UNPATENTABILITY
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`The explanations set forth below summarize the grounds of unpatentability.
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`Each reference is introduced in turn and those introductions are followed by an
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`explanation of the combined system or method and the supporting rationale.
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`Thereafter, the correspondence between the combined system or method and each
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`claim element is explained. Pinpoint citations are provided to the declaration of
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`Professor Chase (Ex. 1010) which describes in further detail the combined system,
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`supporting rationale, and the correspondence to the claimed subject matter.
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`A. Claims 1-53 are Rendered Obvious by 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) by
`CRD-5500 User Manual in view of CRD-5500 Data Sheet and
`Smith
`1. Introduction of the CRD-5500 References
`The CRD-5500 SCSI RAID Controller User’s Manual (“CRD-5500 User
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`Manual”, Ex. 1003) and CRD-5500 SCSI RAID Controller Data Sheet (“CRD-
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`5500 Data Sheet”, Ex. 1004) were published on November 21, 1996 and December
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`26, 1996, respectively, over a year before the earliest priority date of the ‘041
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`Patent (December 31, 1997). Therefore, the CRD-5500 User Manual and CRD-
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`5500 Data Sheet are prior art to the ‘041 Patent under 35 U.S.C. §102(b). The
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`CRD-5500 User Manual was before the Examiner but was not discussed by the
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`Examiner in any office action or referenced in any rejection. The Patent Owner
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`initially presented the CRD-5500 User Manual in the list of references submitted
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`in relation to the ex parte reexamination of ancestor U.S. Patent No. 6,421,753
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`(See Ex. 1025 at p. 649, List of References Cited by Applicant dated January 24,
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`2005) The CRD-5500 Data Sheet has never been before the Examiner.
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`The CRD-5500 User Manual may be presumed authentic under Fed.R.Evid.
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`901(b)(4) given that it was submitted by the Patent Owner as prior art and is self-
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`authenticating under Fed.R.Evid. 902(7) given that it bears trade inscriptions
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`demonstrating that the document is a publication by CMD Technology, Inc.
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`released on a date certain. The CRD-5500 Data Sheet is authenticated by the
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`declaration of Monica S. Ullagaddi (Ex. 1037).
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`The CRD-5500 User Manual describes a RAID controller which couples
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`one or more host devices to virtual local storage on a RAID storage disk array.
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`(Ex. 1003 at 1-1) Devices are connected to the CRD-5500 controller through a
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`number of I/O module slots configured to receive both host interface modules and
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`storage device interface modules. (Id. at 2-1)
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`Figure 1-1 of the CRD-5500 User Manual illustrates how the controller's
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`RAID set configuration utility can be used to configure virtual or logical storage
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`regions, referred to as RAID sets, by assigning individual disk drives to logical
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`groups. (Ex. 1003 at 1-2) Each group may have a particular purpose and, as such,
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`a particular configuration including, in some examples, striped partitions, data
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`mirroring, or a combination thereof. (Id.; see also id. at 1-5 and 1-7)
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`“The controller's Host LUN [Logical Unit Number] Mapping feature
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`makes it possible to map RAID sets” or redundancy groups (a RAID set or
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`portion/partition thereof) “differently to each host.” (Id. at 1-1; see also id. at 1-
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`10; see also id. at 4-5) As illustrated in the “Host LUN Mapping” utility
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`disclosed in the CRD-5500 User Manual, a particular host device (identified as
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`“Channel 0”) is allotted access to one or more RAID redundancy groups (e.g.,
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`redundancy groups 0, 1, 5, and 6 through 31). The host device is provided an
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`address for accessing each RAID redundancy group through a “Host LUN”
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`(logical unit number, an addressing mechanism). (See e.g., id. at 4-5; 4-10; and
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`6-10) An administrator can allocate a particular disk as a redundancy group,
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`such that a host LUN maps to a single physical disk or partition thereof. (See,
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`e.g., id. at 2-3, 2-4, 3-3, 3-4). Accordingly, the “Host LUN Mapping” utility of
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`the CRD-5500 controller provides virtual local storage to a host device by
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`presenting access to one or more RAID redundancy groups using LUN-based
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`addressing. (Id. at 4-5) Further, the “Host LUN Mapping” utility allows the
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`CRD-5500 controller to restrict a particular host’s access to a given memory
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`region on the RAID array by withholding addresses (i.e., “Host LUNs”) for
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`particular RAID redundancy groups to that host (e.g., redundancy groups 2
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`through 4 have been excluded from the list of redundancy groups for which Host
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`LUNs have been assigned to the host illustrated). (See e.g., id. at 1-1, “You
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`make the same redundancy group show up on different LUNs to different hosts,
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`or make a redundancy group visible to one host but not to another.”; id. at 1-11,
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`“the CRD-5500 defines each RAID set or partition of a RAID set as a
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`‘redundancy group.’ These redundancy groups may be mapped to host LUNs,
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`either in a direct one-to-one relationship or in a manner defined by the user.”)
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`The CRD-5500 Data Sheet notes that the modular design of the storage
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`controller supports interfacing with host and/or storage devices via a high speed
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`serial connection such as a Fibre Channel transport medium:
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`Unlike other RAID controllers, CMD's advanced ‘Viper’ RAID
`architecture and ASICs were designed to support tomorrow's
`high speed serial interfaces, such as Fibrechannel (FCAL)[].
`(Ex. 1004 at p. 1 (emphasis added))
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`2. Introduction of the Smith Reference
`Smith et al., Tachyon: A Gigabit Fibre Channel Protocol Chip, Hewlett-
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`Packard Journal, October 1996 (“Smith”) was published in October of 1996,
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`over a year before the earliest priority date of the ‘041 Patent (December 31,
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`1997). Smith is therefore prior art under 35 U.S.C. §102(b).
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`Smith describes the off-the-shelf Tachyon controller which is used in the
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`preferred embodiment of the ‘041 Patent. (Ex. 1001 at 6:30) The Tachyon chip is
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`designed to serve as, among other things, a bridge between a Fibre Channel and a
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`SCSI channel by encapsulating SCSI packets and sending them over the Fibre
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`Channel. (Ex. 1005 at 4) Indeed,
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`[t]he second major design goal was that Tachyon should support
`SCSI encapsulation over Fibre Channel (known as FCP). From the
`beginning of the project, Tachyon designers created SCSI assists to
`support SCSI initiator transactions. …Early in the design, Tachyon
`only supported SCSI initiator functionality with its SCSI hardware
`assists. It became evident from customer feedback, however, that
`Tachyon must support SCSI target functionality as well, so SCSI
`target functionality was added to Tachyon hardware assists. (Id.)
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`The SCSI target functionality allows for mass storage support by adapting the
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`Fibre Channel controller chip for use in a Fibre Channel target adapter card, such
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`as the host interface modules of the CRD-5500. (Id. at 3)
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`3. The Combined System of CRD-5500 User Manual,
`CRD-5500 Data Sheet and Smith
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`It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the
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`CRD-5500 User Manual, the CRD-5500 Data Sheet, and Smith to enhance the
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`communication and storage options of a host computing device on a Fibre Channel
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`transport medium, benefit from the “Host LUN Mapping” feature of the storage
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`controller, and avail the host computing device of ubiquitous mass storage
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`applications (e.g., RAID). (Ex. 1010 ¶¶ 41-45) This combination is specifically
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`suggested in the CRD-5500 Data Sheet, which explains that “CMD's advanced
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`‘Viper’ RAID architecture and ASICs were designed to support tomorrow's high
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`speed serial interfaces, such as Fibrechannel[].” (Ex. 1004 at p. 1) The high
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`bandwidth of Fibre Channels and capability of extended distances between hosts
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`and the storage controller each provided a strong motivation to adopt the CRD-
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`5500 Data Sheets’s suggestion to enhance the CRD-5500 controller with the Fibre
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`Channel-to-SCSI bridging capabilities of host and