Paper No. 6
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`Filed: June 5, 2017
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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`____________________
`
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`
`___________________
`
`SANDVINE CORPORATION and SANDVINE INCORPORATED ULC,
`
`PETITIONERS,
`
`V.
`
`PACKET INTELLIGENCE, LLC,
`
`PATENT OWNER.
`
`___________________
`
`Case No. IPR2017-00862
`U.S. Patent No. 6,665,725
`___________________
`
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`PATENT OWNER’S PRELIMINARY RESPONSE
`UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 313 AND 37 C.F.R. § 42.107
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`TABLE OF CONTENTS
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`STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS IN DISPUTE ................................ 1
`I.
`INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1
`II.
`III. OVERVIEW OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND STATE OF THE PRIOR
`ART
` ........................................................................................................................ 2
`A. The OSI Model ............................................................................................... 4
`B. Data Encapsulation ......................................................................................... 6
`C. Prior Art Methods ........................................................................................... 9
`IV. OVERVIEW OF THE ‘725 INVENTION .................................................. 11
`A. Conversational Flow Classification Process Overview ............................... 13
`B. Benefits of Conversational Flows Over Prior Art Systems ......................... 18
`V.
`CLAIM CONSTRUCTION ......................................................................... 20
`A. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art ................................................................ 22
`B. “Conversational Flow” (claims 10, 15 and 17) ............................................ 23
`C. “State of the Flow” / “state of the conversational flow” (claims 16 and
`17) ................................................................................................................. 25
`D. “State processing operations that are a function of the state of the flow of
`the packet” (claim 16) / “state processing operations” (claim 17) ............... 28
`THE PETITION DOES NOT SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
`VI.
`INSTITUTING INTER PARTES REVIEW ............................................................. 30
`A. Overview of Engel ........................................................................................ 31
`1. Dialog in Engel ........................................................................................... 32
`2. Engel’s “State” Disclosure .......................................................................... 38
`B. Operation of Engel Compared to Operation of ‘725 Invention ................... 40
`C. The Board Should Deny Institution Because Engel Fails To Disclose
`Conversational Flows ................................................................................... 45
`1. Application Level Dialogs .......................................................................... 49
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`2. Application-Specific Server Statistics ........................................................ 53
`3. The Petition Fails to Articulate a Prima Facie Case of Anticipation ......... 54
`VII. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 55
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`Cases
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`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`Advanced Display Sys. Inc. v. Kent State Univ.,
`212 F.3d 1272 (Fed. Cir. 2000) ............................................................................ 21
`Anderson v. Eppstein,
`59 U.S.P.Q.2d 1280 (B.P.A.I. 2001) .................................................................... 51
`Apple, Inc. v. Achates Reference Publishing, Inc.,
`IPR2013-00080, Paper 22 (PTAB June 3, 2013) ................................................. 27
`Becton Dickinson & Co. v. C.R. Bard, Inc.,
`922 F.2d 792 (Fed. Cir. 1990) .............................................................................. 29
`Cisco Systems, Inc. v. C-Cation Techs., LLC,
`IPR2014-00454, Paper 12 (PTAB Aug. 29, 2014) .............................................. 50
`Cuozzo Speed Techs., LLC v. Lee,
`No. 15-446, 136 S. Ct. 2131 (June 20, 2016) ...................................................... 20
`DeSilva v. DiLeonardi,
`181 F.3d 865 (7th Cir. 1999)................................................................................ 50
`Digital-Vending Services Int’l, LLC v. Univ. of Phoenix, Inc.,
`672 F.3d 1270 (Fed. Cir. 2012) ............................................................................ 29
`Ecolab, Inc. v. FMC Corp.,
`569 F.3d 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2009) ............................................................................ 29
`In re Translogic Tech., Inc.,
`504 F.3d 1249 (Fed. Cir. 2007) ............................................................................ 21
`Microsoft Corp. v. Proxyconn, Inc.,
`789 F.3d 1292 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ............................................................................ 21
`Microsoft Corp. v. Proxyconn, Inc.,
`IPR2016-00026, Paper 17 (PTAB Dec. 21, 2012) .............................................. 25
`Net MoneyIN, Inc. v. VeriSign, Inc.,
`545 F.3d 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2008) ............................................................................ 54
`Nidec Motor Corp. v. Zhongshan Broad Ocean Motor Co.,
`No. 2016-1900, 2017 U.S. App.,
` LEXIS 4416 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 14, 2017) ................................................................ 55
`NTP, Inc. v. Research In Motion, Ltd.,
`418 F.3d 1282 (Fed. Cir. 2005) ............................................................................ 22
`
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`S.S. Steiner, Inc. v. John I Hass, Inc.,
`IPR2014-01490, Paper 7 (PTAB March 16, 2015) ...................................... 47, 50
`Sys. Div., Inc. v. Teknek LLC,
`59 F. App’x 333 (Fed. Cir. 2003) ........................................................................ 22
`Thorner v. Sony Comp. Entm’t Am. LLC,
`669 F.3d 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2012) ............................................................................ 21
`United States v. Dunkel,
`927 F.2d 955 (7th Cir. 1991)................................................................................ 51
`Zetec, Inc. v. Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC,
`IPR2014-00384, Paper 10 (PTAB July 23, 2014) ............................................... 27
`Statutes
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`35 U.S.C. § 313 .......................................................................................................... 1
`35 U.S.C. § 314(a) .................................................................................................1, 2
`Rules
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`37 C.F.R. § 42.100(b) .............................................................................................. 15
`37 C.F.R. § 42.107(a) .......................................................................................... 1, 28
`37 C.F.R. § 42.108(b) .............................................................................................. 28
`37 C.F.R. § 42.22(a)(2) ............................................................................................ 50
`37 C.F.R. § 42.23(a) ................................................................................................... 1
`37 C.F.R. § 42.6(a)(3) ....................................................................................... 44, 49
`37 C.F.R. 42.104(b)(3) ............................................................................................. 20
`37 CFR § 42.24(c)(1) ................................................................................................. 1
`37 CFR § 42.24(d) ..................................................................................................... 1
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`I.
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`STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS IN DISPUTE
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`Petitioners Sandvine, Inc. and Sandvine Incorporated ULC (“Petitioners”)
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`did not submit a statement of material facts in its Petition for inter partes review.
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`Paper 2 (Petition or “Pet.”). Accordingly, no response to a statement of material
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`facts is due pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 42.23(a), and no facts are admitted.
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`II.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`Patent Owner Packet Intelligence, LLC (“Patent Owner”) respectfully
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`submits this Preliminary Response under 35 U.S.C. § 313 and 37 C.F.R. §
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`42.107(a), which is timely filed on or before June 6, 2017. 37 C.F.R. § 42.107(b).
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`“The Director may not authorize an inter partes review to be instituted
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`unless the Director determines that the information presented in the petition filed
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`under section 311 and any response filed under section 313 shows that there is a
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`reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would prevail with respect to at least 1 of
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`the claims challenged in the petition.” 35 U.S.C. § 314(a). The Board should deny
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`institution because Petitioners fail to establish that there is a reasonable likelihood
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`that they will prevail on their invalidity arguments. Specifically, while there are
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`many deficiencies in the Petition, the focus of this preliminary response is the
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`failure of U.S. Patent No. 6,115,393 (“Engel”) (Ex. 1007), Petitioners’ primary
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`reference, to disclose “conversational flows” as taught in the U.S. Patent No.
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`6,665,725 (“the ‘725 patent”) (Ex. 1033). Conversational flows are a fundamental
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`requirement of the challenged claims and an innovative feature of the ‘725 patent.
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`In addition, while an expert declaration accompanies the Petition (Ex. 1006), it
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`offers no opinions regarding the constructions of the terms identified by Petitioners
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`or opinions regarding whether or not Engel discloses conversational flows. Rather
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`the declaration focuses on describing the operation of certain aspects of Engel and
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`a source code appendix, which Petitioners then incorporate by reference into the
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`Petition, with little or no explanation as to how the incorporated sections allegedly
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`support, what is otherwise, attorney argument.
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`The Petition’s substantive shortcomings and procedural failings are fatal to
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`Petitioners’ institution request. Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 314(a), Patent Owner
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`respectfully requests that the Board deny institution of a trial on all challenged
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`claims (i.e., claims 10, 12-13, and 15-17) of the ‘725 patent.
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`III. OVERVIEW OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND STATE OF THE PRIOR
`ART
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`The ‘725 patent discloses improved techniques for monitoring traffic over a
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`computer network. Conventional prior art network monitors categorize network
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`transmissions into “connection flows.” Ex. 1003 at 2:34-37; Ex. 1005 at p. 3 lns. 3-
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`10.1 A connection flow refers to all packets involved in a single connection. One of
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`1 Because the related patents and applications have overlapping specifications,
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`many of the citations contained herein are also found in the related patents and
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`the key novel features of the ‘725 patent, and the focus of the arguments in this
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`preliminary response, is the ability to relate individual packets to one another into
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`“conversational flows.” As will be described in more detail below, a conversational
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`flow is the sequence of packets that are exchanged in any direction as a result of an
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`activity—for instance, the running of an application on a server as requested by a
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`client—and where some conversational flows involve more than one connection,
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`and some even involve more than one exchange of packets between a client and
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`server. Ex. 1003 at 2:34-48; Ex. 1005 at p. 3 lns. 3-10.
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`Essentially, the network monitor methods disclosed in the ‘725 patent
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`categorizes network transmissions into “conversational flows,” which relate
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`individual packets and connection flows based on specific application activity. In
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`applications. See Exs. 1001 - 1005. Furthermore, the ‘725 patent specifically
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`incorporates U.S. Patent No. 6,651,099 (i.e., Appl. No. 09/608,237) by reference,
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`in addition to stating that the ‘725 patent relates to the ‘099 patent. See Ex. 1033 at
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`Col. 1:16-21, Col. 2:21-30. Furthermore, the ‘725 patent also incorporates
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`Provisional Application No. 60/141,903 (Ex. 1005). See Ex. 1033 at Col. 1:8-12.
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`Therefore, the ‘099 patent and Provisional Application are part of the intrinsic
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`record and citations to these materials are included where relevant.
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`addition, the ‘725 patent also teaches other innovative techniques, including the
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`use of state operations and state of the flow analysis to assist in the identification of
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`conversational flows. These teachings enable classification of all packets passing
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`through a network providing detailed insight and information to network managers
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`and operators.
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`Before delving into specifics, it is useful to understand certain fundamentals
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`regarding network traffic, as well as a brief, high-level overview of the evolution
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`of network monitoring.
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`A.
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`The OSI Model
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`Information is transmitted across networks, such as the Internet, as data
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`packets. Ex. 2001 at ¶52. Data packets are formatted in compliance with
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`established rules known as protocols. Id. To facilitate communications across
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`various networks, the International Standards Organization (“ISO”) developed the
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`Open Systems Interconnection (“OSI”) model. Id. The OSI model defines a
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`framework for implementing communications between any two network devices
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`and divides the communciaiton process into seven layers as shown below:
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`Ex. 1033 at 6:40-52; Ex. 1003 at 9:35-50; Ex. 2001 at ¶52.
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`Each layer provides specific functions to support the layers above it. The
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`Application layer (layer 7) is the highest layer, while the Physical layer (layer 1) is
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`the lowest layer. Ex. 2001 at ¶53. These layers provide a model for describing
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`common formats used in network communications. Id. Each layer serves a
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`particular purpose within the network communication model. Id. The Application
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`layer represents the application protocol used in a network communication and is
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`typically the protocol that a user’s application employs to communicate (for
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`example, email program, web browser, etc.). Id. For instance, the Skype
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`application uses a proprietary protocol, in addition to standard protocols for audio
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`and video—if required. Similarly, web browsers use the HTTP protocol. Such
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`application level data is located at the Application layer of a data packet. Id.
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`The Network layer (layer 3) includes protocols such as the Internet Protocol,
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`also known as IP, used to support network routing decisions that guide traffic
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`through the Internet. Ex. 2001 at ¶54. The Physical layer (layer 1) includes
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`protocols such as Ethernet, which control the transmission of raw data onto the
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`wire. Id.
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`The OSI model provides a basic framework for understanding (1) high level
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`networking, (2) how certain hardware and software elements interact, and (3) the
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`relationship of specific information contained within a packet. Ex. 2001 at ¶55. It
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`serves a generic means to separate computer networking functions into discrete
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`functional groups. Id.
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`B. Data Encapsulation
`Encapsulation enables protocol layering, which is taking a higher-level
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`protocol message and packaging it into one or more lower‐level protocol messages.
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`Ex. 2001 at ¶56. Several layers, or protocols, may be involved in a single network
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`communication. Id. At the beginning of a network transmission, an application
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`writes a message/data in an application layer protocol, for example, HTTP or the
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`Skype protocol—this is OSI layer 7. Id. The message is represented by the red
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`block called “DATA” at the top right in the image below. Id.
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`In order to send the actual message to another computer across a network,
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`the application data (i.e., the “DATA” block in the image above) is encapsulated.
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`Encapsulation appends additional headers for other lower level layers in the OSI
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`model to the application layer data. Ex. 2001 at ¶57. The image above illustrates
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`this by the addition of “H” blocks (i.e., headers) to the left of the application
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`message at each lower OSI level. Id. Each header contains information that help
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`components in the network (switches, routers, gateways, etc.) route the data packet
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`to its destination. Id.
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`Before transmission, and after possible encapsulation in layers 6, 5, and 4, a
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`message may be broken into one or more IP messages (or packets) that are
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`constructed in conformance with the IP protocol. Ex. 2001 at ¶58. The IP protocol
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`layer is layer 3. Id. Each of these IP packets includes a header with information
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`specific to the IP protocol, such as the source IP address, destination IP address,
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`and the length of the packet. Id. A data portion that includes a fragment of the
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`higher‐level protocol transmission, as the image above illustrates, follows the
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`header. Id. At this point, the original message has been fragmented and
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`encapsulated into multiple IP messages. Id. Stated differently, a single layer 7
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`message is encapsulated into a set of multiple layer 3 messages. Id. In relation to
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`the image above, the “DATA” block seen in the Application layer, may be split
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`into smaller blocks at the Layer 3 and spread across several IP packets.
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`Each of these layer 3 IP messages may be further encapsulated into one or
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`more lower layer messages (or packets), such as Ethernet. Ex. 2001 at ¶59. The
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`Ethernet packets will have a header with Ethernet‐specific information, while the
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`data portion will contain the pieces of data that comprise the IP message. Id. The
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`original message may undergo multiple encapsulation steps. Id.
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`After the encapsulation process is complete, the Ethernet packets are placed
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`directly on the wire for transmission. Ex. 2001 at ¶60. The receiving computer
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`receives the Ethernet messages, where the messages will be unpacked and
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`recombined to form the original message—first combining the Ethernet messages
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`to create the IP messages. Id. During this process, the headers of the Ethernet
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`packets are removed, and the data portions concatenated to form an IP message. Id.
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`Then, the IP messages will be combined to create the original message again, on
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`the receiving computer, which is then processed by the appropriate application on
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`the receiving computer. Id. In other words, once reassembled, the destination
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`computer with have the same “DATA” block originally transmitted. Id.
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`C.
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`Prior Art Methods
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`The field of network monitoring has evolved throughout the years to keep up
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`with ever increasing network complexity and sophistication. Ex. 2001 at ¶61. One
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`of the earliest methods of application identification in network monitoring is
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`referred to as “static packet filtering, whereby port numbers are used as a proxy to
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`identify applications. Id. A port can be thought of as part of an address for
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`implementing services. Id. Specifically, the transport layer in a data packet
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`contains both destination and source computer port information. Certain services
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`are know to run on specific ports. Id. For example, HTTP traffic traditionally
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`utilizes port 80. Id. Because of this, prior art monitors would classify any data
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`packets utilizing port 80 as HTTP traffic without looking at the packet’s payload to
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`confirm this assumption. Id. The static packet filtering method only looks at
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`information in the transport headers and does not delve further into higher level
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`OSI layers to provide detailed information about the actual data being
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`transmitted/received. Id.
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`Subsequent improvements in network monitoring led to “stateful packet
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`filtering.” Ex. 2001 at ¶62. Stateful packet filtering operates on a connection flow
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`basis and allows traffic from outside of a network to communicate with a device on
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`the inside of a network on a bi-directional connection flow basis when the
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`communication originated from inside the network. Id. This method has the same
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`limitations as static packet filtering in terms of its ability to identify application
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`layer protocols or applications. Id.
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`More complex methods of network monitoring that examine higher level
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`OSI layer data are generally referred to as Deep Packet Inspection (“DPI”). Ex.
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`2001 at ¶63. Depending on implementation, DPI has the ability to look beyond
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`transport level headers, deeper into the packet and provide detailed information
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`about the actual data contained in a packet and the application responsible for
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`generating such packets. Id. This more refined approach allows network operators
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`to develop sophisticated rules for network operation and can help prevent viruses
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`and other undesirable content from entering a network. Id. In addition, greater
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`insight into network traffic allows for the implementation of business models such
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`as bandwidth shaping and charging users for utilizing specific types of content (for
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`example, video downloads or streaming).
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`The techniques taught in the ‘725 patent are more sophisticated than
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`traditional static filtering and stateful packet filtering. 2001 at ¶63. Indeed, the
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`invention teaches the ability to examine data packets and identify the protocols
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`used and the applications responsible for generating them, permitting robust
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`network monitoring. Id. As will be discussed in more detail below, one of the
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`novel ways this is achieved is via conversational flow analysis, which is simply
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`beyond the capabilities of prior art monitors. Id.
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`IV. OVERVIEW OF THE ‘725 INVENTION
`The ‘725 patent, filed on June 30, 2000, and claims priority to provisional
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`application 60/141,903 filed on June 30, 1999 (Ex. 1005). The ‘725 patent is
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`related to and incorporates by reference “U.S. patent application Ser. No.
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`09/608,237 for METHOD AND APPURATUS FOR MONITORING TRAFFIC
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`IN A NETWORK…” Ex. 1033 at 2:21-30; see also 1:17-21.
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`One of the problems that the Patentees desired to solve concerns disjointed
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`flows. Prior art monitors were able to keep track of connection flows. A “flow” is
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`“a stream of packets being exchanged between any two addresses in the network.”
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`Ex. 1033 at 9:9-10; Ex. 1003 at 12:4-5; Ex. 1005 at p. 40 lns. 4-5. A “connection
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`flow” is “all the packets involved with a single connection.” Ex. 1003 at 2:35-37;
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`Ex. 1005 at p. 3 lns. 3-5. The problem with only tracking connection flows is that
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`certain applications and protocols may generate multiple connections. In other
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`words, a single application may spawn multiple connections for a single activity.
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`For example, if user A wants to have a Skype call with user B, the Skype
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`application may create multiple connections between computer A and B to conduct
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`the call. There might be one connection which supplies setup information, a second
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`connection for transmitting video information, and a third connection for
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`transmitting audio information. Prior art monitors would consider these three
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`separate connections even though they originated from a single Skype call.
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`According to the the Patentees: “[i]n order to eliminate the possibility of
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`disjointed conversational exchanges, it is desirable for a network packet monitor to
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`be able to ‘virtually concatenate’—that is, to link—the first exchange with the
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`second. If the clients were the same, the two packet exchanges would then be
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`correctly identified as being part of the same conversational flow.” Ex. 1003 at
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`3:1-6.
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`According to the Patentees, a “conversational flow” is “the sequence of
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`packets that are exchanged in any direction as a result of an activity—for instance,
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`the running of an application on a server as requested by a client” and some
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`“conversational flows involve more than one connection, and some even involve
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`more than one exchange of packets between a client and server.” Ex. 1003 at 2:37-
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`45; Ex. 1005 at p. 3 lns. 5-10. One aspect that “distinguishes this invention from
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`prior art network monitors is that it has the ability to recognize disjointed flows as
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`belonging to the same conversational flow.” Ex. 1003 at 3:48-51; see also Ex.
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`1033 at 12:27-32; Ex. 1005 at p. 4 lns 13-14. Conversational flows are established,
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`in part, by the invention’s “capabil[ity] of examining up to whatever level is
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`sufficient to uniquely identify to a required level, even all of the way to the
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`application level (in the OSI model).” Ex. 1003 at 4:13-16; see also Ex. 1005 at p.
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`25 lns. 3-5.
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`A. Conversational Flow Classification Process Overview
`Figure 3 from the patent depicts “a functional block diagram of a process
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`embodiment of the present invention that can operate as the packet monitor…”:
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`Ex. 1033 at 4:44-47, Fig. 3; Ex. 1003 at 7:47-50, Fig. 3.
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`The methods described in the ‘725 patent examines network traffic passing a
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`connection point in a network. Ex. 1033 at Abstract, 6:1-5; Ex. 1003 at Abstract,
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`5:12-15; see also Ex. 1005 at p. 15 lns. 7-8. The monitor receives packets from a
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`network and passes them to a
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`parser subsystem 301 [that] examines the packets using pattern
`recognition process 304 that parses the packet and determines the
`protocol types and associated headers for each protocol layer that
`exists in the packet 302. An extraction process 306 in parser
`subsystem 301 extracts characteristic portions (signature information)
`from the packet 302. Both the pattern information for parsing and the
`related extraction operations, e.g., extraction masks, are supplied from
`a parsing-pattern-structures and extraction-operations database
`(parsing/extractions database) 308 filled by the compiler and
`optimizer 310.
`Ex. 1033 at 9:17-27; Ex. 1003 at 12:12-22; see also Ex. 1005 at p. 18 lns. 4-10.
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`The information from the parser sub-system is passed to an analyzer sub-
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`system where the information extracted by the parser is compared to “an internal
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`data store of records of known flows that the system has already encountered, and
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`decides (in 316) whether or not this particular packet belongs to a known flow as
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`indicated by the presence of a flow-entry matching this flow in a database of
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`known flows 324. A record in database 324 is associated with each encountered
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`flow.” Ex. 1033 at 10:59-65; Ex. 1003 at 13:54-61; see also Ex. 1005 at p. 41 lns.
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`15-18.
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`As seen in Figure 3, above, the analyzer sub-system contains an extensive
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`flow chart for processing extracted packet information. According to the Patentees:
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`[P]ackets may need to be examined before the conversational flow can
`be identified as being associated with the application program.
`Typically, monitor 108 is simultaneously also in partial completion of
`identifying other packet exchanges that are parts of conversational
`flows associated with other applications. One aspect of monitor 108 is
`its ability to maintain the state of a flow. The state of a flow is an
`indication of all previous events in the flow that lead to recognition of
`the content of all the protocol levels, e.g., the ISO model protocol
`levels.
`Ex. 1033 at 7:27-36; Ex. 1003 at 10:24-33; see also Ex. 1005 at p. 16 lns. 1-7.
`
`Included in the analyzer sub-system is a state processor database 326, which
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`provides information regarding “the different states and state transitions that occur
`
`in different conversational flows, and the state operations that need to be
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`performed (e.g., patterns that need to be examined and new signatures that need to
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`be built) during any state of a conversational flow to further the task of analyzing
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`the conversational flow.” Ex. 1033 at 9:54-60; Ex. 1003 at 12:47-55. The state
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`processor database provides information to the state processor 328 which
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`analyzes both new and existing flows in order to analyze all levels of
`the protocol stack, ultimately classifying the flows by application
`(level 7 in the ISO model). It does this by proceeding from state-to-
`state based on predefined state transition rules and state operations as
`specified in state processor instruction database 326. A state transition
`rule is a rule typically containing a test followed by the next-state to
`proceed to if the test result is true…The state processor goes through
`
`
`
`15
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`NOAC Ex. 1046 Page 20
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`
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`each rule and each state process until the test is true, or there are no
`more tests to perform.
`Ex. 1033 at 11:66-12:12; Ex. 1003 at 14:63-15:9; see also Ex. 1005 at p. 19 ln. 26
`
`– p. 20 ln. 3.
`
`The analysis of extracted packet information continues in the analyzer sub-
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`system where additional state operations are applied to the packet
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`until all those operations are completed - that is, there are no more
`operations for this packet in this state. A process 332 decides if there
`are further states to be analyzed for this type of flow according to the
`state of the flow and the protocol, in order to fully characterize the
`flow. If not, the conversational flow has now been fully
`characterized and a process 334 finalizes the classification of the
`conversational flow for the flow.
`Ex. 1033 at 12:38-46 (emphasis added); Ex. 1003 at 15:33-42; see also Ex. 1005 at
`
`p. 42 lns. 10-16. “Once a particular set of state transitions has been traversed for
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`the first time and ends in a final state, a short-cut recognition pattern—a
`
`signature—can be generated that will key on every new incoming packet that
`
`relates to the conversational flow.” Ex. 1033 at 13:26-30; Ex. 1003 at 16:22-26;
`
`Ex. 1005 at p. 27 lns. 4-8.
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`If the packet is part of an existing flow, the monitor determines from a flow
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`entry database if any further processing of the packet is required to classify the
`
`flow. If not, one or more statistics related to the packet in a flow-entry database are
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`
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`16
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`NOAC Ex. 1046 Page 21
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`
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`updated, and the packet is released to the network. Ex. 1033 at 11:52-59; Ex. 1003
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`at 14:49-56, 6:44-7:11. If the state of protocol identification stored in the flow
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`entry indicates further processing is required, parsing and state processor
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`operations are performed on the packet to elucidate and identify the “application
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`program content of the packet involved in the client/server conversational flow.”
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`Ex. 1003 at 6:35-39, 14:58-62; Ex. 1033 at 11:61-65. The new state is recorded,
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`and one or more statistics for the flow are updated. Ex. 1003 at 14:49-62, 6:58-65;
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`Ex. 1033 at 11:51-65. If the packet indicates that a new flow is created that relates
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`to an existing flow, signatures are built to recognize the new packets as part of a
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`conversational flow. Ex. 1033 at 13:5-25, 26:60-27:8; Ex. 1003 at 16:1-20, 29:58-
`
`30:4.
`
`One of the many advantages of the invention is described as “[p]roperly
`
`analyzing each of the packets exchanged between a client and a server and
`
`maintaining information relevant to the current state of each of these
`
`conversational flows.” Ex. 1003 at 4:64-67; Ex. 1005 at p. 5 lns. 23-25. The use of
`
`the term “state” in this context refers to the last known step in the process of
`
`identifying the application layer protocol through the analysis of packets belonging
`
`to a flow, as well as any continued monitoring required of an identified protocol to
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`identify other established connections that belong to the same conversational flow.
`
`Ex. 1033 at 7:27-41; 7:52-64; Ex. 1003 at 6:51-55, 10:23-36, 10:48-60. Note that
`
`
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`17
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`NOAC Ex. 1046 Page 22
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`
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`connection flows include packets exchanged in both directions of the connection.
`
`See Ex. 1033 at 27:9-25; Ex. 1003 at 30:5-21 (describing packets traveling in both
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`directions during the two-way handshake of the TCP transport layer protocol as
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`belonging to the same connection flow and not as separate connections forming a
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`conversational flow).
`
`B.
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`Benefits of Conversational Flows Over Prior Art Systems
`
`The ‘725 intrinsic record states that “[i]t is desirable to be able to identify
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`and classify conversational flows rather than only connection flows.” Ex. 1003 at
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`2:40-42; see also Ex. 1005 at p. 3 lns. 3-8. The ability to relate separate connection
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`flows into conversational flows provides many benefits.