An attempt to patent SMB-like protocols

[Christopher R. Hertel]

David Collier-Brown wrote:
> Volker Lendecke wrote:
>> On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 08:23:21AM -0400, David Collier-Brown wrote:
>>
>>> Filing Date: November 14, 2006
>>> Inventors: Kenneth W. Borgendale
>>> Assignee: IBM
>>> Current U.S. Classification: 709, 709/206000
>>> Abstract
>>>
>>> Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for version control for
>>> application message models that include establishing, on a message
>>> sending device, a sender message model, the sender message model
>>> specifying a message format for interpreting application messages,
>>> the sender message model including one or more sender field
>>> specifications, each sender field specification specifying a message
>>> field for storing data in an application message, each sender field
>>> specification including sender field characteristics; calculating, by
>>> the message sending device, a sender version number for the sender
>>> message model in dependence upon the sender field characteristics of
>>> one or more of the sender field specifications of the sender message
>>> model; creating, by the message sending device, an application
>>> message according to the sender message model; and transmitting, by
>>> the message sending device to a message receiving device, the
>>> application message and the sender version number for the
>>> sender message model.
>>> ---
>>>
>>> If you by any chance know of prior use by IBM and Microsoft that fits
>>> this
>>> description, you just might want to bring it to the attention of
>>> peertopatent.org (;-))
>>
>>
>> Pretty tough read, but isn't this what %a in Samba is
>> supposed to do?
> 
> I think they're trying to patent having version of messages and reply
> levels, which probably dates back to the Core protocol (;-))

Well, let's see...

The oldest doc I have is "Microsoft Networks/OpenNET FILE SHARING PROTOCOL
(INTEL Part Number 138446), Document Version 2.0, November 7, 1988"

It lists NegProt, which seems to meet most of the description above.  The
TRANS calls were included in another doc released at the same time:
"Microsoft Networks/SMB FILE SHARING PROTOCOL EXTENSIONS; SMB File Sharing
Protocol Extensions Version 2.0, Document Version 3.3, November 7, 1988"

So... the Trans calls aren't actually in the Core Protocol.  :)

Chris -)-----
...who now does CIFS archeology for a living.  :P

-- 
"Implementing CIFS - the Common Internet FileSystem" ISBN: 013047116X
Samba Team -- http://www.samba.org/     -)-----   Christopher R. Hertel
jCIFS Team -- http://jcifs.samba.org/   -)-----   ubiqx development, uninq.
ubiqx Team -- http://www.ubiqx.org/     -)-----   crh at ubiqx.mn.org
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