Cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery

• US 10,230,603 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ThousandEyes, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lad, Mohit V., Oliveira, Ricardo V., Meisel, Michael, Braud, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehrmanesh, Elmira
• Application Number:
  US13/839,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,188 Days
• Field of Search: 714 381, 714 46, 714 57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays

Abstract

Techniques for cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery are disclosed. In some embodiments, cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery includes collecting test results from a plurality of distributed agents for a plurality of application delivery layers; and generating a graphical visualization of an application delivery state based on the test results for the plurality of application delivery layers (e.g., different application delivery layers).

Claims

1. A system for cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery, comprising:

a processor configured to;

send a plurality of tests and associated test parameters for each of the plurality of tests to a plurality of distributed agents from an agent controller, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to a destination site, and wherein the plurality of tests are selected from two or more of the following;

network tests, DNS tests, HTTP tests, page load tests, and transaction tests;

collect test results from the plurality of distributed agents for a plurality of application delivery layers, wherein the plurality of application delivery layers include a network layer, a transport layer, and an application layer associated with delivery of a distributed application, wherein each of the plurality of distributed agents performs one or more active measurements for one or more of the plurality of application delivery layers to measure end-to-end network properties, wherein the plurality of distributed agents are distributed across a plurality of devices located in different geographies for performing a plurality of different types of tests and/or targeting different sites, locations, and/or metrics, and wherein the plurality of tests are configured to specify a frequency for a periodic test and an on-demand execution request for an on-demand test, a target of each test, and an agent or location of each test; and

generate a graphical visualization of an application delivery state for the plurality of application delivery layers based on the test results, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using one or more of the following;

a monitored object, a time interval, and a location, wherein the graphical visualization includes a network topology that allows a user to drill down into one or more of a plurality of locations at different layers including the network layer, the transport layer, and the application layer to correlate across application delivery layers to identify performance problems associated with a distributed application, wherein the destination site associated with the distributed application is not instrumented using any of the plurality of distributed agents, wherein the graphical visualization includes a timeline that includes a navigation widget that enables the user to view an aggregate behavior of one or more of the plurality of distributed agents over time and to click on a specific point in time for a further drill down to view a specific cross-layer network test related data at a specified time or time window/interval, wherein the user is provided with several metrics to select from, and wherein the timeline is associated with one or more metrics; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions.

2. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using a space domain.

3. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using a time domain.

4. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of distributed agents are controlled by an agent controller.

5. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state is generated by a web tier.

6. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

output the graphical visualization of the application delivery state based on the test results.

7. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate each of the following based on test results collected from the plurality of distributed agents;

a data path to the destination site, a BGP route to the destination site, and a web layer availability metric for the destination site.

8. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to the destination site for measuring one or more of the following:

packet loss, average network delay, and network jitter.

9. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

send the plurality of tests from one or more agent controllers to the plurality of distributed agents, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to the destination site, and wherein results of the tests are collected by the one or more agent controllers.

10. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

correlate results of the tests across the plurality of application delivery layers using a time domain or a space domain, wherein results of the tests are collected from the plurality of distributed agents, and wherein results of the tests are correlated to facilitate cross-layer troubleshooting of problems associated with the delivery of the distributed application.

11. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

send the plurality of tests and associated test parameters for each of the plurality of tests to the plurality of distributed agents from an agent controller, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to the destination site, and wherein the associated test parameters include a frequency for a periodic test and an on-demand execution request for an on-demand test, a target of each test, and an agent or location of each test.

12. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the network tests include data path measurement tests, routing path measurement tests, and/or end-to-end network metrics tests, wherein the DNS tests include per name server testing and/or Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) bottom-up validation tests, wherein the HTTP tests include testing of steps of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) fetch, wherein the page load tests include testing of a load of an entire web page using a web browser, and wherein the transaction tests include performing a multi-step scripted transaction from a web browser.

13. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

send a plurality of tests to the plurality of distributed agents, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to a destination site to generate test results;

collect the test results from the plurality of distributed agents; and

correlate the test results across the network layer, the transport layer, and the application layer associated with the delivery of the distributed application to generate the graphical visualization of the application delivery state for the plurality of application delivery layers based on the test results to facilitate cross-layer troubleshooting of problems associated with the delivery of the distributed application.

14. A method of cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery, comprising:

sending a plurality of tests and associated test parameters for each of the plurality of tests to a plurality of distributed agents from an agent controller, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to a destination site, and wherein the plurality of tests are selected from two or more of the following;

network tests, DNS tests, HTTP tests, page load tests, and transaction tests;

collecting test results from a plurality of distributed agents for a plurality of application delivery layers using a processor, wherein the plurality of application delivery layers include a network layer, a transport layer, and an application layer associated with delivery of a distributed application, wherein each of the plurality of distributed agents performs one or more active measurements for one or more of the plurality of application delivery layers to measure end-to-end network properties, and wherein the plurality of distributed agents are distributed across a plurality of devices located in different geographies for performing a plurality of different types of tests and/or targeting different sites, locations, and/or metrics, and wherein the plurality of tests are configured to specify a frequency for a periodic test and an on-demand execution request for an on-demand test, a target of each test, and an agent or location of each test; and

generating a graphical visualization of an application delivery state for the plurality of application delivery layers based on the test results, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using one or more of the following;

a monitored object, a time interval, and a location wherein the graphical visualization includes a network topology that allows a user to drill down into one or more of a plurality of locations at different layers including the network layer, the transport layer, and the application layer to correlate across application delivery layers to identify performance problems associated with a distributed application, wherein the destination site associated with the distributed application is not instrumented using any of the plurality of distributed agents, wherein the graphical visualization includes a timeline that includes a navigation widget that enables the user to view an aggregate behavior of one or more of the plurality of distributed agents over time and to click on a specific point in time for a further drill down to view a specific cross-layer network test related data at a specified time or time window/interval, wherein the user is provided with several metrics to select from, and wherein the timeline is associated with one or more metrics.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using a space domain.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using a time domain.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of distributed agents are controlled by an agent controller.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

outputting the graphical visualization of the application delivery state based on the test results.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the network tests include data path measurement tests, routing path measurement tests, and/or end-to-end network metrics tests, wherein the DNS tests include per name server testing and/or Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) bottom-up validation tests, wherein the HTTP tests include testing of steps of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) fetch, wherein the page load tests include testing of a load of an entire web page using a web browser, and wherein the transaction tests include performing a multi-step scripted transaction from a web browser.

20. A computer program product for cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory tangible computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

sending a plurality of tests and associated test parameters for each of the plurality of tests to a plurality of distributed agents from an agent controller, wherein the plurality of tests includes performing active measurements from the plurality of distributed agents to a destination site, and wherein the plurality of tests are selected from two or more of the following;

network tests, DNS tests, HTTP tests, page load tests, and transaction tests;

collecting test results from a plurality of distributed agents for a plurality of application delivery layers, wherein the plurality of application delivery layers include a network layer, a transport layer, and an application layer associated with delivery of a distributed application, wherein each of the plurality of distributed agents performs one or more active measurements for one or more of the plurality of application delivery layers to measure end-to-end network properties, and wherein the plurality of distributed agents are distributed across a plurality of devices located in different geographies for performing a plurality of different types of tests and/or targeting different sites, locations, and/or metrics, and wherein the plurality of tests are configured to specify a frequency for a periodic test and an on-demand execution request for an on-demand test, a target of each test, and an agent or location of each test; and

generating a graphical visualization of an application delivery state for the plurality of application delivery layers based on the test results, wherein the graphical visualization of the application delivery state facilitates cross-layer troubleshooting of application delivery by providing for correlation of the test results across the plurality of application delivery layers using one or more of the following;

a monitored object, a time interval, and a location, wherein the graphical visualization includes a network topology that allows a user to drill down into one or more of a plurality of locations at different layers including the network layer, the transport layer, and the application layer to correlate across application delivery layers to identify performance problems associated with a distributed application, wherein the destination site associated with the distributed application is not instrumented using any of the plurality of distributed agents, wherein the graphical visualization includes a timeline that includes a navigation widget that enables the user to view an aggregate behavior of one or more of the plurality of distributed agents over time and to click on a specific point in time for a further drill down to view a specific cross-layer network test related data at a specified time or time window/interval, wherein the user is provided with several metrics to select from, and wherein the timeline is associated with one or more metrics.

21. The computer program product recited in claim 20, wherein the network tests include data path measurement tests, routing path measurement tests, and/or end-to-end network metrics tests, wherein the DNS tests include per name server testing and/or Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) bottom-up validation tests, wherein the HTTP tests include testing of steps of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) fetch, wherein the page load tests include testing of a load of an entire web page using a web browser, and wherein the transaction tests include performing a multi-step scripted transaction from a web browser.