Method and system for probing a network
First Claim
1. A method of evaluating the performance of a web site by measuring site performance through the use of probing computers accessing the site, said method comprising:
- providing executable probing instructions to a probing computer, said probing instructions causing the computer to measure the time to download a specified Web page and report the measurement data to a processing computer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system of evaluating the performance of a Web site by measuring site performance through the use of probing computers accessing the site including providing executable probing instructions to a probing computer, the probing instructions causing the computer to measure the time to download a predetermined Web page and report the measurement data to a processing computer. The method is further performed by a using a plurality of distributed client computers and a central server and having the steps of communicating a request for work from a client computer to the central server, selecting a work packet for the client computer wherein the work packet includes a work set identifying a Web site for the client computer to probe, using the client computer to download the identified Web site and record performance measurement data relating to the Web site download, communicating the performance measurement data to the central server, and recording the performance measurement data in a searchable database. The invention is also directed to a system for probing a Web site including a distributed network of client computers and a central server. The client computers have client characteristics including a geography, operating system type, and a connection type. The central server controls the probing performed by the distributed client computers and includes a data structure corresponding to each client characteristic, a processor for selecting a work packet for each client computer, and a communication module for communicating with the distributed network of client computers.
349 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of evaluating the performance of a web site by measuring site performance through the use of probing computers accessing the site, said method comprising:
providing executable probing instructions to a probing computer, said probing instructions causing the computer to measure the time to download a specified Web page and report the measurement data to a processing computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of probing a Web site to produce measurement data representative of the web site performance using a plurality of distributed client computers and a central server, comprising:
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communicating a request for work from a client computer to the central server;
selecting a work packet for the client computer, said work packet including a work set identifying a Web site for the client computer to probe;
using the client computer to download the identified Web site and record performance measurement data relating to the Web site download;
communicating the performance measurement data to the central server; and
recording the performance measurement data in a searchable database. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18)
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16. A system for probing a Web site, comprising:
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a distributed network of client computers having client characteristics including a geography, an operating system type, and a connection type, said client computers each including probing software causing the client computers to download a web site after receiving a work packet identifying a web site and to record performance measurement data representative of web site performance; and
a central server for controlling the probing performed by the distributed client computers, said central server including a data structure corresponding to each client characteristic, each of said data structures including a work set identifier corresponding to each of a plurality of work sets, a listing of each client characteristic, and a time entry representing the last time that each work set was probed by a client computer having each client characteristic, a processor for selecting a work packet for each client computer, and a communication module for communicating with said distributed network of client computers including to receive performance measurement data from said client computers and to send said work packets to said client computers.
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Specification