Real time web usage reporter using RAM

• US 20080086454A1
• Filed: 10/11/2006
• Published: 04/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acoustic, L.P.
• Original Assignee: Coremetrics Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Bahadori, Hamid, Puttaswamy, Hemanth
• Granted Patent: US 8,396,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A system that improves the real time presentation of web analytics data to clients. Real time data is improved in one embodiment by using a messaging system that directs the data stream to RAM memory, before it is sent to the database. A separate path is provided for presenting the real time data, which does not require going through the main database. The data is serialized and streamed in batches at an interval which can be set from the order of seconds to minutes. Additionally, the data is aggregated in RAM according to the desired groupings of data, so that the aggregation is pre-computed.

Claims

1. A method for tracking web usage data, comprising:

collecting, in a server system, data corresponding to monitored actions on a web site;

aggregating said data into aggregate groups desired for display;

storing said aggregated data in a hierarchical structure in a RAM in said server system; and

providing said data from said RAM to a client at a client computer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said data is indexed by at least a client ID and a time period aggregation.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising pre-processing said data upstream of said RAM to calculate a plurality of metrics and to perform a first level of aggregation.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said pre-processing further comprises organizing said data by client, wherein said client is at least one website.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein a portion of said data in said RAM is provided to said client at intervals of ten minutes or less.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving additional data from at least one of an RSS feed, web services and alerts; and

storing said additional data in said RAM.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a plurality of report modules on said client computer;

asynchronously retrieving data from said RAM for a plurality of said report modules.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

mirroring said data in said RAM in a fail-over RAM.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing said data in said RAM in a flat file structure in local nonvolatile memory; and

re-loading said RAM from said nonvolatile memory in the event of data loss in said RAM.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

re-aggregating a first level of aggregation upstream of said RAM and resending re-aggregated data and current data to said RAM.

11. A method for tracking web usage data, comprising:

collecting, in a server system, data corresponding to monitored actions on a web site;

pre-processing said data to calculate a plurality of metrics and to perform a first level of aggregation, and indexing said data by at least a client ID;

streaming said data to a RAM;

aggregating said data into multiple aggregate groups desired for display;

storing said aggregated data in a hierarchical structure in a RAM in said server system;

providing a plurality of report modules on a client computer; and

asynchronously retrieving data from said RAM for a plurality of said report modules.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

receiving additional data from at least one of an RSS feed, web services and alerts; and

storing said additional data in said RAM.

13. A system for tracking web usage data, comprising:

a collector server configured to collect data corresponding to monitored actions on a web site;

a RAM server including an aggregation service to aggregate said data into aggregate groups desired for display;

a RAM for storing said aggregated data in a hierarchical structure; and

a remote client computer for displaying said data from said RAM.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said data is indexed by at least a client ID and a time period aggregation.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a transformer server coupled upstream from said RAM to pre-process said data to calculate a plurality of metrics and to perform a first level of aggregation.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said transformer further organizes said data by client, wherein said client is at least one website.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein said first level of aggregation comprises a time interval of ten minutes or less.

18. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

an input port for at least one of an RSS feed, web services and alerts, for receiving additional data; and

said RAM server being configured to store said additional data in said RAM.

19. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a plurality of report modules on said client computer, said report modules being configured to asynchronously retrieve data from said RAM for a plurality of said report modules.

20. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a fail-over RAM configured to mirror said data in said RAM.

21. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a local nonvolatile memory;

said RAM server being configured to store said data in said RAM in a flat file structure in said local nonvolatile memory, and to re-load said RAM from said nonvolatile memory in the event of data loss in said RAM.

22. The system of claim 21 further comprising:

a transformer server coupled upstream from said RAM to pre-process said data to calculate a plurality of metrics and to perform a first level of aggregation, said transformer server being configured to re-aggregate a first level of aggregation upstream of said RAM and resending re-aggregated data and current data to said RAM.

23. A system for tracking web usage data, comprising:

a collector server configured to collect data corresponding to monitored actions on a web site;

a transformer server in communication with said collector server to pre-process said data to calculate a plurality of metrics and to perform a first level of aggregation;

a messaging system in communication with said transformer for transmitting processed data from said transformer;

a RAM server in communication with said messaging system and including an aggregation service to aggregate said data into aggregate groups desired for display;

a RAM coupled to said RAM server for storing said aggregated data in a hierarchical structure;

a remote client computer for displaying said data from said RAM; and

a plurality of report modules on said client computer, said report modules being configured to asynchronously retrieve data from said RAM for a plurality of said report modules.