METHOD, SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR MONITORING RESOURCES SERVICING A BUSINESS TRANSACTION

• US 20080155089A1
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nastacio, Denilson, Subramanian, Balan, Meli, Roger M., Hunt, Christian L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,010,654 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions

Abstract

A method, system and program product for monitoring resources servicing a business transaction is provided. The method includes providing a transaction manager that monitors a business transaction serviced by one or more resources, with each of the resources and the transaction manager having a protocol stack configured to send and receive load-monitoring headers in protocol messages. The method further includes specifying, in a protocol request header in a protocol request message, collection of performance metrics for a resource, collecting, by the resources, the performance metrics specified in the protocol request message and sending the performance metrics collected to the transaction manager, in a protocol response header in a protocol response message. Further, the method includes pre-configuring with policies the protocol stack on a subset of the resources, such that the pre-configured resources can act as monitoring agents on behalf of peer resources and send alerts to a resource manager.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring resources servicing a business transaction in a service oriented architecture, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a transaction manager configured to monitor a business transaction serviced by one or more resources in a service oriented architecture, each of said one or more resources and said transaction manager having deployed thereon a protocol encoding-decoding component configured to send one or more protocol request messages requesting collection of performance metrics and configured to receive one or more protocol response messages containing said performance metrics collected;

specifying, in a protocol request header in a protocol request message of said one or more protocol request messages, collection of one or more performance metrics for at least one resource of said one or more resources servicing said business transaction;

collecting said one or more performance metrics specified in said protocol request message; and

sending to said transaction manager, in a protocol response header in a protocol response message, said one or more performance metrics collected by said at least one resource of said one or more resources servicing said business transaction.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said providing step further comprises the steps of:

providing said transaction manager configured to monitor one or more transaction metrics associated with said business transaction; and

providing said transaction manager configured to analyze said one or more transaction metrics monitored for said business transaction in view of said one or more performance metrics collected from said one or more resources.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said providing step further comprises the step of:

providing a resource manager configured to collect one or more performance metric events from one or more monitoring agents deployed on one or more resources of said one or more resources.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said specifying step further includes the steps of:

associating said protocol request header in said protocol request message with a thread of execution for said business transaction; and

propagating said protocol request header in said protocol request message to any other requests made within said same thread of execution for said business transaction;

wherein said protocol request header in said protocol request message is replicated through all exchanges associated with said business transaction.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said specifying step further comprises the step of:

pre-configuring at least a respective protocol encoding-decoding component corresponding to a respective resource of said one or more resources with policies, wherein said respective resource inspects an aggregate value for a performance metric of said one or more performance metrics in a respective protocol response header received from a succeeding resource and wherein said respective resource sends an alert to said resource manager when said pre-set value for said performance metric is exceeded.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein said sending step further comprises the steps of:

appending, by a respective preceding resource of said one or more resources, a respective set of performance metrics to a protocol response header in a protocol response message received from a respective succeeding resource of said one or more resources; and

sending said protocol response message to said transaction manager.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said sending step further comprises the steps of:

aggregating in said protocol response header of said protocol response message each of said one or more performance metrics corresponding to a resource of said one or more resources servicing said any other requests made within said same thread of execution for said business transaction; and

.

sending said protocol response message to said transaction manager.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said protocol comprises Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

9. A system for monitoring resources servicing a business transaction in a service oriented architecture, comprising:

one or more resources configured to service a business transaction, a plurality of said one or more resources having deployed thereon a protocol stack; and

a transaction manager having deployed thereon said protocol stack and being configured to issue in a protocol request header in a protocol request message to said plurality of said one or more resources to monitor one or more performance metrics for said business transaction serviced by said plurality of said one or more resources, each of said plurality of said one or more resources being configured to collect said one or more performance metrics for said business transaction and to aggregate said one or more performance metrics in a protocol response header in a protocol response message that is sent to said transaction manager, wherein said protocol request header in said protocol request message is associated with a thread of execution for said business transaction and wherein said protocol request header in said protocol request message is propagated to any other requests made within said same thread of execution for said business transaction, such that said protocol request header in said protocol request message is replicated through all exchanges associated with said business transaction.

10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a resource manager configured to collect one or more performance metric events from one or more monitoring agents deployed on said one or more resources.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein said transaction manager is further configured to monitor one or more transaction metrics for said business transaction serviced by said one or more resources and is configured to analyze said one or more transaction metrics monitored for said one or more resources servicing said business transaction in view of said one or more performance metrics collected by said one or more resources.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein a respective preceding resource of said plurality of said one or more resources is configured to append a respective set of performance metrics to said protocol response header in said protocol response message received from a respective succeeding resource of said one or more resources.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein said protocol stack corresponding to one or more of said plurality of said one or more resources is pre-configured with policies in order to compare an aggregate value of a performance metric of said one or more performance metrics received in said protocol response header to a pre-set value for said performance metric, and wherein said one or more of said plurality of said one or more resources sends an alert to said resource manager when said pre-set value for said performance metric is exceeded.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein said protocol stack comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) stack;

wherein said protocol request header comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) request header;

wherein said protocol response header comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) response header;

wherein said protocol request message comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) request message; and

wherein said protocol response message comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) response message.

15. A computer program product for monitoring metrics associated with a business transaction, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium;

first program instructions to provide a transaction manager configured to specify, in a request header in a request message issued to one or more resources servicing a business transaction, collection of one or more performance metrics;

each of said one or more resources and said transaction manager having deployed thereon a protocol stack;

second program instructions to collect said one or more performance metrics specified in said request message;

third program instructions to send to said transaction manager in a response header in a response message said one or more performance metrics collected by said one or more resources servicing said business transaction; and

wherein said first, second and third program instructions are stored on said computer readable medium.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15, further comprising:

fourth program instructions to pre-configure said protocol stack deployed on said one or more resources with policies in order to compare an aggregate value of a performance metric of said one or more performance metrics in a respective response header received from a succeeding resource to a pre-set value for said performance metric and to send an alert to a resource manager when said pre-set value for said performance metric is exceeded;

said fourth program instructions being stored on said computer readable medium.

17. The computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said second program instructions further include instructions to associate said request header in said request message with a thread of execution for said business transaction and to propagate said request header in said request message to any other request messages made within said thread of execution for said business transaction.

18. The computer program product according to claim 17, wherein said second program instructions further include instruction to append a respective set of performance metrics to said response header in said response message received from a succeeding resource of said one or more resources and to send said response message to said transaction manager.

19. The computer program product according to claim 18, wherein said transaction manager is further configured to monitor one or more transaction metrics associated with said business transaction and is further configured to analyze said one or more transaction metrics monitored for said business transaction in view of said one or more performance metrics collected from said one or more resources.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, wherein said protocol stack comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) stack;

wherein said request header comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) request header;

wherein said response header comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) response header;

wherein said request message comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) request message; and

wherein said response message comprises a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) response message.