ENTERPRISE APPLICATION PERFORMANCE MONITORS

• US 20080235075A1
• Filed: 03/23/2007
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FMR LLC
• Original Assignee: FMR Corporation (FMR LLC)
• Inventors: Blandford, Scott M., Wrena, Gavin E., Moran, Caroline M., Tattan, Anne-Marie G., Couture, Gary R., Kelly, Lorcan B., Arneth, William V., Armstrong, Jean F., Chandra, Monica, Iannucci, Louis A., Travers, John T., Quigley, Deirdre M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,166,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3452 Performance evaluation by statistical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing techniques for receiving a first information related to a first transaction associated with a first user session with a multi-tier enterprise application, the first information including performance data that is representative of how well components in at least two tiers of the enterprise application perform in executing the first transaction; and determining based on the first information whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, and if so, taking an action based on the determining.

Claims

1. A computer-based method comprising:

receiving a first information related to a first transaction associated with a first user session with a multi-tier enterprise application, the first information including performance data that is representative of how well components in at least two tiers of the enterprise application perform in executing the first transaction; and

determining based on the first information whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, and if so, taking an action based on the determining.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a first information comprises:

receiving information related to a plurality of transactions, the received information including the first information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of transactions are associated with the first user session.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the received information includes performance data that is representative of how well components in at least two tiers of the enterprise application perform in executing respective ones of the plurality of transactions.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for data stored on one or more components in a data tier of the enterprise application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information includes performance data that is defined using a time-based metric.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application comprises:

examining the first information to determine whether the first information includes an indicator that the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for an aspect of the enterprise application that is associated with one of the following;

a business critical function, a secondary function, or a tertiary function.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for an aspect of the enterprise application, and wherein determining whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application comprises:

examining the first information to identify a prioritization level that is associated with the user requested aspect.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the prioritization level comprises at least two discrete prioritization levels.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the enterprise application comprises a web-based enterprise application and the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for a web page that includes one or more objects formed by data stored on one or more components in a data tier of the enterprise application.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the web-based enterprise application comprises:

determining whether the first transaction is associated with a user request for a business critical function web page, a secondary function web page, or a tertiary function web page.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein taking an action comprises:

identifying a target performance value for the first transaction; and

comparing the performance value included in the first information with the identified target performance value to determine whether the components in the at least two tiers of the enterprise application performed satisfactorily in executing the first transaction.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein taking an action comprises:

identifying a target performance value for each monitored element of the enterprise application that is involved in the first transaction; and

for each monitored element, comparing its performance value included in the first information with its target performance value to determine whether the monitored element performed satisfactorily during the first transaction.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of the enterprise application in executing a plurality of transactions associated with one or more user sessions with the enterprise application, each of the plurality of transactions being associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, the first transaction being one of the plurality of transactions.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more of the following:

a pie chart, a bar version of a histogram, and a histogram.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the visual indicator provides a visual representation of a degree at which the performance of the enterprise application satisfies a customer experience while interacting with the enterprise application.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the visual indicator provides a visual cue to an enterprise application provider of a presence of a performance-related issue in the enterprise application that has a negative effect on the performance of the enterprise application.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the visual indicator further provides a visual cue to the enterprise application provider of an extent to which the performance-related issue in the enterprise application has a negative effect on the performance.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of one or more monitored elements of the enterprise application during an execution of a transaction associated with a user session with the enterprise application.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more monitored elements comprise one or more of the following:

a web page of the enterprise application, and a data service producer of the enterprise application.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the one or more monitored elements is associated with a customer impact identifier.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the customer impact identifier comprises one of the following:

a business critical function identifier, a secondary function identifier, and a tertiary function identifier.

23. A computer program product, embodied in a machine-readable storage medium, the computer program product including instructions operable to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a first information related to a first transaction associated with a first user session with a multi-tier enterprise application, the first information including performance data that is representative of how well components in at least two tiers of the enterprise application perform in executing the first transaction; and

determine based on the first information whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, and if so, take an action based on the determination.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein instructions operable to cause the data processing apparatus to determine whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application comprises instructions to:

examine the first information to determine whether the first information includes an indicator that the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for an aspect of the enterprise application that is associated with one of the following;

a business critical function, a secondary function, or a tertiary function.

25. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for an aspect of the enterprise application, and wherein instructions operable to cause the data processing apparatus to determine whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application comprises instructions to:

examine the first information to identify a prioritization level that is associated with the user requested aspect.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the prioritization level comprises at least two discrete prioritization levels.

27. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising instructions operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

identify a target performance value for the first transaction; and

compare the performance value included in the first information with the identified target performance value to determine whether the components in the at least two tiers of the enterprise application performed satisfactorily in executing the first transaction.

28. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising instructions operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

identify a target performance value for each monitored element of the enterprise application that is involved in the first transaction; and

for each monitored element, compare its performance value included in the first information with its target performance value to determine whether the monitored element performed satisfactorily during the first transaction.

29. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising instructions operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

provide in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of the enterprise application in executing a plurality of transactions associated with one or more user sessions with the enterprise application, each of the plurality of transactions being associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, the first transaction being one of the plurality of transactions.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more of the following:

a pie chart, a bar version of a histogram, and a histogram.

31. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the visual indicator provides a visual representation of a degree at which the performance of the enterprise application satisfies a customer experience while interacting with the enterprise application.

32. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the visual indicator provides a visual cue to an enterprise application provider of a presence of a performance-related issue in the enterprise application that has a negative effect on the performance of the enterprise application.

33. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the visual indicator further provides a visual cue to the enterprise application provider of an extent to which the performance-related issue in the enterprise application has a negative effect on the performance.

34. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising instructions operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

provide in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of one or more monitored elements of the enterprise application during an execution of a transaction associated with a user session with the enterprise application.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the one or more monitored elements comprise one or more of the following:

a web page of the enterprise application, and a data service producer of the enterprise application.

36. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein each of the one or more monitored elements is associated with a customer impact identifier.

37. The computer program product of claim 36, wherein the customer impact identifier comprises one of the following:

a business critical function identifier, a secondary function identifier, and a tertiary function identifier.

38. A system comprising:

an application performance monitoring tool operable to;

receive a first information related to a first transaction associated with a first user session with a multi-tier enterprise application, the first information including performance data that is representative of how well components in at least two tiers of the enterprise application perform in executing the first transaction; and

determine based on the first information whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, and if so, take an action based on the determination.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the application performance monitoring tool receives the first information from a monitoring database that stores information related to transactions associated with user sessions with the enterprise application, the user sessions including the first user session.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the monitoring database stores performance data that is representative of how well components in at least two tiers of the enterprise application perform in executing respective ones of the plurality of transactions.

41. The system of claim 38, wherein the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for data stored on one or more components in a data tier of the enterprise application.

42. The system of claim 38, wherein the first information includes performance data that is defined using a time-based metric.

43. The system of claim 38, wherein the application performance monitoring tool is operable to determine whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application by examining the first information to determine whether the first information includes an indicator that the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for an aspect of the enterprise application that is associated with one of the following:

a business critical function, a secondary function, or a tertiary function.

44. The system of claim 38, wherein the first transaction corresponds to an instance of a user request for an aspect of the enterprise application, and wherein the application performance monitoring tool is operable to determine whether the first transaction is associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application by examining the first information to identify a prioritization level that is associated with the user requested aspect.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the prioritization level comprises at least two discrete prioritization levels.

46. The system of claim 38, wherein the application performance monitoring tool is further operable to:

identify a target performance value for the first transaction; and

compare the performance value included in the first information with the identified target performance value to determine whether the components in the at least two tiers of the enterprise application performed satisfactorily in executing the first transaction.

47. The system of claim 38, wherein the application performance monitoring tool is further operable to:

identify a target performance value for each monitored element of the enterprise application that is involved in the first transaction; and

for each monitored element, compare its performance value included in the first information with its target performance value to determine whether the monitored element performed satisfactorily during the first transaction.

48. The system of claim 38, wherein the application performance monitoring tool is further operable to:

provide in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of the enterprise application in executing a plurality of transactions associated with one or more user sessions with the enterprise application, each of the plurality of transactions being associated with a prioritized aspect of the enterprise application, the first transaction being one of the plurality of transactions.

49. The system of claim 38, wherein the application performance monitoring tool is further operable to:

provide in a graphical user interface, a visual indicator of a performance of one or more monitored elements of the enterprise application during an execution of a transaction associated with a user session with the enterprise application.

50. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

a correlation engine operable to capture, measure, and analyze error data and informational logs generated by the application performance monitoring tool.

51. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

a customer service level monitor operable to communicate summary real-time application performance information for one or more enterprise applications for different time periods.

52. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

a systems infrastructure dashboard that enables an end-to-end systems health view for each of the tiers of the enterprise application.

53. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

a customer experience dashboard that summarizes metrics across one or more of the following data sources;

real-time and historical;

actual and synthetic traffic;

page, producer and operational performance data;

internally and externally sourced performance data;

internal tools to support internal customers and external products to support external customers.

54. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

an administrative console operable to enable a user to administer additions, modifications and deletions of monitoring tool supporting data, and corresponding associations and mappings information, the monitoring tool supporting data including URI data, producer data, node data, and realm data, and the mappings information including functions, page to function mappings, page to group mappings, page to producer mappings, and producer to group mappings.

55. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

an alert notification engine configured with a set of robust configurable rules, and operable to apply the set of rules against data collected by an application performance monitoring tool, to detect abnormalities, trends, and/or short and long term performance issues, and generate an alert based on the application of the set of rules.

56. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

an outlier data analysis tool operable to examine outlier data against a plurality of variables to determine whether there is a common cause or a number of common causes of the outlier data, and take an action based on the determination.

57. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

a third party application monitoring tool operable to;

measure and monitor the performance of third party applications that are incorporated into the various product suites and used by customers; and

measure and monitor key product pages and transactions from outside of an enterprise network so as to gather information on complete web page performance and total roundtrip performance time between a customer client computer and the enterprise network.

58. A method comprising:

providing a structure that imposes checkpoints during design, development, testing and transition, and live production stages of an enterprise application lifecycle, such that performance of the enterprise application is based on metrics associated with customer impact.

59. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

identifying one or more elements of the enterprise application as elements to be monitored from a customer impact perspective; and

for each identified element, associating the element with a customer impact identifier.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein each identified element is associated with one of the following customer impact identifiers:

a business critical function identifier, a secondary function identifier, and a tertiary function identifier.

61. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

performing a benchmark process to determine a target performance value for each element of the enterprise application to be monitored from a customer impact perspective.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the benchmark process is performed at periodic intervals, and the target performance value for each element of the enterprise application to be monitored is updated at the periodic intervals.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein performing the benchmark process for each element to be monitored comprises:

determining a first value representative of a predefined percentile of measured performance values for each of the plurality of days of the periodic interval;

identifying a median of the first values; and

setting the target performance value for the element based on the identified median of the first values.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the predefined percentile comprises a 92^nd percentile.