NETWORK RESOURCE MONITORING AND MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20080256235A1
• Filed: 04/10/2008
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: comScore, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nielsen Company (US) LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Inventors: Jarrett, Andrew Lawrence, Or Sim, Lim, Cheong, Yee Han, Eustace, Anthony Roger, Bey, Shefik, Pettit, Matthew James
• Granted Patent: US 7,953,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5628 Testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5636 Monitoring or policing, e.g. compliance with allocated rate, corrective actions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

A method and system for analysing and measuring multiple sources of data over a communications network (18) so as to ascertain information or usage of one or more resources, such as resource servers (2). A data collection and processing means (20) collects and processes the data sources which are forwarded to a reporting server (34) as a combined data source made available to interested parties.

Claims

1. A method of enabling research in a communications network comprising at least one user computer with an internet browser, the method comparing the step of:

alerting a proxy setting of the browser of the user computer to divert internet access of the user computer through a proxy server.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of upon receiving an internet resource requested by the user from a visited internet site, inserting measurement code into the resource and passing the resource to the browser to monitor usage of the resource.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of passing measurement data, which includes user identification data, from the browser to a data collection and processing means.

4. A network enabling intercept access by a user computer, characterized in that a connection means on the user computer such that the proxy server is communicably coupled between the connection means to he user computer and any internet site servers in order to monitor internet usage of a user of the user computer.

5. The network of claim 4 wherein the connection means is an internet browser.

6. An apparatus for measuring usage of internet resources, comprising:

a proxy server in a communicable relation with a user browser, the communicable relation effected via a proxy setting of the user browser, such that the user browser is capable of accessing at least one internet resource via the proxy server, and the proxy server is capable of initiating usage measurement of an accessed resource of the at least one internet resource.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising a measurement code that is inserted into an accessed resource by the proxy server prior to the accessed resource being forwarded to the user browser for measurement of usage of the accessed resource on the browser.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein measurement data including user identification data is passed from the user browser to a data collection and processing means.

9. A method of measuring usage of internet resources comprising the steps of:

enabling a proxy setting of user'"'"'s browser to reference a location of a proxy server;

receiving a request for an internet resource at the proxy server from the user'"'"'s browser;

passing the internet resource to the user'"'"'s browser after insertion of a measurement code to monitor usage of the internet resource.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of identifying a user at a data collection and processing means via an identification means sent with the measurement data.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the identification means a cookie.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the measurement code is embedded code in an HTML page.