OBTAINING INSTRUMENTATION DATA

• US 20100262646A1
• Filed: 04/10/2009
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Duran, Raul Adrian, Dover, Dan, Nassar, Aladdin Aly, Lee, Tze Meng
• Granted Patent: US 8,595,327 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

An apparatus described herein includes a request receiver component that receives a request for application data over a network from a client computing device. The apparatus also includes an instrumentation component that causes instrumentation logic to be transmitted to the client computing device responsive to receipt of the request for the application data. The instrumentation logic is configured to cause the client computing device to analyze a cookie to determine whether to capture instrumentation data pertaining to the client and, if it is determined that instrumentation data is desirably captured. The instrumentation logic is also configured to cause the client computing device to capture quantitative instrumentation data pertaining to the requested application data and cause the client computing device to transmit the quantitative instrumentation data over the network to a data repository.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising the following computer-executable components:

a request receiver component that receives a request for application data over a network from a client computing device; and

an instrumentation component that causes instrumentation logic to be transmitted to the client computing device responsive to receipt of the request for the application data, wherein the instrumentation logic is configured to;

a) cause the client computing device to analyze a cookie to determine whether to capture instrumentation data pertaining to the client and, if it is determined that instrumentation data is desirably captured;

b) cause the client computing device to capture quantitative instrumentation data pertaining to the requested application data; and

c) cause the client computing device to transmit the quantitative instrumentation data over the network to a data repository.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 being a web server.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request for application data is a request for a web site that corresponds to a web service.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the web service is an e-mail service.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instrumentation component causes the instrumentation logic to be embedded in a web page transmitted to the client computing device by way of the network.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the quantitative instrumentation data comprises at least one of load time of a web page, network latency between the client computing device and the apparatus, throughput of the network as experienced by the client computing device, size of a message received by the client computing device, transaction undertaken by the client computing device, country where the client computing device resides, identity of one or more servers communicating with the client computing device, browser type on the client computing device, resolution of a browser on the client computing device, or operating system used on the client computing device.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic comprises a JavaScript file.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic comprises an image tag that comprises an address of the data repository that is to receive the quantitative instrumentation data.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an anonymous identifier component that assigns an anonymous, unique identification to a user of the client computing device, wherein the instrumentation logic causes the anonymous, unique identification to be appended to the quantitative instrumentation data.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic additionally causes a sampling session to be generated, wherein the sampling session comprises a time limit and a transaction limit.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the client computing device is selected for sampling, sampling is terminated if the time limit is surpassed.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein if the client computing device is selected for sampling, sampling is terminated if the transaction limit is surpassed.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic causes computing devices to be selected for sampling randomly in accordance with a pre-defined probability.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the instrumentation logic causes at least one bit to be set on the cookie based upon whether the computing device was selected for sampling.

15. A method comprising the following computer-executable acts:

receiving a request for application data from a client computing device;

responsive to receipt of the request, transmitting instrumentation logic over a network to the client computing device, wherein the instrumentation logic is configured to cause the client computing device to perform the following acts;

a) determine if a user of the client computing device is desirably sampled based at least in part upon analysis of a cookie pertaining to the application data;

b) if the user of the client computing device is desirably sampled, capture quantitative instrumentation data pertaining to the client computing device; and

c) transmit the quantitative instrumentation data to a data repository specified in the instrumentation logic.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the received request is for a web page from a web server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the web page corresponds to an e-mail application provided by the web server.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the quantitative instrumentation data comprises at least one of load time of a web page, network latency between the client computing device and an application server, throughput of the network as experienced by the client computing device, size of a message received by the client computing device, transaction undertaken by the client computing device, country where the client computing device resides, identity of one or more servers communicating with the client computing device, browser type on the client computing device, resolution of a browser on the client computing device, or operating system used on the client computing device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the instrumentation logic is further configured to cause the client computing device to:

d) determine if a number of transactions in a sampling session is above a threshold number of transactions;

e) determine if a time of the sampling session is greater than a threshold amount of time; and

f) if and only if it is determined that the number of transactions in the sampling session is below the threshold and the time of the sampling session is less than the threshold amount of time, cause the client computing device to capture the quantitative instrumentation data.

20. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the following acts:

receive a request for a web page pertaining to an e-mail application from a client computing device;

generate the web page responsive to receipt of the request;

embed instrumentation logic in the generated web page, wherein the instrumentation logic is configured to cause the client computing device to perform the following acts;

a. analyze a cookie corresponding to the e-mail application;

b. based at least in part upon the analysis, determine whether the client computing device desirably captures instrumentation data, wherein the instrumentation data comprises information pertaining to load time of the web page, country of the client computing device, information identifying a web server that provides the web page, an operating system used by the client computing device, and a browser used by the client computing device to view the web page.