Active Waterfall Charts

• US 20120246310A1
• Filed: 06/08/2012
• Published: 09/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Soasta Incorporated (Akamai Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Broda, Tal, Esau, Darrell, Hemmert, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,229,842 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3428 Benchmarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]

Abstract

A processor-implemented method includes providing an analytic dashboard with a graphical user interface (GUI) that outputs aggregated results streaming in real-time of a load test performed on a target website. The load test consists of a plurality of virtual users simulated by one or more load servers that execute a test composition on one or more webpages of the website. A waterfall chart is produced on the analytic dashboard that includes a plurality of timeline bars. Each of the timeline bars represents an aggregated result for a resource of the one or more webpages across all of the virtual users. The timeline bars change in real-time as the load test progresses.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

load testing a website with a plurality of virtual users simulated by one or more load servers that execute a test composition on one or more webpages of the website;

computing, by each of the one or more load servers, aggregated test results in real-time from execution of the test composition on the website;

aggregating the aggregated test results in real-time by one or more analytic servers to produce aggregated test metrics for all the virtual users;

providing an analytic dashboard with a graphical user interface (GUI) that outputs the aggregated test metrics in real-time in a waterfall chart.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the aggregated test metrics include an average time it takes for webpage content to be sent from one or more servers associated with the website to the load servers.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the aggregated test metrics further include a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup time.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the aggregated test metrics further include a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection time.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the aggregated test metrics further include a time to first byte.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the waterfall chart comprises a sequence of colored bars that extend horizontally across a timeline, each of the colored bars represents a different activity that happens as an associated webpage object or file is delivered to a virtual user simulated by a load server.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising looping the test composition such that virtual users simulated by the load servers repetitively request each object or file of one or more webpages of the website.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the analytic dashboard is provided by a browser application.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein a visual display of the waterfall chart on the analytic dashboard changes in real-time during execution of the test composition.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein a number of the virtual users increases over a time period of the test composition.

11. A processor-implemented method comprising:

providing an analytic dashboard with a graphical user interface (GUI) that outputs aggregated results streaming in real-time of a load test performed on a target website, the load test comprising a plurality of virtual users simulated by one or more load servers that execute a test composition on one or more webpages of the website;

producing a waterfall chart on the analytic dashboard that includes a plurality of timeline bars, each of the timeline bars representing an aggregated result for a resource of the one or more webpages across all of the virtual users, the timeline bars changing in real-time as the load test progresses.

12. The processor-implemented method of claim 11 wherein each of the timeline bars comprises a plurality of timeline activities.

13. The processor-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the timeline activities include a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup time.

14. The processor-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the timeline activities include a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection time.

15. The processor-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the analytic dashboard is provided by a browser application.

16. The processor-implemented method of claim 11 wherein a number of the virtual users increases over a time period of the test composition.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program, when executed the computer program being operable to:

load test a website with a plurality of virtual users simulated by one or more load servers that execute a test composition on one or more webpages of the website;

compute, by each of the one or more load servers, aggregated test results in real-time from execution of the test composition on the website;

aggregate the aggregated test results in real-time by one or more analytic servers to produce aggregated test metrics for all the virtual users;

provide an analytic dashboard with a graphical user interface (GUI) that outputs the aggregated test metrics in real-time in a waterfall chart.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the aggregated test metrics include an average time it takes for webpage content to be sent from one or more servers associated with the website to the load servers.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the aggregated test metrics includes a Domain Name System (DNS) lookup time for each resource associated with the one or more webpages.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the aggregated test metrics includes a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection time for each resource associated with the one or more webpages.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the aggregated test metrics includes a sending time for each resource associated with the one or more webpages.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the aggregated test metrics includes a receiving time for each resource associated with the one or more webpages.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the aggregated test metrics includes a waiting time for each resource associated with the one or more webpages.