Method and apparatus for analyzing performance of data processing system

• US 6,671,830 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2002
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lowell, Martyn S., Kaler, Christopher G., Wahbe, Robert S., Sharp, Oliver J., Ferguson, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): BADERMAN, SCOTT T
• Application Number:
  US10/299,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20030131286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 406 Days
• Field of Search: 714/39, 714/47, 714/57, 714/46, 709/318, 717/124, 717/125, 717/127, 717/128, 717/130
• US Class Current: 714/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/302 where the computing system component is a software system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3072 where the reporting involves data filtering, e.g. pattern matching, time or event triggered, adaptive or policy-based reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3096 wherein the means or processing minimize the use of computing system or of computing system component resources, e.g. non-intrusive monitoring which minimizes the probe effect: sniffing, intercepting, indirectly deriving the monitored data from other directly available data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/323 Visualisation of programs or trace data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/348 Circuit details, i.e. tracer hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring

Abstract

A method and apparatus for analyzing the performance of a data processing system, particularly a distributed data processing system, provide a system user with tools for analyzing an application running thereon. Information about the flow and performance of the application can be specified, captured, and analyzed, without modifying it or degrading its performance or data security characteristics, even if it is distributed across multiple machines. The user interface permits the system user to filter the performance information, to set triggers which the performance analyzer is able to reduce and/or combine, to observe multiple time-synchronized displays of performance data either in real time or post mortem, and to play and re-play the operation of an automatically generated application model. The invention is implemented in part by providing suitable Application Program Interfaces (APIs) in the operating system of the data processing system.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a computer comprising a processor and a memory operatively coupled together;

an operating system executing in the processor;

an application program running under control of the operating system, the application program having an event-generating component; and

an application program interface associated with the event-generating component, the interface operative to receive data from the operating system and send data to the operating system, and enabling the setting of a user-determined status condition, wherein collected data is buffered and returned to the operating system upon receipt of a triggering event only if the status condition is turned on.

2. A computer system for collecting and analyzing information associated with performance analysis, the system comprising:

a computer comprising a processor and a memory operatively coupled together;

an operating system executing in the processor;

an application program running under control of the operating system, the application program having an event-generating component; and

an application program interface associated with the event-generating component, the application program interface operative to enable a user-defined selection of information to collect and analyze, wherein the collected information is buffered until a triggering event is received.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the information comprises information associated with a particular machine.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the information comprises information associated with a particular process.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the information comprises information associated with a particular entity.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the information comprises information associated with a particular session.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the information comprises information associated with a particular source handle.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the information comprises information associated with a particular target handle to call a particular instance of an entity.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the application program interface is operative to enable definition of a user-defined event category.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the user-defined event category is one of:

all, call/return, measured, query/result, or start/stop transaction.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the application program interface is operative to enable definition of a user-defined event.

12. An application program interface embodied on at least one computer-readable medium for execution on a computer in conjunction with an operating system that interfaces with an application program having an event-generating component, the interface comprising:

a first set of application programming interfaces related to selection of information to be monitored;

a second set of application programming interfaces related to definition of categories of events; and

a third set of application programming interfaces related to manipulation of collected and analyzed information.

13. A method of accessing a performance analysis function, the method comprising:

displaying a graphical checklist comprising elements of information that can be collected by a performance monitoring module, the elements comprising information associated with at least one of a machine, a process, a component, a measured event, and a regular event;

receiving selected elements of information and generating from the selected elements a filter for collecting events associated with the selected elements;

collecting events specified by the filter, wherein the collected events are buffered until a trigger is encountered; and

analyzing the buffered events.

14. A method of accessing a performance analysis function, the method comprising:

displaying a graphical checklist comprising elements of information that can be collected by a performance monitoring module, the elements comprising information associated with at least one of a machine, a process, a component, a measured event, and a regular event;

receiving selected elements of information and generating from the selected elements a filter for collecting events associated with the selected elements;

collecting events specified by the filter;

analyzing the collected events; and

displaying the analyzed events as a set of animated synchronized windows.

15. A method of accessing a performance analysis function, the method comprising:

displaying a graphical checklist comprising elements of information that can be collected by a performance monitoring module, the elements comprising information associated with at least one of a machine, a process, a component, a measured event, and a regular event;

receiving selected elements of information and generating from the selected elements a filter for collecting events associated with the selected elements;

collecting events specified by the filter;

analyzing the collected events; and

buffering the collected events until a trigger is encountered.

16. A method of accessing a performance analysis function, the method comprising:

displaying a user interface for selecting elements of information to be collected, the elements comprising information associated with at least one of a machine, a process, a component, a measured event, and a regular event;

receiving selected elements of information in an order including Boolean operators and generating from the selected elements a filter for collecting events associated with the selected elements;

collecting events specified by the filter;

buffering the collected events;

analyzing the buffered events; and

sending the analyzed events in response to receipt of a triggering event.

17. A method of accessing a performance analysis function, the method comprising:

displaying a graphical checklist comprising elements of information that can be collected by a performance monitoring module, the elements comprising information associated with at least one of a machine, a process, a component, a measured event, and a regular event;

receiving selected elements of information and generating from the selected elements a filter for collecting events associated with the selected elements;

collecting events specified by the filter;

analyzing the collected events; and

matching events based on;

a source handle identifying an individual instance of an entity on a source machine;

a causality identification code identifying a first stream of events occurring on a plurality of machines;

a correlation identification code identifying a second stream of events occurring on a single machine; and

a target handle identifying an individual instance of an entity on a target machine.