End-to-end performance tool and method for monitoring electronic-commerce transactions

• US 7,836,176 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2008
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pirouz, Mehrdad, Conley, Alan, Wilmes, Joshua, Gore, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tiv; Backhean
• Application Number:
  US12/205,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20090006616A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-225, 709/232, 702186-188
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A method and apparatus for monitoring electronic commerce transactions. A network delay agent, coupled to the access point for the electronic commerce provider'"'"'s system is operable to send and receive communications to a designated customer'"'"'s site for measuring network transport latency. Application test latency is also determined. An application monitor agent that is coupled to the electronic commerce provider'"'"'s access point sends application tests that correspond to tasks performed during a typical electronic commerce transaction, to the electronic commerce provider'"'"'s system. The time required for the electronic commerce provider'"'"'s system to perform the indicated tasks and return a response to the application monitor agent is recorded as application test latency. Network transport latency and application test latency are displayed to indicate the delays that are experienced by a user in executing an electronic commerce order.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

simulating a transaction between a customer and one or more electronic commerce servers located in an enterprise network, said simulation performed using an access device;

wherein the access device is an access point located on an edge of the enterprise network, the access point configured to provide computers located outside the enterprise network access to the enterprise network;

wherein said simulation using the access device measures performance of an electronic commerce application independently of network conditions outside the enterprise network;

pinging a customer network using the same access device used for said simulation;

wherein said pinging measures network transport latency between the access device and the customer network independently of latency associated with the electronic commerce application; and

outputting said application performance measurement and said network transport latency measurement.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a time of day associated with the measurements;

determining a first network transport latency baseline using previously determined values of network transport latency for the identified time of day, the first network transport latency baseline indicating an expected transport latency for the identified time of day; and

determining a first application performance baseline using previously determined values of application performance measurements for the identified time of day, the first application performance baseline indicating an expected application performance for the identified time of day.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said method further includes:

calculating a second different network transport latency baseline, said second network transport latency baseline indicating the lowest measured network transport latency during a given time period; and

displaying the network transport latency measurement and said network transport latency baselines.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a single graph is displayed that indicates the network transport latency measurement and the network transport latency baselines.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said method further includes:

calculating a second different application performance baseline, said second application performance baseline indicating the lowest measured application performance during a given time period; and

displaying the application performance measurement and said application performance baselines.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a single graph is displayed that indicates said application performance measurement and the application performance baselines.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising measuring application performance for each of a plurality of application components and wherein said application performance measurements for each of said plurality of application components is displayed.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first application performance baseline is determined for each of said plurality of application components.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a second network latency baseline is determined for each of said plurality of application components and wherein said second network latency baseline for each of said plurality of application components is displayed.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a graph is generated for each application component that includes the application component'"'"'s measured application component performance, determined first application performance baseline and determined second network latency baseline.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said application components include a login component, an order component, a configure component and a help component.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the enterprise network is a private network with controlled access from the Internet, and wherein the access device at least partially controls access of the private enterprise network from the Internet.

13. A system, comprising:

one or more electronic commerce servers for conducting transactions with a computer located outside an enterprise network for the electronic commerce servers over a call path;

a network device located on the call path between the electronic commerce servers and the computer, wherein the network device is an access point located on an edge of the enterprise network, the access point configured to provide computers located outside the enterprise network access to the enterprise network;

the network device configured to ping a device located in a same network as the computer to determine latency between the computer and the network device;

the network device configured to mimic a customer interaction with the electronic commerce servers to determine current performance of an electronic commerce application operating in the enterprise network;

the network device configured to generate test packets and send the generated test packets to the electronic commerce servers, the generated test packets simulating a customer endpoint sending requests to the electronic commerce application, the sent test packets to at least in part mimic the customer interaction;

the network device configured to receive back a response to the sent packets, the response representing completion of the mimicked customer transaction;

the network device configured to analyze the received response to determine the current performance of the electronic commerce application operating in the enterprise network; and

the network device to output the latency and performance determinations.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the test packets generated by the network device simulate an actual customer ordering a product using the electronic commerce application.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the electronic commerce application comprises a plurality of application components, and the mimicked customer transaction utilizes the application components.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the application components comprise a logon component and an ordering component, and the network device is further configured to:

simulate the customer endpoint logging into the electronic commerce application using the generated test packets;

simulate the customer endpoint ordering a product or a service using the generated test packets.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein outputs indicate network latency attributed to a first leg of the call path, the first leg extending from the computer'"'"'s network to the network device, and application performance based on an exchange occurring on only a second leg of the call path, the second leg extending from the network device to the electronic commerce servers.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the enterprise network is a private network with controlled access from the Internet, and wherein the network device at least partially controls access of the private enterprise network from the Internet.

19. A system, comprising:

means for simulating a customer transaction between one or more electronic commerce servers associated with an enterprise network and an access point, said simulating means originating test packets that mimic a customer transaction;

wherein the access point is located on an edge of the enterprise network and is configured to provide computers located outside the enterprise network access to the enterprise network;

wherein said simulating means measures performance of an application running on the electronic commerce servers independently of network conditions of a customer network;

means for measuring network transport latency between the access point and a customer device located in the customer network; and

means for outputting said application performance measurement and said network latency measurement.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said application performance measurement isolates application performance from performance associated with network elements located in the customer network.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said network transport latency measurement isolates performance of network elements located on a communication path between the access point and the customer network from performance of the application.

22. The system of claim 19, further comprising means for identifying a communication path used for exchanging packets representing an electronic commerce transaction between the electronic commerce servers and the customer network;

wherein the access point is selected for the transaction simulation according to the presence of the access point on the communication path.

23. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

means for generating a graph, the graph comparing the application performance measurement to other application performance measurements, each of the application performance measurements included in the comparison characterizing application performance during a same time segment of a daily or weekly period.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the generated graph plots application response time versus time.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the application performance measurement includes different performance measurements for each of a plurality of application components associated with the application.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein the enterprise network is a private network with controlled access from the Internet, and wherein the access point at least partially controls access of the private enterprise network from the Internet.

27. An apparatus, comprising:

a bus;

a memory unit coupled to said bus, said memory unit including instructions for monitoring electronic commerce transactions; and

one or more processors coupled to said bus, the processors for executing said instructions, and when executing said instructions, operable to;

send first packets to one or more servers associated with a first network, the first packets representing interaction with an application associated with the servers, the first packets traveling over a first communication path extending from the servers to an access point of the first network;

wherein the access point is located on an edge of the first network and configured to provide computers located outside the first network access to the first network;

identify a first latency measurement according to a response to the first packets;

send one or more second packets to a remote device located in a second different network, the second network being remote relative to the servers and the access point, the second packets traveling over a second communication path extending from the remote device to the access point;

identify a second latency measurement according to a response to the second packets; and

display the latency measurements.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first and second communication paths are separate segments of a third communication path that communicatively couples the remote device to the servers, wherein each latency measurement corresponds to only one of the separate segments.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first network is a private network with controlled access from the second different network, and wherein the access point at least partially controls access of the private first network from the second different network.