Executable application network impact and load characteristic estimation system

• US 7,984,126 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2003
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: McBride, Edmund Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, PHILIP C
• Application Number:
  US10/349,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20030158930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,100 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• 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 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/022 by sampling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/026 using flow identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/14 using software, i.e. software packages network security related monitoring H04L63/1408
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A network guidelines estimator (NGE) estimates a network load for each software application operating in a test network to determine network load metrics for each software application. A network load estimator (NLE) estimates a network load for one or more software applications concurrently operating in a production network responsive to the network load metrics of each of the one or more software applications. A network load analyzer (NLA) analyzes the network load for the one or more software applications concurrently operating in the production network to determine an actual network load for the production network.

Claims

1. A system enabling estimating network load impact of an executable application, comprising:

data representing network load metrics associated with an individual executable software application and usable in estimating a network load representative value for said software application operating in a network, said network load metrics being provided by a network guidelines estimator for estimating a network load for an individual software application operating in a test network;

an individual executable software application associated with said data representing network load metrics; and

a network load estimator comprising at least one processing device for estimating a network load for a plurality of software applications including said individual executable software application concurrently operating in a non-test network responsive to the network load metrics of individual applications of said plurality of software applications.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the network guidelines estimator provides network load metrics for said plurality of software applications.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein a distributor of the software application initiates performance of the estimate by the network guidelines estimator.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein a manufacturer of the software application initiates performance of the estimate by the network guidelines estimator.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the network load metrics for an individual software application are provided with the software application to a buyer when purchased from a seller of the software application.

6. A system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a network load analyzer for determining an actual network load for a plurality of software applications concurrently operating in a production network.

7. A system according to claim 6 wherein the network load determined by at least one of, the network guidelines estimator and the network load estimator, is modified responsive to the actual network load determined by the network load analyzer.

8. A network guidelines estimator comprising:

at least one processing device for estimating a network load for an individual software application operating in a network to determine network load metrics for an individual software application, wherein the network load metrics are used by a network load estimator for estimating a network load for a plurality of software applications concurrently operating in a network responsive to the network load metrics of individual software applications.

9. A network load estimator comprising:

at least one processing device for estimating a network capacity for a plurality of software applications concurrently operating in a network responsive to predetermined network load metrics of individual software applications, wherein the predetermined network load metrics represent a network load for individual software applications operating in a network.

10. A computer executable product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium including an executable application and supporting estimating a network load impact, comprising:

an individual executable application operable in a network; and

accompanying data representing network load metrics associated with said individual executable application and provided with said executable application and usable in estimating a network load representative value for said application operating in a network, said network load metrics being provided by a network guidelines estimator for estimating a network load for an individual software application operating in a test network, said network load metrics being usable by a network load estimator for estimating a network load for said individual executable application when concurrently operating in a non-test network together with a plurality of software applications.

11. A computer executable product according to claim 10, wherein

said network guidelines estimator provides for said individual executable application, at least one of, (a) a concurrency factor, (b) base workload and (c) a workload completion time, for use by a network load, for use by said network load estimator together with said network load metrics in estimating said network load for said individual executable application.

12. A computer executable product according to claim 10, wherein said network load metrics comprise at least one of:

(a) an estimated average number of bytes transferred in a time interval using said application, (b) an estimated maximum number of bytes transferred in a time interval using said application, (c) an estimated minimum number of bytes transferred in a time interval using said application, (d) a client'"'"'s average network load factor, (e) an average data packet size, (f) an average number of request/response pairs in an application transaction, and (g) an average number of bytes transferred between a client and at least one server when executing an application transaction.

13. A computer executable product according to claim 12, wherein said average number comprises at least one of, (a) median, (b) arithmetic mean and (c) arithmetic mean adjusted in response to a confidence level.