Method, system and program product for determining a number of concurrent users accessing a system

• US 8,041,807 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2006
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bao, Zhendong, Yu, Stephen, Lewis, Lisa W., Ramseur, Demethria J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Dustin
• Application Number:
  US11/555,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20080109547A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,811 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/202.203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/220, 709/226, 709/227, 709/228, 709/242, 709/203, 709/223, 709/231, 707/100, 707/102, 726/14, 726/22, 455/423, 455/456.5, 455/456.1, 705/35, 714/42
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems

Abstract

A method, system and program product for determining a number of concurrent users being served by a system at a given point-in-time is provided. The method includes running, at a pre-determined point-in-time, a collection script for collecting user data from one or more target systems, the user data collected including a number of concurrent users logged into each of the target systems at the pre-determined point-in-time. The method further includes generating one or more electronic transmissions for transmitting the user data collected, loading the one or more electronic transmissions generated into a monitoring system, and creating an output file containing the user data. Further, the loading step includes parsing the user data loaded, storing the user data collected and parsed into a database and updating the stored user data. Moreover, the method includes transmitting the output file from the monitoring system to one or more monitoring system clients.

Claims

1. A method for determining a number of users being served by a target system, said method comprising the steps of:

a processor of the target system running, at a pre-determined point-in-time, a data collection script for collecting a set of user data from the target system that is remotely coupled to a monitoring system, wherein the monitoring system runs a monitoring application comprising a data collection tool, wherein the data collection tool comprises;

a user identity module, a mail accounts module, a data collection script, a mail script, a utility script, a communication interface module, and a data report module, wherein the target system runs components of the data collection tool that are previously deployed on the target system by the monitoring application, wherein the target system is a member to a geographical region, wherein said set of user data collected for the target system comprises;

total number of users daily, total number of users hourly, average number of users daily, total number of users in he geographical region daily, total number of users in the geographical region hourly, average number of users daily in he geographical region, a first time of login by a user, a business group to which the user belongs, wherein the business group is a member to the geographical region, and a second time of logout by the user; and

generating, by use of the mail script running on the target system, one or more electronic transmissions comprising said set of user data collected from said running; and

the method further comprising;

retrieving, by the monitoring application, the generated one or more electronic transmissions from the target system by use of the utility script module that is configured to load the generated one or more electronic transmissions into the data collection tool running on the monitoring system, wherein the utility script module is configured to parse content of the transmitted electronic transmission and to update said set of user data stored in a database coupled to the monitoring system;

creating an output file comprising said set of user data from the target system by use of the data report module that is configured to generate a data report comprising user statistics for the target system; and

transmitting said output file from said monitoring system to a monitoring system client by use of the communication interface module such that the monitoring system client is enabled to customize at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of said pre-determined point-in-time to run the data collection script, a type of data from the set of user data, and combinations thereof; and

subsequent to said retrieving, parsing said set of user data loaded from said one or more electronic transmissions;

storing said set of user data collected and parsed into the database; and

updating, at predetermined intervals, said set of user data stored based on said at least one parameter from said one or more monitoring system clients.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

prior to said running, determining at least one job role and a respective business group for each user seeking access to the target system;

establishing, by use of the user identity module of the data collection tool, a respective user identity for said each user, said respective user identity for said each user consisting of a respective username and a respective password associated with the respective username,

categorizing said each user as either an external user or an internal user with respect to an organization comprising the target system and the monitoring system such that the monitoring system is enabled to separately track a first count of external users and a second count of internal users pursuant to said categorizing; and

setting up, by use of the mail accounts module, a mail account for the target system such that the set of user data from the target system is collected via the mail account with the one or more generated electronic transmissions comprising the set of user data.

3. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

prior to said running, deploying said data collection script on the target system, wherein said data collection script is configured to collect the set of user data and to communicate the collected set of user data to the monitoring system.

4. The method according to claim 2, the method further comprising:

producing a count of said number of concurrent users for the respective business group;

counting separately any user having an unknown job role, wherein the unknown job role is not a member of said one or more job roles that is associated with the user identity for all users; and

providing a count of any external users with respect to the organization from said categorizing.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said one or more electronic transmissions comprise at least one of:

e-mails and FTP files, and wherein said output file created comprises an XML file that is configured to interface with said one or more monitoring system clients such that each monitoring system client provides said at least one parameter to the monitoring system.