Replaying captured network interactions

• US 8,042,055 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2008
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Acoustic, L.P.
• Original Assignee: Tealeaf Technology Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Saathoff, Kirk R., Gettier, Albert F., Wenig, Robert I.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CAO H
• Application Number:
  US12/049,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20090063968A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 715763-765, 715740-744, 715851-853
• US Class Current: 715/763
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A user interface event monitor captures user interface events executed by a client during a network session. A network session monitor captures network data exchanged between the client and a web application during the network session. A replay device identifies control events in the network session that require execution before replaying associated user interface events. Replay of the user interface events are delayed by the replay device until the associated control events have been fully executed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

capturing control events executed or displayed during a network session;

capturing client events that are entered or executed in response to the executed or displayed control events during the network session;

identifying the client events that are executed in conjunction with associated control events for the network session;

assigning timestamps to the control events and client events;

queuing the control events and the client events in an assigned order according to the assigned timestamps;

replaying the control events and client events by applying the client events to the associated control events according to the assigned order;

monitoring the replaying of the control events and client events;

detecting at least some client events that are not ready to be processed by the associated control events;

waiting for at least some of the associated control events to become visible on a user interface;

requeuing the client events when the associated control events are not visible on the user interface;

executing the queued client events when the associated control events become visible on the user interface;

delaying replaying other queued control events and client events until the detected client events are processed by the associated control events; and

replaying the other client events and other control events in response to the detected client events being processed by the associated control events.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

capturing asynchronous control events for the network session that execute asynchronously from behavior of the user interface and asynchronously from the client events;

asynchronously replaying the asynchronous control events along with the other control events and client events for the network session;

monitoring replay of the network session to determine when display operations associated with the asynchronous control events are, or would be, visually displayed on the user interface; and

delaying replay of the client events associated with the asynchronous control events until display operations for the asynchronous control events are visually displayed on the user interface.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

identifying hierarchies of control events associated with the same one or more client events;

requeuing the client events when the associated hierarchy of control events are not visible; and

executing the client events only after the entire associated hierarchy of control events are visible.

4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the control events that require data;

requeuing the client events associated with the identified control events until the data is loaded; and

replaying the requeued client events only after the data for the associated control events has been loaded.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

identifying web page timer commands in the control events or client events;

reducing or eliminating time values specified in the identified web page timer commands; and

replaying the control events or client events using the reduced or eliminated time values.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

identifying all of the client events associated with a same web page;

automatically replaying all of the identified client events until a next web page request is identified; and

displaying the web page populated after replaying all of the identified client events.

7. A method comprising:

capturing control events executed or displayed during a network session;

capturing client events associated with the control events for the same network session that are entered or executed in response to the control events;

assigning time stamps to the control events and client events;

submitting the control events and the client events to an event handler for replaying according to the assigned time stamps;

determining if other client events for the same network session are currently pending in a queue and determining when attempts to apply the client events to the associated control events are unsuccessful;

placing the client events in the queue when other client events are pending in the queue and when the attempts to apply the client events to the associated control events are unsuccessful;

waiting a predetermined time period, independent of the time stamps, when other client events are currently pending in the queue or when attempts to apply the client events to the associated control events are unsuccessful;

determining after the predetermined time period if one or more of the client events in the queue are successfully applied to the associated control events;

replaying the one or more client events in the queue and removing the client events from the queue when the client events are successfully applied to the associated control events; and

repeatedly waiting the predetermined time period when the one or more client events in the queue cannot be successfully applied to the associated control events and then reapplying the one or more client events in the queue to the associated control events until the one or more client events in the queue are successfully applied to the associated control events.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a computer configured to;

identify user interface events and control events in a captured network session;

identify the user interface events in the captured network session that are associated with the control events;

assign time stamps to the control events and user interface events;

queue the control events and the user interface events in an assigned order according to the assigned time stamps;

replay the control events and the user interface events according to the assigned order;

detect a replay condition where an identified user interface event is not ready to be processed by an identified control event;

load the identified user interface event into a queue when the identified control event has not completed replay execution;

delay applying the identified user interface event to the identified control event during the replay in response to the detected replay condition; and

resume replay of the control events and user interface events in response to successful processing of the identified user interface event by the identified control event.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the computer is further configured to:

periodically check whether the control events associated with an oldest user interface event in the queue has completed replay execution;

replay the oldest user interface event in the queue when the associated control events has been fully executed;

remove the oldest user interface event from the queue; and

repeatedly check whether the control events associated with the next oldest user interface event in the queue have completed replay execution before executing the next oldest user interface event.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the computer is further configured to wait until the control events are visible before replaying the associated user interface events.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the computer is further configured to identify hierarchies of control events associated with the same user interface events and wait until the entire hierarchies of control events are visible before replaying the associated user interface events.

12. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the computer is further configured to identify control events that require data and wait until the required data is loaded before replaying the associated interface events.

13. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the computer is further configured to:

identify timer commands in the user interface events or control events;

reduce or remove time values specified in the timer commands; and

replay the user interface events or control events using the reduced or removed time values.

14. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the computer is further configured to:

identify all of the user interface events associated with a same web page;

replay all of the identified user interface events associated with the web page in a same batch; and

display the web page after replaying all of the associated user interface events.

15. A system comprising:

a replay device configured to;

identify control events in a captured network session that require execution before replaying associated user interface events;

assign timestamps to the control events and user interface events;

queue the control events and the user interface events in an assigned order according to the timestamps;

replay the control events and user interface events by applying the user interface events to the associated control events according to the assigned order;

identify one of the client events not ready to be processed by an associated one of the control events;

delay replay of the user interface events and control events until the identified one of the user interface events is successfully processed by the associated one of the control events; and

resume replay the user interface events and control events in response to the identified one of the user interface events being successfully processed by the associated one of the control events,

wherein the identified one of the user interface events is assigned to a queue when the identified one of the user interface events is not ready to be applied to the associated one of the control events and the identified one of the user interface events is serially replayed from the queue after the associated one of the control events has completed execution.

16. The system according to claim 15 wherein the interface events are executed by a client during the network session.

17. The system according to claim 15 wherein the control events include information displayed on a web page that is selected by the associated user interface events.

18. The system according to claim 17 wherein the control events include a list of items that are displayed on a drop down menu and the associated user interface events include a selection event that selects one of items in the displayed list.