Synthetic transactions based on system history and load

• US 8,051,163 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ruiz, Jon, Zuzga, Brian, Thio, Ling
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky; Moustafa M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Halim; Sahera
• Application Number:
  US11/565,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20070266148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,797 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/204, 709/225, 709/223
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage

Abstract

Synthetic transactions for a network system are generated based on monitoring of the network system. One or more network system monitoring systems receive network system traffic, traffic monitoring data and/or application runtime data during a monitoring process. The traffic monitoring data may be derived from network system traffic and the application runtime data may be data associated with application transactions. The traffic, traffic monitoring data and application runtime data may contain information regarding the scope and frequency of the functionality tested by the actual traffic received by the network system. Synthetic transactions may be generated and transmitted to test the network system based on the scope and frequency of the functionality tested by actual traffic.

Claims

1. A method for generating synthetic transactions in a network system, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

monitoring traffic between at least one client device and at least one server device in the network system, the monitored traffic includes incoming traffic to the at least one server device from the at least one client device, the monitored traffic is monitored at an intermediate point in a route traversed by the monitored traffic, and the intermediate point is between the at least one server device and a firewall which protects the at least one server device;

determining a functionality of the network system which is tested by the monitored traffic by;

receiving data associated with the monitored traffic;

from the received data, determining processing which is performed by one or more applications at the at least one server device in response to the incoming traffic; and

integrating traffic monitoring data and application runtime data, the traffic monitoring data is derived from the monitored traffic and the application runtime data is retrieved from the one or more applications;

comparing a scope of the functionality to at least one target metric;

determining a current load experienced by the network system; and

generating a synthetic transaction which includes a request to the at least one server device, based on the comparing and the current load, the request is separate from the incoming traffic to the at least one server device from the at least one client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the intermediate point comprises a router or switch between the at least one server device and the firewall.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the incoming traffic is analyzed by the firewall to determine if the incoming traffic is safe before the incoming traffic is sent from the firewall toward the at least one server device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a number of times a uniform resource locator is contained in requests received by the at least one server device from the at least one client device, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the number of times with a target level.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a number of times an application component of the one or more applications is used to process a portion of the monitored traffic, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the number of times with a target level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a frequency with which a uniform resource locator is contained in requests received by the at least one server device from the at least one client device, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the frequency with a target level.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a frequency with which an application component of the one or more applications is invoked by the monitored traffic, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the frequency with a target level.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining the functionality comprises:

determining a frequency of a transaction tested by the monitored traffic.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating another synthetic transaction which includes a request to the at least one server device based on a functionality of the network system that has not been tested by the monitored traffic.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request is sent to the at least one server device by an agitator device connected to the at least one server device, the agitator device is separate from the at least one client device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the generating comprises generating one synthetic transaction which includes one request to one server device, and generating another synthetic transaction which includes another request to another server device; and

the one server device is arranged between the another server device and a firewall which protects the one server device and the another service device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the one synthetic transaction is generated by one agitator device connected to the one server device, and the another synthetic transaction is generated by another agitator device connected to the another server device, the agitator devices are separate from the at least one client device.

13. An apparatus for processing data, comprising:

a communication interface;

a storage device; and

one or more processors in communication with said storage device and said communication interface, said one or more processors;

determine a functionality of a network system, the functionality is tested by traffic received by the network system at an intermediate point in a route traversed by the traffic, the intermediate point is between one or more application servers and a firewall which protects the one or more application servers, the monitored traffic includes incoming traffic from at least one client device, and said one or more processors, to determine the functionality;

receive data associated with the monitored traffic,

from the received data, determine processing which is performed by one or more applications at the one or more application servers in response to the incoming traffic, and

integrate traffic monitoring data and application runtime data, the traffic monitoring data is derived from the monitored traffic and the application runtime data is retrieved from the one or more applications, and

in a comparison, compare a scope of the functionality to at least one target metric,

determine a load of the network system, and

generate synthetic transaction instructions, separate from the incoming traffic, based on the comparison and the load.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said one or more processors, in the comparison, compare HTTP information in the monitored traffic to target HTTP information.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the scope of the functionality is based on a list of requested uniform resource locators.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the functionality of the network system comprises a functionality of the one or more application servers, and to generate the synthetic transaction instructions, the one or more processors:

identify one or more agitators associated with the one or more application servers, and separate from the at least one client device; and

generate instructions for each of the one or more agitators which cause the one or more agitators to generate synthetic transactions which include requests to the at least one application server.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein:

the one or more processors send the synthetic transaction instructions to an agitator device connected to the one or more application servers, the agitator device is separate from the at least one client device.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein:

the agitator device sends a request to the one or more application servers in response to the synthetic transaction instructions, the request is separate from the incoming traffic to the one or more application servers from the at least one client device.

19. One or more tangible processor-readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied thereon for programming one or more processors to perform a method for processing data, the method comprising:

(a) determining a functionality of a network system, the functionality is tested by monitored traffic received by the network system at an intermediate point in a route traversed by the monitored traffic, the intermediate point is between one or more application servers and a firewall which protects the one or more application servers, and the monitored traffic includes incoming traffic from at least one client device, the determining the functionality comprising;

receiving data associated with the monitored traffic,

from the received data, determining processing which is performed by one or more applications at the one or more application servers in response to the incoming traffic, and

integrating traffic monitoring data and application runtime data, the traffic monitoring data is derived from the monitored traffic and the application runtime data is retrieved from the one or more applications,

(b) comparing a scope of the functionality to at least one target metric,

(c) determining a load of the network system, and

(d) generating synthetic transaction instructions, separate from the incoming traffic, based on the comparing and the load.

20. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 19, wherein:

the load of the network system comprises a load of the one or more applications.

21. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 19, wherein:

the load of the network system comprises a load of the one or more application servers.

22. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 19, wherein:

the load of the network system comprises a rate of requests at the one or more application servers.

23. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 19, wherein:

the load of the network system comprises a rate at which Enterprise Java Beans are called at the one or more application servers.

24. One or more tangible processor-readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied thereon for programming one or more processors to perform a method for generating synthetic transactions in a network system, the method comprising:

monitoring traffic between at least one client device and at least one server device in the network system, the monitored traffic includes incoming traffic to the at least one server device from the at least one client device, the monitored traffic is monitored at an intermediate point in a route traversed by the monitored traffic, and the intermediate point is between the at least one server device and a firewall which protects the at least one server device;

determining a functionality of the network system which is tested by the monitored traffic by;

receiving data associated with the monitored traffic;

from the received data, determining processing which is performed by one or more applications at the at least one server device in response to the incoming traffic; and

integrating traffic monitoring data and application runtime data, the traffic monitoring data is derived from the monitored traffic and the application runtime data is retrieved from the one or more applications;

comparing a scope of the functionality to at least one target metric;

determining a current load experienced by the network system; and

generating a synthetic transaction which includes a request to the at least one server device, based on the comparing and the current load, the request is separate from the incoming traffic to the at least one server device from the at least one client device.

25. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein:

the load comprises a load of the one or more applications.

26. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein:

the load comprises a load of the at least one server device.

27. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein:

the load comprises a rate of requests at the one or more applications.

28. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein:

the load comprises a rate at which Enterprise Java Beans are called at the one or more applications.

29. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein:

the intermediate point comprises a router or switch between the at least one server device and the firewall.

30. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a number of times a uniform resource locator is contained in requests received by the at least one server device from the at least one client device, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the number of times with a target level.

31. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a number of times an application component of the one or more applications is used to process a portion of the monitored traffic, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the number of times with a target level.

32. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a frequency with which a uniform resource locator is contained in requests received by the at least one server device from the at least one client device, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the frequency with a target level.

33. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein said determining the functionality includes:

determining a frequency with which an application component of the one or more applications is invoked by the monitored traffic, where the synthetic transaction is generated based on a comparison of the frequency with a target level.

34. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 33, wherein the determining the functionality comprises:

determining a frequency of a transaction tested by the monitored traffic.

35. The one or more tangible processor-readable storage devices of claim 24, wherein the method performed further comprises:

generating another synthetic transaction which includes a request to the at least one server device based on a functionality of the network system that has not been tested by the monitored traffic.