Stitching transactions

• US 8,316,126 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2009
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Heler, Jean-Jacques, Klein, Paul Fredric, Clementi, Ashley Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Application Number:
  US12/576,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087722A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/223, 709/224, 719/313, 719/317
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/302 where the computing system component is a software system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3089 Monitoring arrangements determined by the means or processing involved in sensing the monitored data, e.g. interfaces, connectors, sensors, probes, agents software debugging using additional hardware using a specific debug interface G06F11/3656; performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring G06F11/3466

Abstract

A first transaction attribute is received from a first monitoring agent. The first transaction attribute includes a plurality of identifiers and is associated with a transaction. A second transaction attribute is received from a second monitoring agent. The second transaction attribute is associated with the transaction. The transaction is monitored through a plurality of application environments by associating at least a portion of the first transaction attribute with at least a portion of the second transaction attribute.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a first transaction attribute from a first monitoring agent, wherein the first transaction attribute includes a plurality of identifiers and is associated with a transaction;

receiving a second transaction attribute from a second monitoring agent, wherein the second transaction attribute is associated with the transaction;

monitoring the transaction through a plurality of application environments by vertically associating at least a portion of the first transaction attribute with at least a portion of the second transaction attribute; and

displaying a composite of data received from the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent;

wherein the vertical association integrates redundant views of the first transaction attribute observed by the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent in one of the plurality of application environments, the vertical association being performed by either vertical stitching or vertical linking.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a timestamp from the first monitoring agent, wherein the timestamp is a standardized timestamp for a measurement point of the transaction.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third transaction attribute from a third monitoring agent, wherein the third transaction attribute is associated with the transaction; and

using the first transaction attribute and the third transaction attribute to monitor the transaction through a plurality of non-consecutive application environments.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction attribute is a subset of information associated with a first measurement point that is a nonboundary point, and wherein the method further comprises:

associating the first measurement point in a first application environment of the plurality of application environments with a second measurement point in a second application environment of the plurality of application environments.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second transaction attribute includes a plurality of identifiers each associated with a different measurement point of the transaction.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction attribute is derived by a middleware layer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction is an asynchronous transaction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first monitoring agent monitors the transaction within more than one application environment of the plurality of application environments.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a first local transaction is executed in a first application environment, and wherein a second local transaction is executed in a second application environment that is distinct from the first application environment, and wherein the monitoring includes monitoring the first local transaction and the second local transaction across application environments.

10. A computer program product stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising functional descriptive material that, when executed by an information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform actions comprising:

receiving a first transaction attribute from a first monitoring agent, wherein the first transaction attribute includes a plurality of identifiers and is associated with a transaction;

receiving a second transaction attribute from a second monitoring agent, wherein the second transaction attribute is associated with the transaction;

monitoring the transaction through a plurality of application environments by vertically associating at least a portion of the first transaction attribute with at least a portion of the second transaction attribute; and

displaying a composite of data received from the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent;

wherein the vertical association integrates redundant views of the first transaction attribute observed by the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent in one of the plurality of application environments, the vertical association being performed by either vertical stitching or vertical linking.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving a timestamp from the first monitoring agent, wherein the timestamp is a standardized timestamp for a measurement point of the transaction.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving a third transaction attribute from a third monitoring agent, wherein the third transaction attribute is associated with the transaction; and

using the first transaction attribute and the third transaction attribute to monitor the transaction through a plurality of non-consecutive application environments.

13. An information handling system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory accessible by at least one of the processors;

a nonvolatile storage medium accessible by at least one of the processors;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executed by at least one of the processors in order to perform actions of;

receiving a first transaction attribute from a first monitoring agent, wherein the first transaction attribute includes a plurality of identifiers and is associated with a transaction;

receiving a second transaction attribute from a second monitoring agent, wherein the second transaction attribute is associated with the transaction; and

monitoring the transaction through a plurality of application environments by vertically associating at least a portion of the first transaction attribute with at least a portion of the second transaction attribute; and

displaying a composite of data received from the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent;

wherein the vertical association integrates redundant views of the first transaction attribute observed by the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent in one of the plurality of application environments, the vertical association being performed by either vertical stitching or vertical linking.

14. The information handling system of claim 13, wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving a timestamp from the first monitoring agent, wherein the timestamp is a standardized timestamp for a measurement point of the transaction.

15. The information handling system of claim 13, wherein the actions further comprise:

receiving a third transaction attribute from a third monitoring agent, wherein the third transaction attribute is associated with the transaction; and

using the first transaction attribute and the third transaction attribute to monitor the transaction through a plurality of non-consecutive application environments.

16. The information handling system of claim 13, wherein the second transaction attribute includes a plurality of identifiers each associated with a different measurement point of the transaction.

17. A method comprising:

receiving a first attribute by a first application monitoring a transaction executed in a first application environment;

receiving the first attribute by a second application monitoring said transaction executed in the first application environment;

identifying a vertical association of the first and second applications using the first transaction attribute;

monitoring the transaction through a plurality of application environments using the vertical association of the first and second applications, said plurality of application environments comprising a second application environment that is non-consecutive to said first application environment; and

displaying a composite of data received from the first monitoring application and the second monitoring application;

wherein the vertical association integrates redundant views of the first transaction attribute observed by the first monitoring application and the second monitoring application in one of the plurality of application environments, the vertical association being performed by either vertical stitching or vertical linking.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the identifying of the vertical association vertically integrates redundant views in the first application environment of said first attribute by the first and second applications.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

horizontally associating the second application with a third application executing in the second application environment;

wherein the third application is not horizontally associated with the first application because the second application environment is non-consecutive to said first application environment.