Obtaining instrumentation data

• US 8,595,327 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2009
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Tze Meng, Nassar, Aladdin Aly, Dover, Dan, Duran, Raul Adrian
• Primary Examiner(s): Dollinger, Tonia L
• Assistant Examiner(s): COONEY, ADAM A
• Application Number:
  US12/421,650
• Publication Number:
  US 20100262646A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709/225, 702/182, 702/186
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

An apparatus described herein includes a request receiver component that receives a request for application data over a network from a client computing device. The apparatus also includes an instrumentation component that causes instrumentation logic to be transmitted to the client computing device responsive to receipt of the request for the application data. The instrumentation logic is configured to cause the client computing device to analyze a cookie to determine whether to capture instrumentation data pertaining to the client and, if it is determined that instrumentation data is desirably captured. The instrumentation logic is also configured to cause the client computing device to capture quantitative instrumentation data pertaining to the requested application data and cause the client computing device to transmit the quantitative instrumentation data over the network to a data repository.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, the memory comprising a plurality of components that are executable by the processor, the plurality of components comprising;

a request receiver component that receives a request for a web site that corresponds to a web service over a network from a client computing device; and

an instrumentation component that causes instrumentation logic to be transmitted to the client computing device responsive to receipt of the request for the web site, wherein the instrumentation logic is configured to;

a) cause the client computing device to analyze a cookie to determine that instrumentation data pertaining to the client is desirably captured;

b) cause the client computing device to capture quantitative instrumentation data pertaining to the requested web site, the quantitative instrumentation data comprising an amount of time to load the web site as measured at the client computing device; and

c) cause the client computing device to transmit the quantitative instrumentation data over the network to a data repository.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 being a web server.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the web service is an e-mail service.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation component causes the instrumentation logic to be embedded in a web page transmitted to the client computing device by way of the network.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the quantitative instrumentation data further comprises at least one of network latency between the client computing device and the apparatus, throughput of the network as experienced by the client computing device, size of a message received by the client computing device, transaction undertaken by the client computing device, country where the client computing device resides, identity of one or more servers communicating with the client computing device, browser type on the client computing device, resolution of a browser on the client computing device, or operating system used on the client computing device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic comprises a JavaScript file.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic comprises an image tag that comprises an address of the data repository that is to receive the quantitative instrumentation data.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic additionally causes a sampling session to be generated, wherein the sampling session comprises a time limit and a transaction limit.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein if the client computing device is selected for sampling, sampling is terminated if the time limit is surpassed.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein if the client computing device is selected for sampling, sampling is terminated if the transaction limit is surpassed.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the instrumentation logic is further configured to:

generate a command to acquire an image file that resides on the application server, wherein the image file is acquired subsequent to the command being generated;

determine that the client computing device is in a cached session with the application server based upon contents of a header of the image file; and

include data that indicates that the client computing device is in the cached session with the application server in the quantitative instrumentation data.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the generated command is an HTTP Get command.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the image file that resides on the application server has a caching policy that is identical to other image files on the application server.

11. A method executed by an application server that hosts application data, the method comprising the following computer-executable acts:

receiving a request for the application data from a client computing device;

responsive to receipt of the request, transmitting instrumentation logic over a network to the client computing device, wherein the instrumentation logic is configured to cause the client computing device to perform acts comprising;

a) determining if the client computing device is desirably sampled based at least in part upon analysis of a cookie pertaining to the application data;

b) when the client computing device is desirably sampled, capturing quantitative instrumentation data pertaining to the client computing device, the quantitative instrumentation data comprising a load time of a web page on the client computing device, and wherein content of the web page is based upon the application data; and

c) transmitting the quantitative instrumentation data to a data repository specified in the instrumentation logic.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the received request is for a web page from a web server.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the web page corresponds to an e-mail application provided by the web server.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the quantitative instrumentation data comprises at least one of load time of a web page, network latency between the client computing device and an application server, throughput of the network as experienced by the client computing device, size of a message received by the client computing device, transaction undertaken by the client computing device, country where the client computing device resides, identity of one or more servers communicating with the client computing device, browser type on the client computing device, resolution of a browser on the client computing device, or operating system used on the client computing device.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the instrumentation logic is further configured to cause the client computing device to:

d) determine if a number of transactions in a sampling session is above a threshold number of transactions;

e) determine if a time of the sampling session is greater than a threshold amount of time; and

f) if and only if it is determined that the number of transactions in the sampling session is below the threshold and the time of the sampling session is less than the threshold amount of time, cause the client computing device to capture the quantitative instrumentation data.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the request for application data is a request for a web site that corresponds to an e-mail service.

16. A computer-readable data storage device comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:

receiving a request for a web page pertaining to an e-mail application from a client computing device;

generating the web page responsive to receipt of the request;

embedding instrumentation logic in the generated web page, wherein the instrumentation logic is configured to cause the client computing device to perform the following acts;

a. analyzing a cookie corresponding to the e-mail application;

b. based at least in part upon the analysis, causing the client computing device to capture instrumentation data, wherein the instrumentation data comprises information pertaining to load time of the web page, country of the client computing device, information identifying a web server that provides the web page, information identifying an operating system used by the client computing device, information identifying a browser used by the client computing device to view the web page, and data that indicates that the client computing device is operating in a cached session with an application server that hosts the email application.