Modeling and testing of interactions between components of a software system

• US 8,984,490 B1
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Interactive TKO, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dahan, Jean-David
• Primary Examiner(s): Bullock, Jr., Lewis A
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOORAY, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US13/244,029
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 717/104, 717/124, 717/155, 717/171
• US Class Current: 717/127
• 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 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3608 using formal methods, e.g. model checking, abstract interpretation theorem proving G06N5/013
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/00 Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received correcting synchronisation H04L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A first network connection is identified between a first software component and a second software component. First data is received from the first software component identifying an amount of data sent over the first network connection. Second data is also received, from the second software component, that identifies the amount of data sent over the first network connection. Further, a particular transaction fragment involving the first and second software components over the first network connection is determined from the received first and second data. In some aspects, the particular transaction fragment can be used in the analysis of a transaction including the particular transaction fragment.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a first network connection between a first software component and a second software component, wherein at least one request is sent by the first software component to the second software component over the first network connection and at least one response is sent from the second software component to the first software component over the first network connection;

receiving first data from a first agent corresponding to the first software component, the first data identifying an amount of data sent by the first software component over the first network connection;

receiving second data from a second agent corresponding to the second software component, the second data identifying an amount of data received over the first network connection by the second software component;

identifying a correlation between the amount of data sent and the amount of data received are substantially equal; and

determining, from the correlation, that the first data and the second data each describe a particular transaction fragment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second data include an identification of the first network connection.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identification of the first network connection included in the first and second data includes a respective port identifier corresponding to each of the first and second software components and a respective IP address of each of the first and second software components.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination that the first and second data each describe a particular transaction fragment is further based at least in part on identification of the first network connection in each of the first and second data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data indicates that data sent over the first network connection was outbound relative to the first software component and the second data indicates that the data sent over the first network connection was inbound relative the second software component.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a second network connection between the second software component and a third software component;

receiving third data from the second software component identifying an amount of data sent over the second network connection by the second software component;

receiving fourth data from the third software component identifying an amount of data received over the second network connection by the third software component;

identifying a second correlation between the amount of data sent over the second network connection and the amount of data received over the second network connection are substantially equal; and

determining, from the second correlation, that the first data and the second data each describe a second transaction fragment.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

identifying an association between the second data and the third data; and

determining that the first and second transaction fragments are fragments in a common transaction.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second and third data are received together from the second software component.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising using the second and third data to determine an order of the first and second transaction fragments within the common transaction.

10. The method of claim 1, generating at least a portion of a transaction tree identifying the first transaction fragment as included within a particular transaction.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving sub-tree data from the first software component describing one or more additional transaction fragments identified by an agent corresponding to the first software component.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the particular transaction fragment corresponds to a first thread executed at the first software component, and the one or more additional transaction fragments correspond to at least one other thread initiated through the execution of the first thread.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the transaction fragments includes:

identifying agents corresponding to software components involved in identified network connections; and

monitoring the identified agents for data describing amounts of data exchanged over the corresponding network connections.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

identifying a second network connection;

receiving third data from a first agent interfacing with the first software component, the third data identifying a particular amount of data exchanged over the second network connection;

concluding that no other data, relating to the second network connection, will be received from agents corresponding to software components participating in the second network connection; and

determining a second transaction fragment involving the first software component from the received third data.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying, from the third data, that the data exchanged over the second network connection is outbound relative to the first software component; and

determining that the first software component is a root node in a transaction tree including at least the second transaction fragment.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying, from the third data, that the data exchanged over the second network connection is inbound relative to the first software component; and

determining that the first software component is a leaf node in a transaction tree including at least the second transaction fragment.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining an unidentified software component participating in the second network connection, wherein the unidentified software component does not have a corresponding agent.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network connection is a TCP connection.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data is generated by a first agent interfacing with the first software component and the second data is generated by a second agent interfacing with the second software component.

20. An article comprising non-transitory, machine-readable media storing instructions operable to cause at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying a first network connection between a first software component and a second software component, wherein at least one request is sent by the first software component to the second software component over the first network connection and at least one response is sent from the second software component to the first software component over the first network connection;

receiving first data from a first agent corresponding to the first software component, the first data identifying an amount of data sent by the first software component over the first network connection;

receiving second data from a second agent corresponding to the second software component, the second data identifying an amount of data received over the first network connection by the second software component;

identifying a correlation between the amount of data sent and the amount of data received are substantially equal; and

determining, from the correlation, that the first data and the second data each describe a particular transaction fragment.

21. A system comprising:

a memory element storing data;

a processor operable to execute instructions associated with the stored data;

an instrumentation broker configured to;

identify a first network connection between a first software component and a second software component, wherein at least one request is sent by the first software component to the second software component over the first network connection and at least one response is sent from the second software component to the first software component over the first network connection;

receive first data from a first agent corresponding to the first software component, the first data identifying an amount of data sent by the first software component over the first network connection;

receive second data from a second agent corresponding to the second software component, the second data identifying an amount of data received over the first network connection by the second software component;

identify a correlation between the amount of data sent and the amount of data received are substantially equal; and

determine, from the correlation, that the first data and the second data each describe a particular transaction fragment.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

a model generator configured to generate a model of a particular transaction including the particular transaction fragment, the model adapted for display on a computing device and including a representation of the particular transaction fragment.