Modeling and testing of interactions between components of a software system

• US 9,235,490 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dahan, Jean-David
• Primary Examiner(s): Mitchell, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOORAY, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US13/244,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/223, 717/104, 717/124, 717/155, 717/171, 717/120, 717/127, 717/128, 717/131, 370/252
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3003 Monitoring arrangements specially adapted to the computing system or computing system component being monitored
• 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 11/3093 Configuration details thereof, e.g. installation, enabling, spatial arrangement of the probes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/32 with visual or acoustical indication of the functioning of the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3447 Performance evaluation by modeling
• 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 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3672 Test management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3692 for test results analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet

Abstract

An agent interfacing with a first software component identifies a first network connection between the first software component and a second software component. An amount of data exchanged between the first and second software components over the first network connection is determined. A particular fragment indicator is generated based on the amount of data. The particular fragment indicator is sent to an instrumentation broker for use in the identification of a particular transaction fragment. 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:

using a first agent interfacing with a first software component to identify a first network connection between the first software component and a second software component;

determining an amount of data exchanged between the first and second software components over the first network connection, wherein the data corresponds to a transaction involving the first software component and second software component, the transaction comprising a plurality of transaction fragments;

generating a particular fragment indicator that includes an indication of the amount of data and an indication of whether the data is inbound or outbound relative to the first software component, wherein a complimentary fragment indicator is generated corresponding to a second software component and the complimentary fragment indicator includes an indication of the amount of data as received by the second software component from the first software component; and

sending the particular fragment indicator to an instrumentation broker for use in the identification of a particular one of the plurality of transaction fragments involving the first and second software components based at least in part on a correspondence between the amount of data indicated by both the particular fragment indicator and the complimentary fragment indicator corresponding to the second software component.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first software component sends the exchanged data to the second software component, and the particular fragment indicator identifies the amount of data as outbound relative to the first software component.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first software component receives the exchanged data, and the fragment indicator identifies the amount of data as inbound data relative to the first software component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network connection is identifiable from the particular fragment indicator.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending information to the instrumentation broker identifying the first network connection.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the information is adapted for use in identifying that the first agent operates in connection with the first network connection.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the information is sent before sending the particular fragment indicator.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network connection is identified as corresponding to a particular software process executed by the first software component and identified from a plurality of network connections involving the first software component.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the particular software process includes a particular execution thread and the first network connection is identified as corresponding to the particular operation based at least in part on an identification that the first network connection was initiated within the particular execution thread.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the particular software process includes at least one particular execution thread that launches at least one child execution thread, the method further comprising:

identifying, using the first agent, the launching of the at least one child execution thread by the particular execution thread;

identifying that the particular execution thread is a parent of the child execution thread;

generating transaction fragment data corresponding to transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread; and

associating the transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread with the particular transaction fragment.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the associating includes defining a relationship between the transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread with the particular transaction fragment based on the parent-child relationship of the particular execution thread to the child execution thread.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the relationship between the transaction fragments is defined by a transaction tree and at least one of the transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread is represented as a branch of a transaction tree node representing the particular transaction fragment.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising sending the generated transaction fragment data corresponding to transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread to the instrumentation broker.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining whether transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread are relevant to a particular transaction including the particular transaction fragment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining whether transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread are relevant to the particular transaction includes previewing the particular software process by the first agent.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein determining whether transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread are relevant to the particular transaction includes determining whether the parent execution thread is at least partially dependent on data returned by the child execution thread, wherein child execution threads providing data upon which the corresponding parent execution thread is at least partially dependent are determined to be relevant to the particular transaction.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the amount of data exchanged between the first and second software components includes counting, at the first software component, the number of bytes exchanged over the first network connection.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using the first agent interfacing with the first software component to identify a second network connection between the first software component and another software component;

determining a second amount of data exchanged between the first software component and the other software component over the first network connection;

generating a second fragment indicator based on the second amount of data; and

sending the particular fragment indicator to the instrumentation broker for use in the identification of a second transaction fragment different from the particular transaction fragment.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

intercepting data of the transaction to be transmitted from the first software component to the second software component using the first agent;

analyzing the data of the transaction; and

passing the data, unmodified, to 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:

Using a first agent interfacing with a first software component to identify a first network connection between the first software component and a second software component;

determining an amount of data exchanged between the first and second software components over the first network connection, wherein the data corresponds to a transaction involving the first software component and second software component, the transaction comprising a plurality of transaction fragments;

generating a particular fragment indicator that includes an indication of the amount of data and an indication of whether the data is inbound or outbound relative to the first software component, wherein a complimentary fragment indicator is generated corresponding to a second software component and the complimentary fragment indicator includes an indication of the amount of data as received by the second software component from the first software component; and

sending the particular fragment indicator to a instrumentation broker for use in the identification of a particular one of the plurality of transaction fragments involving the first and second software components based at least in part on a correspondence between the amount of data indicated by both the particular fragment indicator and the complimentary fragment indicator corresponding to the second software component.

21. A system comprising:

a memory element storing data;

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

an instrumentation agent configured to;

identify a first network connection between a first software component and a second software component;

determine an amount of data exchanged between the first and second software components over the first network connection, wherein the data corresponds to a transaction involving the first software component and second software component, the transaction comprising a plurality of transaction fragments;

intercept data of the transaction to be transmitted from the first software component to the second software component;

analyze the data of the transaction;

pass the data, unmodified, to the second software component;

generate particular fragment indicator based on the amount of data and an indication of whether the data is inbound or outbound relative to the first software component, wherein a complimentary fragment indicator is generated corresponding to a second software component and the complimentary fragment indicator includes an indication of the amount of data as received by the second software component from the first software component; and

send the particular fragment indicator to a instrumentation broker for use in the identification of a particular one of the plurality of transaction fragments involving the first and second software components based at least in part on a correspondence between the amount of data indicated by both the particular fragment indicator and the complimentary fragment indicator corresponding to the second component;

wherein the instrumentation agent monitors the first software component.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the instrumentation agent is further configured to:

identify the launching of at least one child execution thread by a particular execution thread performed by the first software component;

identify that the particular execution thread is a parent of the child execution thread;

generate transaction fragment data corresponding to transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread; and

associate the transaction fragments performed through the child execution thread with the particular transaction fragment.