Processing transaction timestamps

• US 10,157,117 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2009
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Clementi, Ashley Neil, Heler, Jean-Jacques, Klein, Paul Fredric
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem, Michael P
• Application Number:
  US12/576,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087458A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,358 Days
• Field of Search: 702176, 702187
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/835 Timestamp
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions

Abstract

A first measurement point is received from a first monitoring agent. The first measurement point includes a first timestamp and a first transaction attribute. The first timestamp is stored. A second measurement point is received from a second monitoring agent. The second measurement point includes a second timestamp and a second transaction attribute. The second timestamp is stored.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of timing a transaction, the method comprising:

monitoring the transaction by a first monitoring agent;

receiving a first measurement point from the first monitoring agent, wherein the first measurement point includes a first timestamp and a first transaction attribute;

storing the first timestamp in a persistent storage medium;

monitoring the transaction by a second monitoring agent;

receiving a second measurement point from the second monitoring agent, wherein the second measurement point includes a second timestamp and a second transaction attribute, and wherein the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent both have visibility in a first environment and a third monitoring agent has visibility in a second environment, and wherein the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent do not have visibility in the second environment and the third monitoring agent does not have visibility in the first environment;

storing the second timestamp in the persistent storage medium;

associating the first and second measurement points in a vertical integration;

determining, by a computer, a length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point by using the first timestamp and the second time stamp;

monitoring the transaction by the third monitoring agent;

receiving a third measurement point from the third monitoring agent, wherein the third measurement point includes a third timestamp and a third transaction attribute; and

associating the second and third measurement points in a horizontal integration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first environment is a first application environment comprising a first set of protocols and services to host execution of the transaction and the second environment is a second application environment comprising a second set of protocols and services to host execution of the transaction, and wherein the transaction is a computer transaction fulfilled by one or more servers in response to a request by a client, the method further comprising:

displaying the length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

retaining the first timestamp and the second timestamp in the persistent storage medium subsequent to determining the length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first measurement point is a START point of the local transaction and the second measurement point is an END point of the local transaction, and wherein the local transaction is subtransaction of the transaction, and further comprising:

determining a response time of the local transaction.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

displaying the response time.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

retaining the first timestamp and the second timestamp in the persistent storage medium subsequent to determining the response time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the transaction is currently processing in the application first environment identified by the second measurement point.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining where the transaction has flown, using the first measurement point and the second measurement point.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first measurement point is a first HERE point of a first local transaction, wherein the second measurement point is a second HERE point of a second local transaction, wherein the first and second local transactions are subtransactions of the transaction, and wherein the first and second HERE points are used to associate the first and second local transactions.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first measurement point and the second measurement point are in redundant views of said first environment.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first measurement point and the second measurement point are both from a local transaction processing in the first environment.

12. A computer program product stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising functional descriptive material that, upon being executed by an information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform actions for timing a transaction comprising:

monitoring the transaction by a first monitoring agent;

receiving a first measurement point from the first monitoring agent, wherein the first measurement point includes a first timestamp and a first transaction attribute;

storing the first timestamp;

monitoring the transaction by a second monitoring agent;

receiving a second measurement point from the second monitoring agent, wherein the second measurement point includes a second timestamp and a second transaction attribute;

storing the second timestamp, wherein the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent both have visibility in a first environment and a third monitoring agent has visibility in a second environment, and wherein the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent do not have visibility in the second environment and the third monitoring agent does not have visibility in the first environment;

associating the first and second measurement points in a vertical integration;

determining a length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point by using the first timestamp and the second time stamp;

monitoring the transaction by the third monitoring agent;

receiving a third measurement point from the third monitoring agent, wherein the third measurement point includes a third timestamp and a third transaction attribute; and

associating the second and third measurement points in a horizontal integration.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the first environment is a first application environment comprising a first set of protocols and services to host execution of the transaction and the second environment is a second application environment comprising a second set of protocols and services to host execution of the transaction, and wherein the transaction is a computer transaction fulfilled by one or more servers in response to a request by a client, wherein the actions further comprise:

displaying the length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the actions further comprise:

retaining the first timestamp and the second timestamp in a persistent storage medium subsequent to determining the length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the first measurement point is a START point of the local transaction and the second measurement point is an END point of the local transaction, and wherein the local transaction is subtransaction of the transaction, and further comprising:

determining a response time of the local transaction.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the first measurement point and the second measurement point are in redundant views of said first environment.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the first measurement point and the second measurement point are both from a local transaction processing in the first environment.

18. An information handling system configured for timing a transaction, the 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;

monitoring the transaction by a first monitoring agent;

receiving a first measurement point from the first monitoring agent, wherein the first measurement point includes a first timestamp and a first transaction attribute;

storing the first timestamp;

monitoring the transaction by a second monitoring agent;

receiving a second measurement point from the second monitoring agent, wherein the second measurement point includes a second timestamp and a second transaction attribute, wherein the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent both have visibility in a first environment and a third monitoring agent has visibility in a second environment, and wherein the first monitoring agent and the second monitoring agent do not have visibility in the second environment and the third monitoring agent does not have visibility in the first environment; and

storing the second timestamp;

associating the first and second measurement points in a vertical integration;

determining a length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point by using the first timestamp and the second time stamp;

monitoring the transaction by the third monitoring agent;

receiving a third measurement point from the third monitoring agent, wherein the third measurement point includes a third timestamp and a third transaction attribute; and

associating the second and third measurement points in a horizontal integration.

19. The information handling system of claim 18, wherein the first environment is a first application environment comprising a first set of protocols and services to host execution of the transaction and the second environment is a second application environment comprising a second set of protocols and services to host execution of the transaction, and wherein the transaction is a computer transaction fulfilled by one or more servers in response to a request by a client, wherein the actions further comprise:

a display device configure to display the length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point, said display device being further configured to display a response time.

20. The information handling system of claim 19, wherein the actions further comprise:

retaining the first timestamp and the second timestamp in a persistent storage medium subsequent to determining the length of time the transaction took to flow from the first measurement point to the second measurement point.

21. The information handling system of claim 18, wherein the first measurement point is a START point of the local transaction and the second measurement point is an END point of the local transaction, wherein the local transaction is subtransaction of the transaction, and wherein the actions further comprise:

determining a response time of the local transaction.

22. The information handling system of claim 18, wherein the first measurement point and the second measurement point are in redundant views of said first environment.

23. The information handling system of claim 18, wherein the first measurement point and the second measurement point are both from a local transaction processing in the first environment.