System for quickly collecting operational data for internet destinations

• US 20020059169A1
• Filed: 04/13/2001
• Published: 05/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matrix It Systems Limited (Airdri Limited)
• Original Assignee: Matrix It Systems Limited (Airdri Limited)
• Inventors: Murphy, Paul, Quarterman, John S.
• Application Number:
  US09/834,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059169A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5012 determining service availability, e.g. which services are available at a certain point in time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168

Abstract

A system and method for collecting operational data is defined. An input list is provided. While there are more destinations left in the input list, the next specification is read, that ping is performed while its performance is timed (described in more detail below), and, the measurements are written to a data log. The logic of the measurement for a given destination and a set of global defaults is performed by the steps of: parsing the specification into its constituent parts; setting up the transaction request message; creating a TCP/IP socket and setting up input/output access to it; sending a “ping” to the destination; noting the timestamp for that ping transmission; waiting for a reply from the ping; noting the timestamp for that reply when it arrives; and calculating the time taken from transmit to reply. The socket and server connection can then be closed.

Claims

1. A method of quickly collecting operational data for internet destinations comprising:

parsing a specification into its constituent parts;

setting up a transaction request message;

creating a TCP/IP socket;

setting up input/output access to the TCP/IP socket;

transmitting a ping to a destination;

recording a first timestamp for that ping transmission;

waiting for a reply from the ping;

noting a second timestamp for that reply when the reply arrives; and

calculating the time taken from transmit to reply.