Replaying captured network interactions

• US 8,990,714 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2011
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acoustic, L.P.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wenig, Robert I., Saathoff, Kirk R., Gettier, Albert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US13/223,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20120084437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,301 Days
• Field of Search: 715763-765, 715740-744, 715851-853
• US Class Current: 715/763
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A user interface event monitor captures user interface events executed by a client during a network session. A network session monitor captures network data exchanged between the client and a web application during the network session. A replay device identifies control events in the network session that require execution before replaying associated user interface events. Replay of the user interface events are delayed by the replay device until the associated control events have been fully executed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying client events and control events for a network session;

replaying the client events and the control events for the network session;

monitoring the control events and client events during the replaying of the network session;

identifying the client events that cannot be successfully applied to the control events;

queuing the client events that cannot be successfully applied to the control events;

delaying execution of the queued client events until the control events are ready to process the queued client events; and

applying the queued client events to the control events when the control events are ready to process the queued client events.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying additional client events for the network session;

checking for remaining queued client events;

queuing the additional client events when the remaining queued client events are identified; and

applying the additional client events to the control events when no remaining queued client events are identified.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

applying the remaining queued client events to the control events; and

applying the queued additional client events to the control events after the remaining queued client events have been successfully applied to the control events.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

attempting to process a next one of the queued client events with the control events;

requeuing the next one of the queued client events when the next one of the queued client events cannot be processed by the control events.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reattempting to process a next one of the queued client events with the control events after a given time period;

requeuing the next one of the queued client events when the next one of the queued client events cannot be processed by the control events after the given time period; and

repeatedly attempting to process the next one of the queued client events with the control events after the given time period until the next one of the queued client events is successfully processed by the control events.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the client events that cannot be successfully applied to the control events comprises identifying the control events associated with the client events that do not yet exist.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the client events that cannot be successfully applied to the control events comprises identifying the control events associated with the client events that are not yet visible on a user interface.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the client events that cannot be successfully applied to the control events comprises:

identifying hierarchies of parent and child control events associated with the client events; and

identifying the parent control events that are not yet visible on a user interface.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the client events that cannot be successfully applied to the control events comprises:

identifying the control events that require associated data; and

identifying the control events where the associated data has not been loaded.

10. A method comprising:

assigning time stamps to control events and client events for a captured network session;

replaying the control events and the client events according to the assigned time stamps;

determining when attempts to apply the client events to the control events are unsuccessful;

assigning the client events to a queue when the attempts to apply the client events to the control events are unsuccessful;

waiting a predetermined time period, independent of the time stamps, when the attempts to apply the client events to the control events are unsuccessful;

determining after the predetermined time period if one or more of the client events assigned to the queue are successfully applied to the control events;

repeatedly waiting the predetermined time period when the one or more client events assigned to the queue cannot be successfully applied to the control events; and

repeatedly reapplying the one or more client events assigned to the queue to the control events until the one or more client events assigned to the queue are successfully applied to the control events.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

identifying web page timer commands in the control events or client events;

reducing or eliminating time values specified in the web page timer commands; and

replaying the control events or client events using the reduced or eliminated time values.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

identifying the client events and control events associated with a web page;

automatically replaying all of the client events and control events associated with the web page until a next web page request is identified; and

displaying the web page only after replaying the client events and control events associated with the web page.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

inserting a client event handler into the captured network session; and

using the client event handler to assign the client event to the queue and repeatedly reapply the client events assigned to the queue to the control events.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

logic circuitry configured to;

identify input events and display events for a captured network session;

assign time stamps to the input events and the display events;

replay the input events and the display events according to the time stamps;

assigning the input events to a queue when the display events associated with the input events have not completed replay execution;

delay applying the input events assigned to the queue to the associated display events during replay; and

resume replay of the input events and the display events in response to successful processing of the input events assigned to the queue by the associated display events.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the logic circuitry is further configured to:

periodically check whether the display events associated with an oldest one of the input events assigned to the queue has completed replay execution;

replay the oldest one of the input events assigned to the queue when the associated display events having been fully executed;

remove the oldest one input events assigned to the queue; and

repeatedly check whether the display events associated with a next oldest one of the input events assigned to the queue has completed replay execution before executing the next oldest one of the input events.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the logic circuitry is configured to wait until the display events are visible before replaying associated ones of the input events.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein:

the display events include a list of items that are displayed on a drop down menu;

the associated input events include a selection event configured to select from the list of items; and

the display events are determined not to have been completed replay execution when the time stamps indicate the selection event is a next one of the input events to replay but the list of items are not currently displayed on the drop down menu.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the logic circuitry is further configured to:

identify timer commands in the input events or display events;

reduce or remove time values specified in the timer commands; and

replay the input events and display events using the reduced or removed time values.

19. A computer-readable memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

identifying control events and user interface events in a captured network session;

assigning timestamps to the control events and user interface events;

replaying the control events and the user interface events in an assigned order according to the timestamps;

identifying one of the user interface events not ready to be processed by an associated one of the control events;

assigning the identified one of the user interface events to a queue;

serially replaying the identified one of the user interface events from the queue after the associated one of the control events has completed execution;

delaying replay of the user interface events and control events until the identified one of the user interface events is successfully processed by the associated one of the control events; and

resuming replay of the user interface events and control events in response to the identified one of the user interface events being successfully processed by the associated one of the control events.

20. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19 wherein the user interface events comprise inputs entered by a client during a network session.

21. The computer-readable memory device of claim 20 wherein the control events comprise information displayed on a web page configured to be selected by the inputs.

22. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19 wherein at least some of the control events comprise a list of items configured to be displayed on a menu and at least some of the user interface events are configured to select the items displayed on the menu.