System and method to measure latency of transaction information flowing through a computer system
View Patent ↗An application program interface (API) for use in monitoring a computer application executed on a computer system. The API includes software code added to the computer application for assigning a single general reference to characteristic transactional information associated with a transaction to be executed by the computer application. The API further includes an agent for marking the time at which the software code is executed and tagging that time with the characteristic transactional information as the characteristic transactional information is being currently processed by the computer application. The API and its method of operation provide precise measurement of the latency of information flowing through the computer system while being uncomplicated in design and implementation, minimally invasive, and highly scalable.
1. A computer system performance monitoring system having a computer readable medium comprising:
an application program interface for monitoring a computer application executed on computer system, said application program interface comprising:
software code added to said computer application for assigning, without predefining events describing potential stages of a transaction to be executed by said computer application, a single general reference to characteristic transactional information associated with a transaction to be executed by said computer application in order to identify transaction events performed by said computer application;
an agent for marking a time at which said software code is executed and tagging that time with said characteristic transactional information as said characteristic transactional information is being currently processed by the computer application;
an aggregator for calculating computer application latency data from raw timing data produced by said agent;
a database for storing said raw computer application timing data and said latency data.
2. The computer system performance monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a graphical user interface for enabling a user to retrieve said latency data from said database.
3. The computer system performance monitoring system of claim 2 wherein said graphical user interface includes means for charting latency of a computer system over a selected time frame.
4. The computer system performance monitoring system of claim 1 wherein said aggregator calculates latency of transactional information passed between components of said computer system according to the formula:
(
T
1
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U
Cy
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T
1
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V
Cx
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+
(
T
2
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T
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…
+
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T
m
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1
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m
where:
m=an unspecified number of transaction events, T 1 , T 2 , . . . , T m−1 , T m ;
T′ 1 , T′ 2 , . . . , T′ m−1 , T′ m =transactional information pertaining to transaction events, T 1 , T 2 , . . . , T m−1 , T m ;
U Cy =start time for a transaction event at one component of said computer system; and
V Cx =end time for a transaction event at another component of said computer system.