Granted Patent B2

US 12,363,020 · App. 17/715,704 · Granted Jul 15, 2025

Inventors: Paul Barrett (Westford, MA); Bruce Kosbab (Colorado Springs, CO); Anil Singhal (Carlisle, MA); Robert Vogt (Colorado Springs, CO)

Assignee: NetScout Systems, Inc.

H04L43/55

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. A method to monitor performance of services, the method comprising:

initiating, by a synthetic transaction generator executed by one or more processors of a first device, a packet capture application for a test of a service provided over a network, the test of the service to occur while one or more second devices communicate with the service;

transmitting, by the synthetic transaction generator, responsive to initiating the packet capture application, one or more data packets that represent synthetic transactions, wherein the one or more data packets are encrypted by the synthetic transaction generator using key material such that the one or more data packets include first metadata to ( 1 ) identify the synthetic transaction generator and ( 2 ) indicate the test of the service;

identifying, by the synthetic transaction generator, the one or more data packets from a plurality of data packets transmitted across the network, the one or more data packets identified responsive to detecting the first metadata;

storing, by the synthetic transaction generator, responsive to identifying the one or more data packets, the one or more data packets in a packet capture trace file, the packet capture trace file including (i) time stamps corresponding to receipt of the one or more data packets, (ii) an identifier of the synthetic transaction generator, and (iii) second metadata to indicate the key material used to encrypt the one or more data packets;

terminating, by the synthetic transaction generator, the packet capture application responsive to completion of the test of the service; and

transmitting, by the synthetic transaction generator responsive to terminating the packet capture application, the packet capture trace file to a data processing system to cause the data processing system to use the packet capture trace file to determine a performance of the service.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

filtering, by the synthetic transaction generator, one or more second data packets of the plurality of data packets to prevent storage of the one or more second data packets in the packet capture trace file that do not correspond to the test of the service.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

launching, by the first device comprising the one or more processors, a virtual machine;

and executing, by the virtual machine, the synthetic transaction generator.

4. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

establishing, by the first device comprising the one or more processors, a container on an operating system of the first device, the operating system configured to run a plurality of client applications outside the container, wherein the container comprises code to execute the synthetic transaction generator in a standalone format; and

executing, by the first device, the synthetic transaction generator in the container.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

storing, by the synthetic transaction generator, each of the one or more data packets with information about an Internet Service Provider associated with the one or more processors, a location of the one or more processors, and the identifier of the synthetic transaction generator.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

prior to initiation of the test of the service, clearing, by the synthetic transaction generator, a log file of a proxy application used to conduct the test; and

updating, by the synthetic transaction generator, the log file with key information.

7. The method of claim 6 , comprising:

transmitting, by the synthetic transaction generator to the data processing system responsive to completion of the test of the service, the packet capture trace file with the log file, and the identifier of the synthetic transaction generator.

8. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

decrypting, by the data processing system, the packet capture trace file using the key information stored in the log file to generate a second packet capture file comprising decrypted packets; and

playing, by the data processing system, the decrypted packets of the second packet capture file.

9. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

modifying, by the data processing system, an internet protocol (“IP”) address of each of the one or more data packets stored in the packet capture trace file based on an IP address of an Internet Service Provider of the first device; and

playing, by the data processing system, the one or more data packets of the packet capture trace file having the modified IP address.

10. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

playing, by the data processing system, the packet capture trace file in real-time by maintaining time intervals between data packets of the one or more data packets of the packet capture trace file.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the service is hosted by a service provider system that is different and remote from the data processing system and the one or more processors.

12. A system to replay synthetic transactions to manage performance of services, comprising:

one or more processors and memory; and

a synthetic transaction generator executed by the one or more processors to:

initiate a packet capture application for a test of a service provided over a network, the test of the service to occur while one or more devices communicate with the service;

transmit, responsive to initiation of the packet capture application, one or more data packets that represent the synthetic transactions, wherein the one or more data packets are encrypted by the synthetic transaction generator using key material such that the one or more data packets include first metadata to (1) identify the synthetic transaction generator and (2) indicate the test of the service;

identify the one or more data packets from a plurality of data packets transmitted across the network, the one or more data packets identified responsive to detection of the first metadata;

store, responsive to identification of the one or more data packets, the one or more data packets in a packet capture trace file, the packet capture trace file including (i) time stamps corresponding to receipt of the one or more data packets, (ii) an identifier of the synthetic transaction generator, and (iii) second metadata to indicate the key material used to encrypt the one or more data packets;

terminate the packet capture application responsive to completion of the test of the service; and

transmit, responsive to termination of the packet capture application, the packet capture trace file to a data processing system to cause the data processing system to use the packet capture trace file to determine a performance of the service.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the synthetic transaction generator is further configured to:

filter one or more second data packets of the plurality of data packets to prevent storage of the one or more data packets in the packet capture trace file that do not correspond to the test of the service provided through the network.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the synthetic transaction generator is further configured to:

store each of the one or more data packets with information about an Internet Service Provider associated with the one or more processors, a location of the one or more processors, and the identifier of the synthetic transaction generator.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the synthetic transaction generator is further configured to:

clear, prior to initiation of the test of the service, a log file of a test application; and

update the log file with key information.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the synthetic transaction generator is further configured to:

transmit, to the data processing system responsive to completion of the test of the service, the packet capture trace file with the log file, and the identifier of the synthetic transaction generator.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (27)