Method and apparatus for estimating a local performance index to measure the performance contribution of a single server in a multi-tiered environment
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for obtaining a local performance measure for a particular server in a particular tier in a transaction environment in which transactions pass through multiple tiers with multiple servers at each tier. The contribution from the particular server to the total end-to-end response time for a set of transactions is scaled by the ratio of transactions passing through the particular tier to transactions passing through the particular server to obtain a scaled contribution from the particular tier. This is added to the contribution from outside the particular tier to obtain a modified total end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server. The modified total end-to-end response time is divided by the number of transactions in the set to obtain a modified average end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server, which is used to control allocation of resources to the server.
1. A method for obtaining a local performance measure for a particular server in a particular tier in a transaction environment in which transactions pass through multiple tiers with multiple servers at each tier, comprising the steps of:
obtaining a total end-to-end response time for a set of transactions;
obtaining a contribution from the particular server, a contribution from the particular tier, and a contribution from outside the particular tier to the total end-to-end response time;
scaling the contribution from the particular server by a ratio of transactions passing through the particular tier to transactions passing through the particular server to obtain a scaled contribution from the particular tier;
adding the scaled contribution from the particular tier to the contribution from outside the particular tier to obtain a modified total end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:
dividing the modified total end-to-end response time by the number of transactions in the set to obtain as the local performance measure a modified average end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of:
using the obtained local performance measure to control allocation of resources to the particular server.
4. The method of claim 3 , the step of using the obtained local performance measure to control allocation of resources to the particular server comprising the step of:
determining a net change in the local performance measure resulting from an allocation of resources to or from the particular server.
5. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable program of instructions on a computer-usable storage medium for implementing a method comprising the steps of claim 1 .
6. The computer program product of claim 5 , the method further comprising the step of:
dividing the modified total end-to-end response time by the number of transactions in the set to obtain as the local performance measure a modified average end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server.
7. The computer program product of claim 6 , the method further comprising the step of:
using the obtained local performance measure to control allocation of resources to the particular server.
8. The computer program product of claim 7 , the step of using the obtained local performance measure to control allocation of resources to the particular server comprising the step of:
determining a net change in the local performance measure resulting from an allocation of resources to or from the particular server.
9. Apparatus for obtaining a local performance measure for a particular server in a particular tier in a transaction environment in which transactions pass through multiple tiers with multiple servers at each tier, comprising:
means for obtaining a total end-to-end response time for a set of transactions, said total having a contribution from the particular server and a contribution from outside the particular tier;
means for obtaining a contribution from the particular server, a contribution from the particular tier, and a contribution from outside the particular tier to the total end-to-end response time;
means for scaling the contribution from the particular server by a ratio of transactions passing through the particular tier to transactions passing through the particular server to obtain a scaled contribution from the particular tier;
means for adding the scaled contribution from the particular tier to the contribution from outside the particular tier to obtain a modified total end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising:
means for dividing the modified total end-to-end response time by the number of transactions in the set to obtain as the local performance measure a modified average end-to-end response time from the perspective of the particular server.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:
means for using the obtained local performance measure to control allocation of resources to the particular server.
12. The apparatus of claim 9 , the means for using the obtained local performance measure to control allocation of resources to the particular server comprising:
means for determining a net change in the local performance measure resulting from an allocation of resources to or from the particular server.