Patent ID: 8185619
Filing Date: 2012-05-22
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for providing analytics for a plurality of devices in a predetermined customer computer network via a public wide area network interface using an agentless architecture, the method comprising: providing a customer agentless software data collector within the customer computer network; the customer agentless software data collector collecting analytics data from the plurality of devices using a data collection process and a flow collection process, wherein the plurality of devices are not executing data collection agents, and wherein the data collection process is independent from the flow collection process in that the data collection process includes installation routines distinct from installation routines of the flow collection process; the customer agentless software data collector sending the analytics data to a remote data center on a public wide area network; the remote data center receiving a request for analytics data for one or more of the plurality of devices from a public wide area network interface; displaying analytics data for one or more of the plurality of devices in response to the request; communicating one or more remote procedure calls between the public wide area network interface and the customer agentless software data collector, the public wide area network interface being a web browser; the customer agentless software data collector actively polling analytics data from the plurality of devices at predetermined time intervals; the customer agentless software data collector obtaining, in response to said actively polling analytics data, two or more first device metrics from a first one of the plurality of devices and two or more second device metrics from a second one of the plurality of devices, the two or more first device metrics being different than the two or more second device metrics; creating a definition of a new, composite metric using an application programming interface (API), wherein the new, composite metric does not natively exist on one or more of the plurality of devices; the customer agentless software data collector accessing the definition of the new, composite metric; the customer agentless software data collector calculating the new, composite metric from the two or more first device metrics and the two or more second device metrics; and displaying a comparison of the first one of the plurality of devices and the second one of the plurality of devices as to the new, composite metric.