Patent ID: 7991876
Filing Date: 2011-08-02
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A system comprising: a monitoring management server to determine monitoring parameters for each of one or more monitoring clients, the monitoring parameters specifying at least when a monitoring client is to begin a monitoring session with a monitoring target server and when the monitoring client is to end the monitoring session with the monitoring target server, the monitoring target server having the predetermined maximum number of monitoring sessions that can performed between the one or more monitoring clients and the monitoring target server in each of a plurality of time periods; and, the one or more monitoring clients, each monitoring client to receive monitoring parameters from the monitoring management server in response to a request initiated by the monitoring client, to initiate a monitoring session with the monitoring target server in accordance with the monitoring parameters, and to report results of the monitoring session to the monitoring management server upon the monitoring session ending, wherein each of the monitoring management server, the monitoring target server, and the one or more monitoring clients is a computing device connected to one another over a network, wherein the monitoring session initiated between each monitoring client and the monitoring target server results in communication of data between the monitoring client and the monitoring target server, where the communication of data is measured for one or more of latency and throughput, where the one or more of latency and throughput are the results of the monitoring session, wherein each monitoring client is to initiate the monitoring session directly with the monitoring target server, instead of initiating the monitoring session through the monitoring management server, wherein the monitoring target server has no software installed thereon related to monitoring management functionality performed by the monitoring management server, wherein the monitoring target server is unaware of the monitoring management server and is unaware that the monitoring management server is instructing the one or more monitoring clients when and for how long to establish monitoring sessions with the monitoring target server, whereas the monitoring management server is aware of the monitoring target server, wherein a given monitoring client of the one or more monitoring clients is to send a first local time of the given monitoring client to the monitoring management server, the first local time being equal to a first absolute time plus a first lag between the first local time and the first absolute time, the first absolute time being a first value of an absolute time just before the given monitoring client sends the first local time to the monitoring management server; wherein in response to the given monitoring client sending the first local time to the monitoring management server, wherein in response to the given monitoring client receiving the given time from the monitoring management server, the given monitoring client is to start monitoring at the first lag plus the given time, the first lag plus the given time being equal to the absolute time plus the second lag plus a difference between the second value of the absolute time and the first value of the absolute time, and wherein the communication of data between the monitoring client and the monitoring target server comprises one or more of: first communication of data from the monitoring client and the monitoring target server and second communication of data from the monitoring target server to the monitoring client.