A method for monitoring communication along a path including an initiator computer and one or more responder computers, comprising: at an initiator computer : sending instructions to initiate at a first responder computer a monitoring session for monitoring communications along a communication path , wherein initiating the monitoring session includes creating and storing monitoring session state data; sending , to a first responder computer of the communication path , a first request to initiate, on the first responder computer , a first state servlet that is configured to monitor continuously during the monitoring session, between the initiator computer and the first responder computer , one or more characteristics of one or more processes that the first responder computer may perform; sending , to the first responder computer , monitoring instructions to cause the first state servlet to monitor the one or more characteristics of the one or more processes, the monitoring instructions comprising session completion operations; while the monitoring session is active and the first responder computer is in the communication path, receiving and collecting monitored information from the first responder computer ; the method further comprising that the first state servlet is configured to, in response to determining that the first responder computer is no longer in the communication path or that the monitoring session has become inactive, perform the session completion operations comprising automatically and autonomously ending the monitoring session, and delete the monitoring session state data without receiving further instructions from the initiator computer . sending instructions to initiate at a first responder computer a monitoring session for monitoring communications along a communication path , wherein initiating the monitoring session includes creating and storing monitoring session state data; sending , to a first responder computer of the communication path , a first request to initiate, on the first responder computer , a first state servlet that is configured to monitor continuously during the monitoring session, between the initiator computer and the first responder computer , one or more characteristics of one or more processes that the first responder computer may perform; sending , to the first responder computer , monitoring instructions to cause the first state servlet to monitor the one or more characteristics of the one or more processes, the monitoring instructions comprising session completion operations; while the monitoring session is active and the first responder computer is in the communication path, receiving and collecting monitored information from the first responder computer ; the method further comprising that the first state servlet is configured to, in response to determining that the first responder computer is no longer in the communication path or that the monitoring session has become inactive, perform the session completion operations comprising automatically and autonomously ending the monitoring session, and delete the monitoring session state data without receiving further instructions from the initiator computer . <EOS>