Remote Agent Emulating Web Browser for Transaction Performance Metrics
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional web site testing and performance measurement tools lack the ability to provide detailed performance metrics for complex transactions involving multiple web pages, as they cannot parse JavaScript and do not fully emulate a web browser, leading to incomplete data on page and object performance.
Innovation Solution
A script-based agent that executes remotely and fully emulates a web browser to measure performance metrics for each web page and object within a transaction, including DNS lookups, object loading times, and user interactions, providing detailed performance data for entire transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional web site testing tools are used, then the measurement process is simple, but the measurement precision is insufficient because they cannot parse JavaScript and do not fully emulate a web browser
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of a web browser that replicates browser functionality to interact with web sites. This virtual browser copy parses JavaScript, manages cookies, and emulates user interactions, enabling accurate performance measurement without requiring actual browser software while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The testing tool introduces a virtual browser as an intermediary between the test script and the web site. This intermediary layer handles JavaScript parsing, cookie management, and protocol simulation, allowing the testing tool to obtain precise performance metrics while keeping the core testing mechanism relatively simple.
2Measurement precision
If detailed performance metrics for each page and object are collected, then the measurement precision improves, but the loss of time increases due to comprehensive data collection
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring the virtual browser with necessary cookies, authentication data, and transaction sequences before actual performance testing. This preparation enables the virtual browser to execute transactions efficiently, collecting detailed metrics without significant time penalty during the actual measurement phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual browser maintains continuous operation throughout the transaction sequence, keeping connection state and browser context active. This continuity eliminates repeated initialization overhead, allowing detailed performance metrics to be collected across multiple pages and objects without proportional time increases.
3Reliability
If the agent fully emulates a web browser including JavaScript parsing and cookie management, then the reliability of performance measurement improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The agent system is segmented into distinct functional modules: a virtual browser engine for JavaScript parsing, a cookie management module, a protocol handler for HTTP/HTTPS, and a performance metrics collector. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates maintenance while achieving reliable, comprehensive performance measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual browser is designed as a universal component that handles multiple functions: rendering HTML, parsing JavaScript, managing cookies, handling form submissions, and collecting performance metrics. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate tools into a single agent system, managing complexity while improving reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system provides an agent that executes remotely from a web site and can measure performance associated with the web site. The agent obtains a script containing at least one transaction to be performed with the web site. The transaction(s) define a sequence of page requests identifying web pages to obtain from the web site. The agent executes the script to perform the transaction with the web site. Performance of the transaction includes retrieving the sequence of web pages and identifying respective performance metrics including performance metrics associated with obtaining respective objects defined within each web page, and performance metrics associated with obtaining a complete version of each web page. The agent transmits the performance metrics associated with execution of the transaction defined by the script to a repository.