System and method for monitoring performance of a server system using otherwise unused processing capacity of user computing devices

Abstract

A monitoring system provides a service for users to monitor their respective Web sites, or other server systems, as seen from the computing devices of other users. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes an agent component that runs on the computing devices of service users to provide functionality for accessing and monitoring the performance of a server (preferably when such devices are otherwise idle). By running the agent component on a computer, a user effectively makes that computer available to others for use as a monitoring agent. Processing resources for conducting monitoring sessions are thus contributed and shared by members of a community. The agents are remotely configurable over the Internet, and may be configured, for example, to execute a particular Web transaction while monitoring specified performance parameters (server response times, network hop delays, server availability, etc). Using a service provider Web site, a user of the service can set up a monitoring session in which agent devices of other community members are used to monitor the performance of the user's server system. In one embodiment, the system implements a reciprocity policy in which the extent to which a user may use the service for monitoring is dependent upon the quantity of processing resources (e.g., transaction execution events) that user has contributed to the community. Performance data collected by the agents may be used both to generate server-specific reports and general Internet “weather maps.”