1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer networks and more particularly to methods and apparatus for monitoring network connections in distributed networks such as the internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer networks are becoming vastly complex. The average user is frustrated with increased performance problems, and not being able to determine the cause of such performance problems leaving the user to rely on finger pointing by the various vendors and others involved in the network communication. For example, if your web browser does not respond with the web page you requested for several minutes, is the problem with your computer? your local area network? your internet service provider? the internet backbone? The server you are trying to access?
Traditionally, Internet performance has been monitored largely by those who provision the Internet--the Internet Service Providers and the operators of the Internet backbone, such as MCI. These vendors, working under extremely competitive conditions, have tools available to them which, in high detail, the activity of the equipment they control. But these tools, such as probes and sniffers, do not diagnose problems of the specific domain of the equipment owner. While they are excellent tools for monitoring the portion of the Internet under their control, they don't report on problems upstream or downstream. They are also too expensive to provide to multiple end. And, these network management tools require that the various components in the network communicate in some known, and often proprietary fashion. Further, these tools generally require each of the components which is being monitored to execute some software (such as a network management agent) to allow monitoring of the device.
Other tools, such as "ping" and "traceroute," ii are handy but cumbersome to use and very difficult to interpret. Webmasters of the Web sites typically monitor only the health of their own servers, not that of the Internet itself.
As a result, users with complaints either get an incomplete report of the contributing sources of their problem, or worse, they get the run-around from vendor to vendor. While this level of service is unthinkable elsewhere in the consumer's experience, because the Internet is new and technical, the Internet user feels both overwhelmed and helpless, a situation he or she wants to change.
In summary, unfortunately, distributed networks--such as the internet--do not allow sufficient control of what software agents are executing on each component in the network to allow full monitoring of the network.
Thus, what is needed is an improved method and apparatus for monitoring performance on computer networks.
More particularly, in distributed networks, there is a need to provide for monitoring of performance of computer networks without requiring devices such as servers, routers, etc. within the network to execute proprietary or special purpose software.