System and method for monitoring informational resources

Abstract

A system and method are provided to monitor informational resources, such as websites. A plurality of host units support one or more informational resources accessible over a network, such as the Internet. A plurality of monitoring units located on a distributed computer system are coordinated to access the network and monitor the informational resources to determine if they are accessible and to evaluate their performance. Preferably, a central control unit manages the monitoring units.

1 . A method for use in conjunction with a distributed computer system, comprising the steps of:
 a) accessing a network by a plurality of host units, the network comprising a plurality of interconnected computers capable of sending and receiving data to and from one another;   b) supporting by each host unit one or more informational resources accessible through the network;   c) coordinating a plurality of monitoring units each located on a different computer in the distributed computer system;   d) accessing the network by at least one monitoring unit; and   e) monitoring the performance of at least one informational resource by the at least one monitoring unit.   
   
   
       2 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the step of monitoring comprises determining whether the host unit supporting the at least one informational resource is communicating with the network. 
   
   
       3 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the step of monitoring comprises accessing the at least one informational resource. 
   
   
       4 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the step of monitoring comprises measuring response times of the host units. 
   
   
       5 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the step of coordinating involves scheduling and dispatching requests to the monitoring units from a control unit. 
   
   
       6 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of administering the coordination of the monitoring units. 
   
   
       7 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the step of reporting the results of the step of monitoring. 
   
   
       8 . A computer readable medium, comprising instructions capable of performing the method of  claim 1 . 
   
   
       9 . A computer system for use in conjunction with the Internet, comprising:
 a) a plurality of host computers each having access to the Internet and supporting a website on the Internet;   b) a plurality of monitoring computers each having access to the Internet, each of said plurality of monitoring computers being operative to transmit messages to and receive messages from one or more host computers through the Internet and to monitor the accessibility and performance of the corresponding host computers and supported websites; and   c) a managing computer having access to the plurality of monitoring computers, said managing computer being operative to transmit messages to and receive messages from the plurality of monitoring computers and to manage the plurality of monitoring computers.   
   
   
       10 . A computer system as recited in  claim 9 , wherein one or more of the host computers are web servers. 
   
   
       11 . A computer system as recited in  claim 9 , wherein one of more of the monitoring computers comprises at least one monitoring unit. 
   
   
       12 . A computer system as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the monitoring unit comprises a connection component. 
   
   
       13 . A computer system as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the monitoring unit comprises a plurality of monitoring task component. 
   
   
       14 . A computer system as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the managing computer comprises at least one control unit. 
   
   
       15 . A computer system as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the control unit comprises a scheduler component. 
   
   
       16 . A computer system as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the control unit comprises a dispatcher component. 
   
   
       17 . A computer system as recited in  claim 14 , further comprising a data store. 
   
   
       18 . A computer system as recited in  claim 14 , further comprising an administrating unit in communication with the control unit. 
   
   
       19 . A method for monitoring an informational resource being supported by a host computer, comprising the steps of:
 a) determining whether the host computer is pingable;   b) if the host computer is pingable, performing a ping operation comprising the steps of:
 (i) sending a ping to the host computer; 
 (ii) determining whether the host computer responds to the ping; 
 (iii) if the host computer does not respond to the ping, sending a message; 
   c) attempting to access the informational resource; and   d) if the informational resource is not accessible, sending a message.   
   
   
       20 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , wherein the host computer is a web server and the informational resource is a website, and the step of attempting to access comprises requesting the primary web page from the web server. 
   
   
       21 . A method as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising the step of sending a message if the web server does not return the primary web page within a predetermined period of time. 
   
   
       22 . A method as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising the step of recording the time for the web server to return the primary web page. 
   
   
       23 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , wherein the steps of sending a message comprises sending an alert via pager, electronic mail, facsimile transmission or vocal telephone transmission. 
   
   
       24 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , further comprising the step of determining the performance of the informational resource if it is accessible. 
   
   
       25 . A method as recited in  claim 24 , further comprising the step of providing a report comprising the ping response time and at least a portion of the determined performance. 
   
   
       26 . A computer readable medium, comprising instructions capable of performing the method of  claim 19 . 
   
   
       27 . A computer system, comprising:
 a) a means for networking a plurality of computers;   b) a means for providing a plurality of interactive informational resources, said providing means having access to said networking means;   c) a means for communicating with said providing means through said networking means;   d) a means for determining the performance of the providing means, said determining means having access to said communicating means;   e) a means for managing the determining means; and   f) a means for reporting the performance of the providing means.   
   
   
       28 . A computer system as recited in  claim 27 , further comprising a means for configuring the managing means.