Systems and methods for monitoring network exchanges between a client and a server

In a networked computer system that includes a client and a server, wherein a request and a response are exchanged between the client and the server using standard Internet protocol, a method for allowing a user to analyze the request and response to verify that the request and response occurred correctly and as expected, the method comprising the acts of:

• collecting a copy of one or more packets that correspond to an exchange between a client and a server across a network, wherein the packets are collected from a network monitor trace;
• identifying a source port and a destination port corresponding to each collected packet;
• storing data from each copy in a buffer within one or more buckets that each correspond to a unique combination of source port and destination port such that one bucket is identified to store a copy of each packet from the exchange between the client and the server separately from one or more other buckets identified to store one or more other packets from one or more other source port and destination port combinations;
• determining whether the one bucket identified to store a copy of each packet from the exchange between the client and the server includes all packets from the exchange;
• and
• if the one bucket identified to store a copy of each packet from the exchange between the client and the server includes all packets from the exchange:
• flushing the data in the one bucket;
• and
• resetting the one bucket so that it is ready to store any future exchanges between the client and the server.

A computer program product for use in a networked computer system, wherein the computer program product is used for implementing a method for allowing a user to analyze an exchange of information across a network, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable medium for providing computer program code means utilized to implement the method, wherein the computer program code means comprises executable code for implementing the steps for:
• reading a network monitor trace, wherein the network monitor trace details an exchange of information that occurred between a client and a server across a network;
• and
• rebuilding the exchange detailed in the trace to allow the exchange to be readable by a user, the step for rebuilding comprising the steps for:
• collecting a copy of all packets corresponding to the exchange;
• storing the copy in a buffer within one or more buckets that each correspond to a unique combination of source port and destination port such that one bucket is identified to store the copy of all packets corresponding to the exchange separately from one or more other buckets identified to store copies of one or more other packets from one or more other exchanges between one or more other source port and destination port combinations;
• reformatting data in the copy;
• and
• flushing data in the one bucket for all packets corresponding to the exchange.

A networked computer monitoring system that allows a user to analyze the requests and responses to verify that the requests and responses occurred correctly and as expected, the monitoring system comprising:

• a client;
• a server, wherein the server receives a request from the client and in turn sends a response to the client;
• and
• a processor, wherein the processor performs the acts of:
• preserving a copy of all packets corresponding to the request and response in one or more buffers within one or more buckets that each correspond to a unique combination of source port and destination port for the client and the server such that one bucket is identified to preserve the copy of all packets for a given source port and destination port combination separately from one or more other packets from one or more other exchanges for one or more other source port and destination port combinations;
• coalescing data within the copy that is chunked;
• and
• flushing each buffer with a copy of all packets corresponding to the request and response.

In a networked computer system that includes a client and a server, wherein a request and a response are exchanged between the client and the server using standard Internet protocol, a method for allowing a user to analyze the request and response to verify that the request and response occurred correctly and as expected, the method comprising the acts of:

• collecting a copy of one or more packets that correspond to a first request and response exchanged between a client and a server across a network, wherein the packets are collected from a network monitor trace;
• collecting a copy of one or more packets that correspond to a second request and response exchanged between the client and the server across the network;
• identifying a source port and a destination port corresponding to each collected packet;
• storing data from each copy in one of a plurality of buffers, wherein each buffer represents a unique combination of source port and destination port, and wherein a buffer stores all packets representing an exchange that corresponds to the unique combination and a code is used to represent the unique combination;
• determining whether a first buffer includes all of the packets corresponding to the first request and response exchanged by comparing a number of bytes in the first buffer with a number of bytes provided in a packet header;
• flushing the data in the first buffer, wherein the data is flushed after all of the packets corresponding to the first request and response exchanged have been stored in the first buffer;
• and
• resetting the first buffer.