United States Patent (19)
`Bland et al.
`
`54 MANAGEMENT-DATA-GATHERING
`SYSTEM FOR GATHERNG ON CLENTS
`AND SERVERS DATA REGARDING
`INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE SERVERS,
`THE CLIENTS, AND USERS OF THE
`CLENTS DURING REALUSE OF A
`NETWORK OF CLENTS AND SERVERS
`75 Inventors: M. Alan Bland; Vladimir Nepustil,
`both of Boulder, Colo.
`73) Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill,
`N.J.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 778,126
`(22
`Filed:
`Jan. 2, 1997
`(51
`Int. Cl. ... G06F 11/34
`52 U.S. Cl. .........................
`... 395/200.54; 395/200.59
`58) Field of Search ......................... 395/200.01, 200.05,
`395/200.03, 200.08, 200.09, 200.12, 610,
`615, 182.02, 182.18, 184.01, 200.31, 200.33,
`200.49, 200.53, 200.54, 200.56, 200.57,
`200.58, 200.59
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`4,849,879 7/1989 Chinnaswamy et al. ................. 395/60
`5,086,386 2/1992 Islam ....................
`... 395/68
`5,303,166 4/1994 Amalfitano et all
`... 364/551.01
`5,371,889 12/1994 Klein ....................................... 395/67.6
`5,455,947 10/1995 Suzuki et al. ........................... 395/620
`5,459.837 10/1995 Caccavale ...
`... 395/184.01
`5.537,542 7/1996 Eilert et al. ......
`... 395/84.01
`5,544,303
`8/1996 Maroteaux et al. .................... 395/61
`5,544,359 8/1996 Tada et al. .............................. 395/618
`5,553,235 9/1996 Chen et al. ........................ 395/1828
`5,584,025 12/1996 Keithley et al. ........................ 395/615
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Netspeak's Hot Internet Sun Product, Computer Telephony,
`vol. 5. Issue 8, Aug. 1996, pp. 120-124.
`Aspect Telecomunications-Press Release. San Jose, CA,
`Aug. 5, 1996, 4 pages.
`
`III USOO5732218A
`
`Patent Number:
`11
`45 Date of Patent:
`
`5,732.218
`Mar. 24, 1998
`
`E. Mier, A server health plan, Network World, vol. 13, No.
`32, Aug. 5, 1996, pp. 41-44.
`An Introduction to DEFINITY6 Communication System.
`Generic 3 V2, 555-230-023, Issue 1. May 1993, pp. 43-45.
`B. Schultz, Documenting the Xerox-Wide Web. Intranet
`Magazine, Jul. 1996, pp. 35-38.
`J. Duffy, HP users say Tornado packs plenty of punch,
`Network World, vol. 13, No. 15. Apr. 8, 1996, p. 10.
`M. Cooney, IBM/Trivoli begin planning for future manage
`ment wares, Network World, vol. 13, No. 13, Mar. 25, 1996,
`pp. 14-15.
`S. Kalin, IBM digs into data mining, Network World, vol.
`13. No. 16, Apr. 15, 1996, p. 29.
`(List continued on next page.)
`
`Primary Examiner-Parshotam S. Lall
`Assistarat Eaniner-Viet Wu
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-David Volejnicek
`57
`ABSTRACT
`In an information network of clients (101-102) and servers
`(103-104), a service management system (122) of a server
`gathers data from the server and from the clients for man
`aging an information service. Information management data
`is gathered on a client by extensions (131) to a browser (130)
`and is periodically reported to the service management
`system. Data gathered on the server includes: number of
`page accesses per unit of time, durations of delays between
`receipt of client requests for information and the server
`responses thereto, number of accesses to each accessed page
`from each referring page, number of page accesses per
`browser type, processor and mass-storage occupancy of the
`server, and configuration details of each accessing browser.
`Data gathered on the client includes: durations of delays
`between the client placing a request and a server's response
`to the request, the amount of time that a particular object is
`active at the client, abandon count and time, click-ahead
`count and time, and client demographics. The service man
`agement system uses the gathered data to generate reports
`for a manager of the information service.
`
`18 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`
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`IPR2020-00677
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`

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`5,732.218
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`J. Duffy, Frontier enhances WAN, Web, Network World, vol.
`13, No. 29. Jul. 15, 1996, p. 19.
`T. Greene, Sahara puts Java to management test, Network
`World, vol. 13. No. 7, Feb. 12, 1996, p. 1, 72.
`E. Horwitt, et al. When it comes to net management, users
`are hard to please, Network World, vol. 13, No. 15, Apr. 8,
`1996, pp. 45-47.
`J. Cohen, 3Com tries to move ahead in RMON race,
`Network World, vol. 13, No. 31, Jul 29, 1996, p. 31.
`
`B. Heskett. LAN management vendors go after the enter
`prise market, Network World, vol. 13, No. 13, Mar, 25.
`1996, p. 39.
`G. Hankovic & L. Black, Engineering a Web Site. (sub title:
`On the track of the user), IEEE Spectrum, vol. 33, No. 11.
`Nov. 1996, p. 68.
`getstats.c. version 1.2. Internet, Aug. 25, 1995. 12 pages.
`B. Davis, Trio Debuts Web-Site Analysis Tools. Commu
`nicationsWeek. No. 634, Oct. 21, 1996, pp. 45-46.
`
`IPR2020-00677
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 1 of 2
`
`5,732,218
`
`
`
`CLIENT
`101
`
`BROWSER
`30
`BROSER
`EXTENSIONS
`131
`SERVICE
`MANAGEMENT
`DATAFILE
`132
`
`FIG. 1
`
`COMMUNICATIONS
`NETWORK
`105
`
`SERVICE
`SYSTEM
`20
`INFORMATION
`DATABASE
`121
`SERVICE
`MANAGEMENT
`SYSTEM
`22
`SERVICE
`MANAGEMENT
`DATABASE
`123
`
`SERVER
`104
`
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 2 of 2
`
`FIG. 2
`
`
`
`
`
`CLIENT 101
`
`
`
`2O2
`
`208
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`SEND REOUEST
`TO ACCESS A
`HOME PAGE OF
`AN INFORMATION
`SYSTEM
`
`RECEIVE
`HOME PAGE
`WITH RECUEST
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`START GATHERING
`210 - | LOCAL MANAGEMENT
`DATA IN A
`SERVICE MANAGEMENT
`DATA FILE
`
`212. END Access of
`INFORMATION SYSTEM
`
`214 - | STOP GATHERING
`LOCAL MANAGEMENT
`DATA
`
`
`
`26
`
`TRANSFER GATHERED
`DATA TO URL
`SPECIFIED IN DATA-
`GATHERING REOUEST
`
`
`
`5,732.218
`SERVER 103
`-" is
`START GATERING
`- 200
`LOCAL MANAGEMENT
`DATA IN SERVICE
`MANAGEMENT DATABASE
`
`
`
`204
`
`RECEIVE
`REOUEST
`
`RETURN REOUESTED
`EEERINGL??
`MANAGEMENT-DATA
`GATHERING REQUEST
`
`RECEIVE
`TREE
`
`
`
`STORE RECEIVED
`DATA IN SERVICE
`MANAGEMENT DATABASE
`
`28
`
`220
`
`USE STORED DATA
`TO GENERATE REPORT
`FOR SERVICE MANAGER
`
`222
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`1
`MANAGEMENT DATA-GATHERNG
`SYSTEM FOR GATHERNG ON CLENTS
`AND SERVERS DATA REGARDING
`INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE SERVERS,
`THE CLIENTS, AND USERS OF THE
`CLENTS DURING REALUSE OFA
`NETWORK OF CLIENTS AND SERVERS
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`This invention relates to information networks and to
`management systems for such networks.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`In an information network, such as the Internet, user's
`computers, referred to as clients, request information from
`information-providers' computers, referred to as servers,
`and the servers supply the requested information to the
`clients. In the WorldWideWeb (WWW), which is a de-facto
`standard for storing, finding, and transferring information on
`the Internet, the information is supplied in the form of pages.
`A page is a display screen-full of information expressed in
`textual, graphical, scriptural, and/or other form. A page
`comprises one or more information objects. An object is an
`information element that has its own network address
`preferably a unique single address-called a URL (Uniform
`Resource Locator). For example, a page may comprise one
`or more text objects, one or more picture objects, and one or
`more script objects that are presented on the display screen
`in a layout defined by a frame object.
`Typically, a server has a main page that serves as the entry
`point to the information and services that the server pro
`vides. This page typically points to other pages and to
`objects (e.g., graphic images, video/audio/text files, etc.),
`which are served either by the same server or by other
`SeVeS.
`An information service that is offered via the information
`network needs to be tuned for optimum performance. The
`demand for the service generally varies over time (e.g.,
`weekdays vs. weekends, days vs. evenings, seasonally, etc.).
`In order to manage the service to optimally meet the
`customer demand, the service provider needs present as well
`as historical metrics that describe the quality or availability
`of the service as perceived by the customer. Also, an
`information service is often used at least in part for adver
`tising. In order to make their advertisements most effective.
`advertisers need measurements on how many customers and
`what types of customers actually view their advertisements
`45
`and for how long. Advertisers also like to know the demo
`graphics of their customers so that they can ensure that the
`advertisements are reaching desired targets.
`To meet demands for service-management information in
`call centers, call management systems (CMSs) collect call
`based statistics, archive them for reference, and generate
`reports therefrom. Also, Internet servers typically collect
`statistics such as the numbers of accesses (“hits”) per page,
`and perhaps some other server-based statistics as well. But
`because call centers handle live calls and rely on human
`agents to handle the calls, the types of statistics that are
`collected by CMSs are often either not relevant to, or not
`sufficiently complete for, automated information networks
`such as the Internet. And the statistics that are collected by
`known Web servers are only server-based, rudimentary, and
`incomplete. Hence, what the information-network art needs
`in order to better manage such networks is a better
`management-data collection system.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTON
`This invention is directed to meeting the needs and
`solving the problems of the art. According to one aspect of
`
`2
`the invention, an information-service management system
`for a client-server information network gathers specific
`service-management data that are related to interactions
`between at least one client and at least one server. Data
`gathered on the server illustratively include at least two of
`the following: page accesses per unit of time, delay between
`receipt of client request for information and the supplying of
`the requested information, number of accesses to a page
`accessed by the client from each referring page, a number of
`page units per type of the client's browser, occupancy of a
`processing unit and a mass storage unit of the server
`machine, and configuration data of the client's browser. The
`gathered data are preferably used to generate reports for a
`manager of the information service to enable the manager to
`better understand customer needs and responsiveness of the
`service and to tune the service for optimum performance.
`According to another aspect of the invention, the
`information-service management system gathers service
`management data not only from the server, but also from the
`client. The data is gathered on the client by a management
`data-gathering arrangement such as extensions to the client's
`browser. The extension software may either be included in
`the client along with the browser software, or may be
`supplied to the client along with a data-gathering request.
`The arrangement periodically reports the gathered data to
`the information-service management system. Data gathered
`on the client illustratively include at least one of the fol
`lowing: delay between the client requesting information and
`receiving the requested information, an amount of time that
`an object of the supplied information is active on the client,
`an abandon count and time of an object of the supplied
`information on the client, a click-ahead count and time of an
`object of the supplied information on the client, and demo
`graphics of a user of the client. The data gathered on the
`client is preferably used to supplement and improve the data
`gathered on the server; the latter data may be incomplete or
`even misleading. Therefore, gathering data on both the client
`and the server presents the service manager with a better
`picture of service performance and allows the service man
`ager to better manage the service.
`These and other advantages and features of the invention
`will become more clear from the following description of an
`illustrative embodiment of the invention taken together with
`the drawing.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information network that
`implements an illustrative embodiment of the invention; and
`FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of invention-related functions
`performed by a client and a server of the information
`network of FIG. 1.
`DETALED DESCRIPTION
`FIG. 1 shows an information network that includes an
`illustrative embodiment of the invention. The information
`network includes a plurality of client terminals, computers,
`or other machines referred to generically as clients 101-102,
`that are interconnected with one or more server computers,
`systems, or other machines referred to generically as servers
`103-104, by a communications network 105. Communica
`tions network 105 illustratively comprises the Internet back
`bone network, Internet gateways and associated intranets.
`etc., that are collectively generally referred to as the Internet.
`Units 101-105 together implement the World WideWeb, in
`a manner well known in the art. Each server 103-104
`includes an information database 121, and a service system
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`3
`120 which is an executing application program that interacts
`with clients 101-102 to supply them with information from
`information database 121. Each client 101-102 includes a
`browser 130 or some other executable client application
`program through which users of clients 101-102 interact
`with servers 103-104 to obtain information. As described so
`far, the information network of FIG, 1 is conventional.
`According to the invention, servers 103-104 include a
`service management system 122 and a service management
`database 123. System 122 collects service management data
`on the information service that is provided by information
`database 121 and service system 120, stores the data in
`database 123, and generates reports from the stored data for
`managers of the information service. If each server 103-104
`provides a separate and independent information service,
`generally each server 103-104 includes its own service
`management system 122 and service management database
`123. If servers 103-104 provide either a single information
`service or a plurality of related services, generally each
`server 103-104 includes its own local-data gathering and
`reporting portion of system 122, and one server 103 includes
`the whole service management system 122 plus service
`management database 123.
`Further according to the invention, at least some and
`preferably all clients 101-102 each includes extensions 131
`to browser 130 that locally gather service management data
`on the client, store the gathered data in a memory of the
`client, e.g., in a local service management data file 132, and
`occasionally report gathered data to service management
`systems 122 of servers 103-104. The client-gathered data is
`used by systems 122 to supplement and improve the data
`that is gathered locally on servers 103-104, which may be
`incomplete or even misleading. Extensions 131 are prefer
`ably associated with browsers 130: they are implemented
`either as add-on Software to conventional WWW browsers,
`or are integrated into the designs of new browsers or new
`versions of conventional browsers. The functions of exten
`sions 131 may alternatively be performed by software that is
`independent of browser 130 and executes on clients
`101-102.
`Data collected by service management systems 122
`locally on each server 103-104 preferably include the fol
`lowing:
`Number of page accesses per unit of time. This data serves
`as a rough measurement of how busy the local server
`103-104 is and how much demand there is for its
`services.
`Durations of delays between receipt of client requests for
`data and the server responses thereto. This data is a
`measure of the quality of service provided by a server
`103-104 and the load being placed by clients 101-102
`on that server 103-104.
`Number of accesses to each page from each page
`(referring page) that refers to the accessed page. This
`data is indicative of how (by what route) clients reach
`the accessed page and what the sources of accesses to
`the accessed page are. For example, an advertiser
`would wish to know this information in order to
`determine on what (referring) pages it is most effective
`to advertise its home (accessed) page.
`Number of page accesses per browser type. This data
`indicates what browsers are most likely to be used to
`access the accessed page. For example, an information
`provider would wish to know this information in order
`to structure and adapt the accessed page for the par
`ticular capabilities or idiosyncrasies of the most
`commonly-used browser type or types.
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`Processor and mass-storage occupancy of the server. This
`data indicates whether the load being placed upon the
`server is so high that the server hardware needs to be
`upgraded.
`Configuration details of each accessing browser: browser
`type, host name, operating system type, etc. This data
`indicates who the server's clients are, and their char
`acteristics.
`Data collected by browser extension 131 on each client
`101-102 preferably include the following:
`Durations of delays between the client placing a request
`and a server's response to the request. This data is a
`measure of the quality of service provided by the server
`103-104 as perceived by the user of the client 101-102.
`When durations of delays between receipt of client
`requests for data and the server responses thereto
`(gathered by the server) are subtracted therefrom, this
`data indicates the delay caused by communications
`network 105 either on average or for each URL (client
`address).
`Amount of time that a particular object (e.g., a page, a
`graphical image, an audio clip, an animation, etc.) is
`active (i.e., is visible, is audible, etc.) at the client. This
`data indicates how long a user of the client is exposed
`to the information being provided by that object. For
`example, an information provider who provides a page
`of text plus graphics would wish to know that a
`significant number of users either access the page with
`graphic capability turned off or move on to other
`information before display of the graphics is com
`pleted.
`Abandon count and time. "Abandon" means that the user
`has either selected "stop' or "open (a new page)", or
`their equivalent, on their browser before the selected
`page is returned to the requesting client. This data
`indicates how long users are willing to wait for receipt
`of the requested information before they change their
`mind and move on. When considered along with the
`durations of delays between clients placing requests
`and the server's responses thereto, this data indicates
`whether the timeliness of service being provided meets
`user expectations.
`Click-ahead count and time. "Click-ahead' means select
`ing a link to another page or object before the page that
`is being accessed has been completely presented (e.g.
`displayed) to the user. This data is indicative of how
`often, and how long after accessing a page, the user
`found desired information before the page was dis
`played in full. For example, an advertiser would wish
`to know that many users are finding the desired infor
`mation before being exposed to advertising, so that it
`could reposition the advertising within the page.
`Client demographics: time Zone, locale, electronic cash
`balance in their electronic wallet, type of client
`hardware, etc. This data allows the information pro
`vider to evaluate the source and quality of its
`customers, and tailor its information service accord
`ingly.
`Each client's browser extensions 131 may collect the
`above data automatically for all accesses made by their
`client 101-102, and may periodically distribute to each
`server 103-104 that was accessed by their client 101-102
`the data that is pertinent to that server 103-104. Preferably,
`however, each client's browser extensions 131 collect the
`data that is pertinent to a server 103-104 only in response to
`a request received from that server 103-104. Illustratively, a
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`5
`server 103-104 that wants to collect management-related
`data from clients 101-102 includes in its main (home) page
`a request to browsers 130 to collect service management
`data. The request specifies the pages for which the data is to
`be collected; the pages may all be on the requesting server
`or they may be distributed across a plurality of servers. The
`request also specifies the URL (i.e., identifies the server) to
`which the collected data is to be sent by the requested
`browser 130. This request is used by extensions 131 of the
`requested browser 130 as the impetus to start collecting the
`requested data in service management datafile 132. Depend
`ing on the implementation, browser 130 may or may not
`obtain its user's permission before honoring a data
`collection request. When the data has been collected, exten
`sions 131 cause their client 101-102 to contact and transfer
`the data to the URL specified in the request. The data transfer
`may be done periodically, e.g., every half-hour that browser
`130 is executing on a client 101-102 and has data in file 132
`to send to the requesting server 103-104. Alternatively, the
`data transfer may be done only in response to certain events,
`such as the browser 130 ending its accesses to the requesting
`server 103-104 or to the information service for which the
`requesting server 103-104 is gathering data.
`Alternatively, extensions 131 need not be permanently
`included in clients 101-102. Rather, extensions 131 may be
`included in the server requests to clients to collect service
`management data. Such extensions 131 are then installed on
`a client by a capability, such as the Microsoft Corp. Active
`X capability that enables browser 130 to attach "add-ons" to
`itself, or the Netscape Corp. "plug-ins" capability that
`enables browser 130 to attach "plug-ins" to itself. “Add
`ons" or "plug-ins" are applets, scripts, or other programs that
`can be added to browser 130 to enhance its capabilities.
`Given such an implementation of extensions 131, upon
`receipt of the request to collect service-management data,
`the receiving browser 130 attaches to itself the received
`"add-on" or "plug-in" that implements extensions 131, and
`executes it.
`FIG. 2 shows an illustrative example of operations per
`formed by client 101 and server 103 that are relevant to the
`invention. Service management system 122 of server 103
`begins to gather local management data on server 103 in
`service management database 123, at step 200, when server
`103 is brought on line, and continues to do so thereafter.
`When browser 130 of client 101 sends a request to server
`103 to access the home page of an information system
`served by server 103, at step 202. server 103 receives the
`request, at step 204, and returns the requested home page to
`client 101, at step 206. The requested home page contains a
`management-data-gathering request to client 101. Client 101
`receives the home page with the request, at step 208, and in
`response to the request, browser extensions 131 start gath
`ering local management data on client 101 in service man
`agement data file 132, at step 210, and continue to do so
`while client 101 is accessing the information system served
`by server 103. When browser 130 of client 101 ends
`accessing the information system served by server 103, at
`step 212, browser extensions 103 stop gathering local man
`agement data, at step 214, and transfer the gathered data
`from service management data file 132 to the URL (the
`address) that was specified in the data-gathering request
`received at step 208, at step 216. Assuming that the URL
`identifies server 103, server 103 receives the transferred data
`from client 101, at step 218, and service management system
`122 stores the transferred data in service management data
`base 123, at step 220. Periodically, or upon request of the
`service manager, service management system 122 uses both
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`the data locally gathered by it as well as the data gathered by
`and received from client 101 and other clients 102 and
`possibly even other servers 104 to generate reports for the
`service manager, at step 222.
`Of course, various changes and modifications to the
`illustrative embodiment described above will be apparent to
`those skilled in the art. For example the information network
`need not be the Internet, but may be an intranet or any other
`type of client/server network. Also, the data gathering func
`tion on the clients need not be implemented by browsers, but
`may be implemented by any program that accesses data.
`with or without the user being present. Furthermore. a client
`can be in contact with a plurality of servers simultaneously
`(e.g., have a plurality of windows from different browsers
`active simultaneously) and hence can be gathering manage
`ment data simultaneously for the plurality of servers. Yet
`further, management data different from or additional to that
`which was illustratively described may be gathered, and the
`data can be used for different or additional purposes than
`those which were given as examples. Such changes and
`modifications can be made without departing from the spirit
`and the scope of the invention and without diminishing its
`attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such
`changes and modifications be covered by the following
`claims.
`The invention claimed is:
`1. An information network comprising:
`a client machine for making requests for information from
`an information service;
`a server machine connected to the client machine for
`providing the information service by supplying
`requested said information to the client machine;
`a first management data-gathering arrangement associated
`with the server machine for gathering, on the server
`machine. management data on interactions between the
`server machine and the client machine during real use
`of the network for managing the information service
`and also gathering management data reported to the
`first management data-gathering arrangement from the
`client machine; and
`a second management data-gathering arrangement asso
`ciated with the client machine for gathering, on the
`client machine, management data on interactions
`between the server machine, the client machine, and a
`user of the client machine during real use of the
`network for managing the information service and
`reporting the gathered management data to the first
`management data-gathering arrangement.
`2. The network of claim 1 wherein:
`the client machine comprises browser software executing
`on the client machine; and
`the second management data-gathering arrangement com
`prises
`software associated with the browser software and
`executing on the client machine.
`3. The network of claim 1 wherein:
`the second management data-gathering arrangement com
`prises
`software supplied to the client machine along with the
`requested information and executing on the client
`machine.
`4. The network of claim 1 wherein:
`the management data gathered by the second
`management-data-gathering arrangement comprise at
`least one of: (a) delay between the client machine
`requesting the information and receiving the requested
`
`IPR2020-00677
`Vudu Ex. 1009, Page 7
`
`

`

`7
`information, (b) an amount of time that an object of the
`supplied information is active on the client machine, (c)
`an abandon count and time of an object of the supplied
`information on the client machine, (d) a click-ahead
`count and time of an object of the supplied information
`on the client machine, and (e) demographics of a user
`of the client machine.
`5. The network of claim 4 wherein:
`the management data gathered on the server machine by
`the first management data-gathering arrangement
`include at least two of: (f) page accesses per unit of
`time, (g) delay between receipt of the client machine
`request for the information and the supplying of the
`requested information, (h) number of accesses to a page
`accessed by the client machine from each referring
`page, (i) a number of page hits per type of browser of
`the client machine, (j) occupancy of a processing unit
`and a mass storage unit of the server machine, and (k)
`configuration data of the browser of the client machine.
`6. A management data-gathering system for use with a
`server machine in an information network wherein a client
`machine makes requests for information from an informa
`tion service and the server machine provides the information
`service by supplying requested said information to the client
`machine. and the client machine gathers on itself manage
`ment data on interactions between the server machine, the
`client machine, and a user of the client machine during real
`use of the networkfor managing the information service and
`reports the gathered management data to the management
`data-gathering system, the management data-gathering sys
`tem comprising:
`means for gathering, on the server machine, management
`data on interactions between the server machine and the
`client machine during real use of the network for
`managing the information service; and
`means for gathering the management data gathered on the
`client machine and reported by the client machine.
`7. The system of claim 6 wherein:
`the means for gathering management data on the server
`machine gather at least two of: (a) page accesses per
`unit of time. (b) delay between receipt of the client
`machine request for the information and the supplying
`of the requested information, (c) number of accesses to
`a page accessed by the client machine from each
`referring page. (d) a number of page hits per type of
`browser of the client machine, (e) occupancy of a
`processing unit and a mass storage unit of the server
`machine, and (f) configuration data of the browser of
`the client machine.
`8. The system of claim 7 wherein:
`the means for gathering the management data gathered on
`and reported by the client machine gather at least one
`of: (g) delay between the client machine requesting the
`information and receiving the requested information,
`(h) an amount of time that an object of the supplied
`information is active on the client machine. (i) an
`abandon count and time of an object of the supplied
`information on the client machine, () a click-ahead
`count and time of an object of the supplied information
`on the client machine, and (k) demographics of a user
`of the client machine.
`9. A management data-gathering arrangement for use with
`a client machine in an information network wherein the
`client machine makes requests for information from an
`information service and a server machine provides the
`information service by supplying requested said information
`
`25
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`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`5,732.218
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`10
`
`15
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`8
`to the client machine, and wherein a management data
`gathering system associated with the server machine gathers
`on the server machine management data on interactions
`between the server machine and the client machine during
`5 real use of the network for managing the information
`service, the arrangement comprising:
`means for gathering, on the client machine, management
`data on interactions between the server machine, the
`client machine, and a user of the client machine during
`real use of the network for managing the information
`service; and
`means for reporting the management data gathered on the
`client machine to the management data-gathering sys
`ten.
`10. The arrangement of claim 9 for use with the client
`machine which comprises browser software executing on
`the client machine, wherein:
`the arrangement comprises software associated with the
`browser software and executing on the client machine.
`11. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein:
`the arrangement comprises software supplied to the client
`machine along with the requested information and
`executing on the client machine.
`12. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein:
`the means for gathering gather at least one of: (a) delay
`between the client machine requesting the information
`and receiving the requested information, (b) an amount
`of time that an object of the supplied