Sneak Preview: Gomez Performance Network 5.1's All-In-One Monitoring

Like other Web site monitoring systems, such as those from BMC Software and Keynote Systems, GPN places computers at various PoPs (points of presence) on the Internet. Each computer executes scripts that browse Web pages, capturing performance metrics. To conduct last-mile monitoring, GPN generates scripts from workstations placed in key customer locations worldwide.

Pricing is determined primarily by how many URLs (page sequences and single Web pages) are being monitored, the number of locations selected and how frequently the service is required to test a given Web site. The more locations you choose, the better you can gauge overall performance. Then again, if you're getting no Internet traffic from, say, Mexico, it's a waste of money to have your site monitored from there.

It's All in the Script

Script creation is vital to GPN's monitoring capability. When your Web site is browsed, GPN converts the visitor's clicks and keystrokes to a script that lets the service collect performance data. During testing, we downloaded GPN's script recorder, then waited for it to create a script file using the clicks and keystrokes we had entered while browsing the NETWORK COMPUTING Web site. Next, we saved the file locally and pushed it to the GPN server.

Executing the script was a matter of choosing the transaction and setting parameters. We indicated how frequently and from where the script should run, and defined the thresholds and alerts for each test.