Abstract: A system for measuring performance of streaming media sent from a server over a network. The system includes a data acquisition agent connected to the network and operable to send a request for streaming media to the server. The agent is configured to receive streaming media, collect performance measurements, and send the performance measurements to a storage device.

Abstract: A method for scheduling performance measurements to be collected over a network, each measurement target having an associated measurement interval specifying an approximate time between measurements. The method includes identifying a cost for each target and sorting the targets into a plurality of time periods. Each period has approximately the same total cost of measurement targets. Targets having similar measurement intervals are grouped together within each of the time periods and assigned to a time range within the period. The method further includes sorting the measurement targets within each time range to provide a generally even load balance across the time range. A system for scheduling performance measurements is also disclosed.