Abstract: A method of identifying differences between activity data files includes determining a difference between the activity data files. Causal analysis may be performed to identify a cause of the difference. The difference and/or the cause of the difference may be rendered based on a rendering template. Tier pairs between the activity data files may be matched and a user may be queried to confirm the tier pair match. Statistical and/or protocol differences between each of the activity files may be presented. Transactions between each of the activity data files may be matched including comparing the content files in each of the activity data files that account for the transactions. Client side differences between each of the activity data files may be identified. A categorization may be assigned to each of the determined differences. Determined differences may be excluded from the rendering.

Abstract: The locations of nodes in a network are determined relative to the location of monitoring devices that collect trace information on the network. By appropriate sorting, filtering, and characterizing the trace information, nodes are identified as being local to or remote from each monitoring device that detects traffic to or from the node. If the trace information is insufficient to determine the relative location of a node, the node is identified as such. By identifying the nodes whose locations can be determined automatically by this analysis of the trace information, the number of nodes whose locations must be determined by more costly manual methods can be substantially reduced.

Abstract: Data representing application deployment attributes, network topology, and network performance attributes based on a reduced set of element attributes is utilized to simulate application deployment. The data may be received from a user directly, a program that models a network topology or application behavior, and a wizard that implies the data based on an interview process. The simulation may be based on application deployment attributes including application traffic pattern, application message sizes, network topology, and network performance attributes. The element attributes may be determined from a lookup table of element operating characteristics that may contain element maximum and minimum boundary operating values utilized to interpolate other operating conditions.

Abstract: Data representing application deployment attributes, network topology, and network performance attributes based on a reduced set of element attributes is utilized to simulate application deployment. The data may be received from a user directly, a program that models a network topology or application behavior, and a wizard that implies the data based on an interview process. The simulation may be based on application deployment attributes including application traffic pattern, application message sizes, network topology, and network performance attributes. The element attributes may be determined from a lookup table of element operating characteristics that may contain element maximum and minimum boundary operating values utilized to interpolate other operating conditions.