Patent Application
20110077995
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to performance measurement in an electronic data processing system. In particular, the present invention relates to calculating performance benchmarks for various computer system configurations to create and propagate product-specific data.
2. Description of Related Art
In computing, a benchmark is a set of operations run on a computer system to evaluate the relative performance of various components in a particular configuration. Generally, this is done by running a number of standards tests and trials against a component. Any component, or combination of components, can be benchmarked to assess its performance, including hardware components, such as CPUs and processors, and software components, such as office applications and gaming programs.
Conventional benchmarking systems are designed to mimic a particular workload on a component. For example, synthetic benchmarks use a specially-created program based on the actual workload of the system to measure the relative performance of a component compared to similar components in other configurations. Application benchmarks run real-world programs, such as word processing software, in order to accurately measure performance of the component under a given workload. Both types of benchmarking allow a user to judge the performance of a component and the computer configuration as a whole.
Benchmarking is known to be used for several different purposes. For example, as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0216479 to Wefers et al., a computer operating system may use a benchmarking tool in order to see if a system's hardware meets software requirements. Alternatively, a computer developer may use benchmarks to measure its system's performance increase over a competitor's system. A user may also use benchmarking to identify particular components that may be slowing down the operation of the system as a whole.
One exemplary embodiment includes a method and system whereby benchmark data for a computer system, configuration, or component is collected and propagated. A user downloads and runs the client software from a host server, which performs benchmark testing on the computer and calculates its scores. The benchmark data is then returned to the host server, where it is matched to the appropriate product record and displayed to the user. Advantageously, the product record and benchmark data is specific to the particular computer system, configuration, or component being benchmarked, adding useful, relevant data to the product record.
In another embodiment, the collected benchmark data may be further used for additional purposes. For instance, the benchmark data may be sold to third parties, cross-referenced with user demographic data for targeted sales, and/or used for sorting by system type. Additionally, upgrade options may be returned to the user based on the results of the benchmark testing, and/or identical configurations across manufacturers can be analyzed. Advantageously, these additional options provide for greater business intelligence and development in benchmarking.
Still other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of exemplary embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. The present invention also is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details can be modified in various respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.
An improved system and method for collecting and propagating computer benchmark data is described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments. It is apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the present invention can be practiced without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the preferred embodiment.
The invention facilitates correlating real world benchmark data with product records, such as product reviews and product catalog information. Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views,
The benchmark data may be matched to the product record in a variety of ways. For example, any of the user, the component itself, and/or the client software may identify the product record to which the benchmark data is to be saved. At 150, the product record, including the compiled benchmark scores from multiple computers having the client software, are displayed on a product webpage for that particular configuration or component. In this manner, a database of product records and benchmark data is created by input from multiple users.
At 230, the benchmark data may be cross-referenced with user demographic or user profile data, such as age, gender, income, location, browsing history, and/or interests. Based on the collected benchmark data and the user's demographics, targeted computer sales may be made to the user. For example, the client software may recommend a new inexpensive laptop available in multiple colors to a college-aged user whose benchmark data indicates that the current computer is failing in its basic functions. At 240, the benchmark data may additionally be used to sort by system type and product brief scenarios. At step 250, the benchmark data of identical configurations across multiple manufacturers may be analyzed in order to, for example, determine the most reliable manufacturer with the best performance for a given system.
In use, when a user of one of the plurality of user systems 350 wants to, for example, download the client software or view the benchmarking results, a request to access content is communicated to server 310 over network 340. For example, a signal is transmitted from one of the user systems 350, the signal having a destination address (e.g., address representing the server), a request (e.g., content request), and a return address (e.g., address representing the user system that initiated the request). Processor 320 accesses memory 330 to provide the requested content, which is communicated to the user over network 340. For example, another signal may be transmitted that includes a destination address corresponding to the return address of the client system, and the content responsive to the request.
As shown in
Site application 430 is configured to update cache 420 and to process user requests received from web layer 419. Site application 430 may identify that the user request is for a page that includes data from multiple sources. Site application 430 can then convert the page request into a request for content from multiple sources and transmits these requests to application programming interface 440. Application programming interface 440 is configured to simultaneously access data from the plurality of data stores 450 to collect the data responsive to the plurality of requests from site application 430. The plurality of data stores 450 may include the client software, previously stored benchmark data, and catalogue data about different product types (e.g., product specifications, pricing, images, etc.). It will be appreciated that in alternative embodiments only one data store 450 may be provided to store the data.
The data in data stores 450 is provided to application programming interface 440, which provides the content to site application 430. Site application 430 updates cache 420 and delivers the cached content in combination with the accessed content to web layer 410, which delivers browsable content to the user, such as through a product page.
Exemplary computer system 600 includes processor 650 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both), main memory 660 (e.g., read only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.) and static memory 670 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), which communicate with each other via bus 695.
Computer system 600 may further include video display unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). Computer system 600 also includes alphanumeric input device 615 (e.g., a keyboard), cursor control device 620 (e.g., a mouse), disk drive unit 630, signal generation device 640 (e.g., a speaker), and network interface device 680.
Disk drive unit 630 includes computer-readable medium 634 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 638) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Software 638 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within main memory 660 and/or within processor 650 during execution thereof by computer system 600, main memory 660 and processor 650 also constituting computer-readable media. Software 638 may further be transmitted or received over network 690 via network interface device 680.
While computer-readable medium 634 is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term “computer-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.
It should be noted that the embodiments are illustrated and discussed herein as having various modules which perform particular functions and interact with one another. It should be understood that these modules are merely segregated based on their function for the sake of description and represent computer hardware and/or executable software code which is stored on a computer-readable medium for execution on appropriate computing hardware. The various functions of the different modules and units can be combined or segregated as hardware and/or software stored on a computer-readable medium as above as modules in any manner, and can be used separately or in combination.
It should be understood that processes and techniques described herein are not inherently related to any particular apparatus and may be implemented by any suitable combination of components. Further, various types of general purpose devices may be used in accordance with the teachings described herein. It may also prove advantageous to construct specialized apparatus to perform the method steps described herein. The present invention has been described in relation to particular examples, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different combinations of hardware, software, and firmware will be suitable for practicing the present invention.
Moreover, other implementations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. Various aspects and/or components of the described embodiments may be used singly or in any combination. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
