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Obtaining Multi-Tier Application Logs for Reseach?
arohann asks: "I'm a research assistant in a well-known university in the US. As part of the research work my group is doing, we need access to the logs from a production system of an n-tier web-application. I've been looking around for a while with no result. Most places reply with a flat 'No!'. I was wondering if there anyone who could help/advise with this. Please read about our requirement below and do let me know if you can help?"
"We want to examine the request arrival behaviour of a real-world web-application and will also need to examine how long each request takes to be processed at each tier. We would collect this data over a few days and then use it to build a real-world model of the request behaviour of an internet application. This model would be used in our analysis and profiling of clustered, multi-tier, internet applications.
Of course, we realize it maybe that some of this data cannot be shared due to client privacy concerns. However, let me assure you that we are not interested in any client details and we're not particularly concerned with what kind of an application it is as long as its at least 3-tier, is a production system (we need a real-world model), and is used daily. We are also willing to sign a confidentiality agreement if necessary and follow any company protocol required to ensure that security and confidentiality are preserved.
Of course, if this results in any research paper publications, we would give credit to the supplier of the data.
Hoping to hear back from everyone soon ;)"
Of course, we realize it maybe that some of this data cannot be shared due to client privacy concerns. However, let me assure you that we are not interested in any client details and we're not particularly concerned with what kind of an application it is as long as its at least 3-tier, is a production system (we need a real-world model), and is used daily. We are also willing to sign a confidentiality agreement if necessary and follow any company protocol required to ensure that security and confidentiality are preserved.
Of course, if this results in any research paper publications, we would give credit to the supplier of the data.
Hoping to hear back from everyone soon ;)"
I'd start with companies that are already offering internships through your university. Find professors and graduate students that already have a working relationship with private sector folks and get introduced through them.
Just cold calling or sending in letters or email is about as effective as you've found it to be.
Also you should try looking through published artcles in trade journals and find out which companies are sponsoring research in your field by association with existing published research.
The fact is that you'll certainly have to sign an NDA and likely they will have to scrub the data anyway. One way or another it's going to cost the donors $$$ that you aren't going to reimburse. Your project will have to fit in with their research goals or they'll be returning a favor from someone else.
-- John.
Welcome to capitalism, we hope you enjoy your stay. While here, please note that TANSTAAFL.
Asking for data from a business requires a lot of work on your part. You must somehow convince them that all the effort they are going to spend collecting, sanitizing, and providing you with the information is going to pay off for them in a reasonable way. Since this request involves several months of data, and more employee involvement than a 5 minute survey you'll have to build a strong relationship with a company who has this data.
Opportunites include:
- The research will help you identify areas where improvement will save $$$ in [bandwidth|speed|latency|etc]
- We can supply one or more interns to do all the internal work as well as work on a few other projects of your choosing
- You (manager, CEO, IT lackey) got your degree here and still have fuzzy feelings for the school
- Oh benevolent ones! May we sip at the firehose? Verily, this research will help this university provide graduates of the caliber which will dazzle the eyes! Yea, they will be cheap, too.
The key here, as in everything to do with business, is to network, network, network. Don't email - you cannot possibly explain your research in a way that will make them go, "Gee, I think I'd like to devote company resources to these kids tha the university of whatever!" in an email. At best send an email such as, "Dear sir, blah blah blah, we are researching n-tier applications and would like to spend a few moments talking with you about your architecture. When would be a good time to call?" Give it two days - Call them in any case except if they patently refuse to talk to you. Don't engage in email conversations - in order to get good buy-in, you need to talk to them (if only briefly) so they can associate a voice with the email. Then email all you want.You may have better luck calling at the outset, intriducing yourself and your research, then asking who at the company would be suited to help you out with your research. Then engage that person. Don't get too low on the totem pole or you may end up with someone who is inneffective within the company at getting you what you want. Certian companies (Google, forinstance) are resource rich and may be easier to work with, especially if you can get one or two workers involved and spending their 20% time helping you. If your research isn't exciting on a general level, you're in for a rough ride.
Once you've started a conversation (with several people at different companies - you're still trying to get something they will be reluctant to give) then you can start edging into what you need to complete your research. This whole process will take 2-6 months just to set everything up. I hope you've started early.
Good luck.
-Adam