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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 ;)"
My guess is your gonna need to try to contact them using something other then email, probably some sort of ceritifed letter.
I will echo that: No!
System logs are for the machine's administrators and for software developers, not researchers.
If you guys want research material, build your own systems and sink in the tens of miillions of dollars to do that. If your app is decent you'll have more log data that you could possibly wish for.
"Piter, too, is dead."
Your best bet would be to have your professors call in a favor from former students or their contacts in the industry.
:)
Most companies will consider this to be a security risk. They don't even want you to know the rough design of their backends let alone collect data from it.
Some companies wouldn't know how to gather what you want and wouldn't risk letting you touch their systems.
Most of these systems are probably messy, kludged together by former employees and hacked by current employees just enough to keep them running.
If you have some time, get an internship and do your research on the side.
Oddly enough, you might own them. Surely a 'well known' university in the US has a website that gets plenty of hits a day. I'd start by looking there, and if they refuse to give them straight to you, a professor with some pull should be able to get any information you'd need from the IT department.