A system and a method for server recording and client playback of computer network
characteristics. In general, the network simulation system of the present invention
includes a recording module that resides on a server and records and stores the
network characteristics associated with networks sessions in a data collector file.
The system also includes playback module that resides on a client receives the
data collector file and plays back the data collector file upon request. The data
collector file includes a log file, which is used to store initial request data,
and a data file, which is used to store data other than the initial request data.
The method of the present invention includes recording computer network characteristics
on a recording server and playing back the recording on a client to the same or
another server. The recording method of the present invention includes using a
global filter residing on the server to record the network characteristics and
storing the recording in a data collector file. The playback method includes receiving
a data collector file containing recorded network characteristics recorded on a
server and playing back the data collector file to simulate the characteristics
of real-world network sessions.