A method of analyzing performance data collected in regard to a plurality of content sources on a network. A ratio of performance metrics such as a render time for retrieving and displaying images and a fetch time for retrieving a base document, or a render bandwidth and a fetch bandwidth, for different content sources, is very useful in analyzing the performance of a distributed application across the network. By comparing measurements for two or more content sources and analyzing them according to a network structure, it is possible to recognize differences in the relative performance of the content sources and to quantify one content source relative to a standard defined by the performance of the other. The analysis both determines network performance and identifies specific performance problems manifest at specific localities of the network topology.