Configuring Internet browse time options

Internet browse time (IBT) reports give a view into the amount of time users spend on the Internet. A nightly database job calculates browse time for each client based on the new log records received that day. Set browse time options in the Internet Browse Time section of the Settings > Reporting > Log Database page.

Steps

  1. Select an IBT job start time for the IBT database job.

    The time and system resources required by this job vary depending on the volume of data logged each day. It is best to run this job at a different time than the nightly maintenance job (see Configuring Log Database maintenance options), and to select a slow time on the network to minimize any impact on generating reports.

    The IBT database job can be resource intensive, affecting most database resources. If you enable this job, set the start time so that it does not interfere with the database system’s ability to process scheduled reports and other important operations. Also, monitor the job to determine whether more robust hardware is needed to accommodate all processing needs.

  2. For Average browse time per site, set an average number of minutes for reading the contents of a web page.

    This number defines browsing sessions for the purpose of Internet browse time reports. Opening a browser generates HTTP traffic. This represents the beginning of a browse session. The session is open as long as HTTP traffic is continually generated within the time set here. The browse session is considered closed once this amount of time passes with no HTTP traffic. A new browse session begins as soon as HTTP traffic is generated again.

    Note:

    It is best to change the average browse time per site setting as seldom as possible, and to start a new database partition whenever you do make a change.

    To avoid inconsistent data on the reports, generate IBT reports from database partitions that use the same average browse time per site value.

    Be aware that some websites use an automatic refresh technique to update information frequently. One example is a news site that rotates a display of the latest news stories. This refresh generates new HTTP traffic. Therefore, when this kind of site is left open, new log records are generated each time the site refreshes. There is no gap in HTTP traffic, so the browser session is not closed.

  3. Set a Browse time for last site read value to account for time spent reading the last website before the end of a browse session.

    When the time gap of HTTP traffic is longer than the average “per site” browse time threshold, the session is ended and the “last site read” browse time value is added to the session time.

  4. To enable detail reports that include browse time using investigative reports, mark Calculate detailed browse time for use in investigative detail reports.

    If you enable detailed browse time calculations, be sure to create a new database partition. (Create a new partition any time you enable or disable detailed browse time calculations.)

    Important: Enabling detailed browse time calculations increases Log Database size, and may also affect database performance. If you use this option, monitor Log Database growth and overall reporting performance carefully.

    When detailed browse time is disabled, the IBT job still runs to perform the calculations used to include browse time in summary reports.

  5. Click OK to cache your changes. Changes are not implemented until you click Save and Deploy.