Hi,
This will be of interest - and possibly concern - if you have to report
on video/audio downloads (eg iTunes U, etc). It may be that we're
amongst the last to realise this, or not. In summary, 206 requests for
video/audio - *.mp3 (audio); *.mp4 (video); etc. - have increased to the
extent that they exceed 200 requests. This in turn significantly reduces
the accuracy of download stats.
For video/audio, we use Stone Steps WebAlizer to analyse the raw log
files. This generates a 'files' value - ie total requests for files -
which has been a good measure of downloads given that the server in
question only serves video/audio files (ie no pages, images, etc). When
used in conjunction with separate scores for 200 (OK) and 206 (PARTIAL
CONTENT) requests - 'files' is the sum of all 200 and 206 requests - it
is possible to get a reasonable picture.
Not any more. The 206 requests have been increasing over the last year
and now exceed the 200 requests. Contrary to popular misconception, 206
requests are not - if I understand correctly - representative of partial
downloads (eg visitor stops listening to a file as it is streaming).
Rather, some clients opt to download large files in chunks, and request
this from the server. The chunks result in a series of 206 requests for
one file. So if a single file is served using 8 chunks, this is logged
as 8 [206] requests, which in turn is counted as 8 downloads (ie 'files'
+ 8). Partial downloads appear to be typical of media players.
Naturally, with usage of tablets, smartphones, and other devices on the
increase we are seeing a shift to these for video/audio. This is
resulting in more 206 requests and less accurate usage reports.
Is anybody else seeing this? If so, how are you coping with this change
in the underlying data? Also, does anybody know if there is
always|often|sometimes|never a 200 request with each sequence of 206
requests?
Best wishes,
Stephen...
Stephen Emmott
Head of Web Services
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
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