major disparity when counting hits on MP3 and XML files

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10:54 pm
July 23, 2010

IT Spud

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Tried the MP3 variation of the code ideas in your "Hits on Images" page, and have a major disparity to understand.

The numbers reported for 'hits' vs. 'pages viewed'… Before investigating the extra section, I decided to remove both MP3 and XML file extensions from the 'NotPageList'… The numbers I get for Page Views is very different.

The base code filter is 200 and 304… My first version of the extra section had been setup with the same codes. Then I read that I should add 206 to include all bandwidth, and now the numbers are dramatically different.

Some of the files I can see hits on in the extra section, don't event show up as a page view in the regular stats.

How should I go about getting accurate file access stats? Is having the MP3 and XML files counted in the 'Pages' section a bad idea, or can I glean useful information from it? (Like unique access of the file vs. all access?)

Here's my basic extra section setup…

# All MP3 files
ExtraSectionName2="All MP3 Hits"
ExtraSectionCodeFilter2="200 206 304"
ExtraSectionCondition2="URL,.*.mp3"
ExtraSectionFirstColumnTitle2="MP3 Link"
ExtraSectionFirstColumnValues2="URL,^(.+)"
ExtraSectionFirstColumnFormat2="%s"
ExtraSectionStatTypes2=HBL
ExtraSectionAddAverageRow2=1
ExtraSectionAddSumRow2=1
MaxNbOfExtra2=15
MinHitExtra2=1
#
# All XML files
ExtraSectionName1="All MP3 Hits"
ExtraSectionCodeFilter1="200 206 304"
ExtraSectionCondition1="URL,.*.xml"
ExtraSectionFirstColumnTitle1="XML Link"
ExtraSectionFirstColumnValues1="URL,^(.+)"
ExtraSectionFirstColumnFormat1="%s"
ExtraSectionStatTypes1=HBL
ExtraSectionAddAverageRow1=1
ExtraSectionAddSumRow1=1
MaxNbOfExtra1=15
MinHitExtra1=1

11:14 pm
July 23, 2010

Jean-Luc

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Hi,

I will assume that you work with AWStats 6.95 or older as some changes in 7.0 (beta) could change things here.

The hits counted by AWStats in all sections but the extra sections must have a status code authorized by the ValidHTTPCodes directive and they must not be identified as hits from robots. In the extra sections, the hits must have a status code authorized by the respective ExtraSectionCodeFilter directive (these hits may come from regular browsers or robots). This means that if the status codes authorized in ValidHTTPCodes and in ExtraSectionCodeFilter are identical, you should get higher numbers in the extra section.

206 codes are used for "large" files that are sent in parts to the browser: the web server first sends a 200 code with a part of the file and the following parts of the file are sent with a 206 codes. Including the 206 codes will give you a more realistic view of the bandwith, but it will probably generate confusion around the number of hits.

Having MP3 files counted as "pages" is not a bad idea as long as you remember that they are included when you look at number of pages.

7:15 pm
July 28, 2010

IT Spud

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Thanks for taking the time to help me understand the difference. (Note that the sections were pasted in reverse order, oops… Noticed it after, I submitted the original post.)

We've v6.9 (build 1.925)

If I understand correctly… Having the same codes (200 and 304) in both the ValidHTTPCodes and ExtraSectionCodeFilter should result in the same data, where the only difference between the Hits in the extra section and the Page Views in the main section… is what is identified as robot traffic?

Leaves me to wonder if I need to know about the robot traffic, or not. I'm thinking I'll want a section with, and another without the 206 code.

The site is a podcast host (you may have guessed), with most traffic being from iTunes Music Service / Apple… various podcast aggregators and other traffic from embedded players (java/flash)

The producers of the podcasts want a way to determine the audience for the files. Based on your helpful response, this looks like:

Page Views = human audience…

Extra Section (with matching codes) = total audience…

Extra Section with 206 code (continue the download) = total bandwidth.

Does this sound correct? Anything else I might try?

8:46 pm
July 28, 2010

Jean-Luc

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posts 1043

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IT Spud said:

Based on your helpful response, this looks like:

Page Views = human audience…

Extra Section (with matching codes) = total audience…

Extra Section with 206 code (continue the download) = total bandwidth.

Does this sound correct? Anything else I might try?

This is a very good summary.

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