Aria by Macromedia is a recording and reporting system that enables Web site managers to understand exactly how their sites are being used by visitors. Acting on this knowledge they can make improvements to their sites.
In a three step process, Aria brings together all the Web site activity information and presents it through the Aria Reporter, which includes more than 80 canned reports for Web traffic and visitor analysis. The three main components of the Aria system include the Network and Server Monitors, which monitor Web and Network activity; the Aria Recorder, which collects the information supplied by the monitors and either writes it to the Oracle DB (Enterprise version) or an embedded DB (Real Time version), and the aforementioned Aria Reporter, which provides reporting capabilities for the collected information.
Aria is provided in two flavors. Aria Enterprise is based on (and requires) the Oracle DB for the storage and manipulation of data. It provides highly flexible reporting capabilities, and is preferred for users who prefer flexibility and control over immediate report availability. Aria Real Time, (the upgrade to Aria Enterprise 3.1) includes an embedded database (no external DB is required) and provides "Real Time" (within an hour or two after the data is collected) data reporting capabilities through the Aria Reporter and the PersonalAria ad-hoc reporting tool. Reporting capabilities of Aria Real Time are not as extensive or detailed as Aria Enterprise.
Other Aria tools include Aria for Dreamweaver, a Dreamweaver extension allowing developers to code pages with tags specifically designed for interpretation by the Aria monitors; and the Aria E-Commerce Monitor for BroadVision, which allows the Aria analysis mechanism to be integrated into BroadVision E-Commerce sites.