TRACE32 Debug Tool & On-Chip Trace Buffer
Various core types include an on-chip trace buffer. Its size can be:
- A few entries
(e.g. MPC55xx/MPC56xx with 8 entries, S12X/XGATE with 128 entries).
- A few KBytes
(e.g. Qorivva MPC57xx and SPC57x/58x with up to 32k Nexus packets, Infineon TriCore™ MCDS with up to 2 MBytes).
 Recording
The trace information generated is recorded into the on-chip trace buffer.
Analysis
The trace information from the on-chip buffer is uploaded to the host computer via the JTAG interface, analyzed and displayed.
Uploading the trace information from the on-chip buffer is only possible if the recording is stopped. The only exception is MCDS DAP streaming
for the Infineon TriCore™ AURIX™. More details ...
TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool with Trace Memory of a Fixed Size
Many core designs provide a parallel or serial off-chip trace port (e.g. TPIU/HSSTP for Arm® Cortex®, AGBT/SGBT for Infineon TriCore™ AURIX™ ).
A TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool has to be connected to the target in order to record the exported trace information.
A TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool always provides a trace memory with a fixed size:
- MicroTrace provides 256 MByte.
- TRACE32 CombiProbe 2 provides 512 MByte.
- TRACE32 PowerTrace Serial provides 4 GByte.
- TRACE32 PowerTrace III provides up to 8 GByte.
Recording
The trace information generated is sampled at the trace port pins and transferred into the trace memory of the TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool.
Analysis
The trace information is uploaded from the trace memory to the host computer, analyzed and displayed.
It is only possible to upload the trace information when the recording is stopped.
TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool with Streaming
Streaming, this means that the trace information is collected and buffered by the trace memory of the TRACE32 tool and immediately transferred to a file on the host computer. This procedure enables use of trace memory to up to a size of several T Frames.
Streaming requires the following:
- 64-bit host computer to handle the large trace record numbers.
- The average data rate at the trace port should not exceed the maximum transmission rate of the host interface in use. Peak loads at the trace port are intercepted by the TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool, which can be considered to be operating as a large FIFO. Various mechanisms to compress the trace information before streaming are implemented.
Recording
The trace information generated is sampled at the trace port pins and transferred into the trace memory of the TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool. From there it is streamed immediately to a file on the host computer.
Analysis
The trace information is read from the streaming file, analyzed and displayed.
Reading the trace information from the streaming file can only be done when the recording is stopped.
As the streaming file contains only raw data to complete the analysis requires the target context at the recording time.
TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool with Real-Time Profiling
Real-Time Profiling means that the streamed trace information is analyzed in real-time on the host computer. This procedure is mainly used for Code Coverage and Instruction Runtime Statistics.
As the trace information is analyzed immediately, the results can be inspected whilst recording continues.
Real-Time Profiling provides a way to analyze a virtually infinite amount of trace information if the trace information is discarded after its analysis.
Real-Time Profiling has the following conditions:
- Supported for Arm® ETMv3, PTM and ETMv4.
- Supported for Nexus for MPC5xxx and QorIQ.
- Supported for Infineon TriCore™ MCDS.
- Supported for software-generated trace information (e.g Arm® CoreSight™ STM) from multiple sources. The trace information from the individual sources can be redirected to its
corresponding third-party analysis software through various mechanisms (e.g. named pipes).
Real-Time Profiling requires the following:
- A TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool.
- The average data rate at the trace port should not exceed the maximum transmission rate of the host interface in use. Peak loads at the trace port are intercepted by the TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool, which can be considered to be operating as a large FIFO. Various mechanisms to compress the trace information before streaming are implemented.
Concurrent Recording and Analysis
The trace information generated is sampled at the trace port pins, placed into the trace memory of the TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool and streamed immediately to the host computer. There it is analyzed and displayed in real-time.
TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool with Real-Time Profiling plus Storing
Instead of discarding the trace information after its analysis the processed trace information can be stored to a file on the host computer.
A 64-bit host system is needed to handle large trace record numbers.
Concurrent Recording and Analysis
The trace information generated is sampled at the trace port pins, placed into the trace memory of the TRACE32 Debug & Trace Tool and streamed immediately to the host computer. There it is analyzed and displayed in real-time. In parallel the processed trace information is copied to a file.
Comprehend the Analysis Result
In order to understand the analysis results in detail the trace information which has been processed can be read from the file back into TRACE32 at any time.
The target context at the recording time is not required.
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