An empirical study of tracing techniques from a failure analysis perspective

Tracing is a dynamic analysis technique to continuously capture events of interest on a running program. The occurrence of a statement, the invocation of a function, and the trigger of a signal are examples of traced events. Software engineers employ traces to accomplish various tasks, ranging from performance monitoring to failure analysis. Despite its capabilities, tracing can negatively impact the performance and general behavior of an application. In order to minimize that impact, traces are normally buffered and transferred to (slower) permanent storage at specific intervals. This scenario presents a delicate balance. Increased buffering can minimize the impact on the target program, but it increases the risk of losing valuable collected data in the event of a failure. Frequent disk transfers can ensure traced data integrity, but it risks a high impact on the target program. We conducted an experiment involving six tracing schemes and various buffer sizes to address these trade-offs. Our results highlight opportunities for tailored tracing schemes that would benefit failure analysis.