Tracealyzer

Tracealyzer
Name	Tracealyzer
Developer	Percepio AB
Released	2012
Latest release	2025
Programming language	C, C++
Operating system	Cross-platform
License	Proprietary, commercial
Website	Percepio

Tracealyzer

Tracealyzer is a commercial software tool for visualizing runtime behavior of embedded systems, instrumented applications, and distributed systems. It provides trace-based analysis that integrates with real-time operating systems, microcontrollers, and desktop platforms to give developers insights into scheduling, timing, and resource usage. Tracealyzer is used alongside products and projects from various vendors and institutions to improve debugging, performance tuning, and verification.

Overview

Tracealyzer presents event traces and visualizations to reveal runtime interactions among tasks, interrupts, timers, and I/O. The product is developed by Percepio AB and interacts with a wide ecosystem including ARM Cortex-M, Linux, FreeRTOS, Zephyr Project, and toolchains from ARM Ltd., NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, and Microchip Technology. It links to debug and tracing technologies such as SEGGER J-Link, OpenOCD, ETW, and LTTng for collection and playback. The tool complements development environments like Visual Studio Code, Eclipse, and IAR Embedded Workbench to help engineers in aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, and telecommunications.

Features

Tracealyzer offers multiple coordinated views including timeline, state, message flows, and kernel object lists. It supports recording of system calls, context switches, interrupt occurrences, and custom user events. Visualizations include CPU load, CPU usage per task, event frequency histograms, and causality graphs that assist analysis of race conditions, priority inversion, and deadlocks. Integration features include support for CAN bus, Ethernet, USB, and Bluetooth traces captured via vendors such as NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, and Nordic Semiconductor. It also provides export/import interoperability with formats used by GNU Project, Microsoft Windows, and Linux Foundation tracing initiatives.

Architecture and Supported Platforms

Tracealyzer architecture typically comprises an instrumentation library, a recorder or streaming agent, and a desktop application for visualization. Instrumentation libraries are available for many RTOSes including FreeRTOS, Zephyr Project, RTEMS, ThreadX, and Nucleus RTOS. It supports processors such as ARM Cortex-A, ARM Cortex-M, RISC-V, and x86 microarchitectures. On host platforms, Tracealyzer runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux distributions and integrates with CI systems from Jenkins and GitLab. Backends and transport mechanisms include serial, TCP/IP, and dedicated debug links supported by vendors like SEGGER and Lauterbach.

Usage and Workflow

Typical workflow begins with instrumenting the target with a Tracealyzer recorder and enabling trace capture in a build. Developers use toolchains from GCC, ARM GCC, or proprietary compilers like IAR Systems and Keil to compile instrumented firmware. Traces are collected during execution on hardware or in simulation environments such as QEMU and Renode and then loaded into the Tracealyzer desktop for analysis. Users navigate linked views—timeline, state, and CSP-style message flow—to trace causality from interrupts through task execution and inter-task messages. Advanced workflows integrate with automated test suites from Google Test or Unity (test framework) to capture traces tied to failing assertions and link to issue trackers like Jira.

Licensing and Editions

Tracealyzer is distributed under commercial licenses by Percepio with multiple editions tailored to different use cases: a basic edition for hobbyists and evaluation, professional editions for commercial development, and enterprise offerings with extended analysis and support. Licensing models include node-locked, floating, and subscription types compatible with corporate procurement from vendors such as Siemens and Schneider Electric. Percepio also offers SDKs and partner programs for OEM bundling with silicon vendors like NXP Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics.

History and Development

Development of the product began at Percepio AB in the early 2010s, with an initial focus on embedded RTOS visualization and later expansion to support cloud-connected and multicore systems. Over successive releases the product added support for additional RTOSes, protocol tracing, and streaming trace capabilities. The roadmap and development have been influenced by collaborations and standards from organizations like The Linux Foundation, ARM Ltd., and research groups at universities such as Lund University. Strategic partnerships and integrations with companies including SEGGER, Lauterbach, and Renode have broadened platform compatibility.

Reception and Use Cases

Tracealyzer has been adopted in domains requiring deterministic timing and reliability such as aerospace suppliers, automotive Tier 1 companies, industrial controllers, and medical device manufacturers. Case studies highlight reductions in debugging time and improved determinism in designs that employ AUTOSAR or IEC 61508 functional safety processes. Reviewers and technical bloggers compare its capabilities with other tracing and visualization tools used by teams at Bosch, Continental, and Siemens; academic usage appears in research on real-time scheduling and embedded systems courses at institutions like KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Chalmers University of Technology.

Category:Embedded systems