JVM trace is a trace facility that is provided in all IBM-supplied JVMs with minimal affect on performance. In most cases, the trace data is kept in a compact binary format, that can be formatted with the Java™ formatter that is supplied.
Tracing is enabled by default, together with a small set of trace points going to memory buffers. You can enable tracepoints at runtime by using levels, components, group names, or individual tracepoint identifiers.
Trace is a powerful tool to help you diagnose the JVM.