User trace is one of two types of optional trace that are available in IBM® App Connect Enterprise and provides more information than that provided by the entries that are written to the Administration log. User trace is inactive by default; you must activate it explicitly by using the IBM App Connect Enterprise web user interface or a REST API command.
For more information about logs, see Logs. For information about controlling user trace, see Controlling user trace.
Typically, you use user trace for debugging your applications, as it can trace integration servers.
When you activate user trace, you cause additional processing for every activity in the component that you are tracing. Large quantities of data are generated by the components. Expect to see some effect on performance while user trace is active. You can limit this additional processing by restricting the time during which trace is active.
When trace is active, information is recorded in the user trace log files in plain text format.
If you include a Trace node in your message flows when you are developing and testing them, this option not only gives you the ability to trace messages and activity in the flow, but also allows you to specify an alternate target file for the trace contents to isolate the detail in which you are interested. For details of how to use and configure a Trace node, see the Trace node topic.