Data trace indexing and trace packet encapsulation

A method, comprising:

• generating, by a processor circuit, trace information in response to activating a trace operation;
• relaying, by the processor circuit via a trace interface, the trace information to a trace circuit;
• and
• generating, by the trace circuit, a plurality of trace packets using the trace information, wherein a given trace packet of the plurality of trace packets includes an ordered data structure of a plurality of data sections, wherein an initial data section of the plurality of data sections includes a payload for the given trace packet, and wherein a final data section of the plurality of data sections includes a footer for the given trace packet.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a processor circuit configured to generate trace information in response to an activation of a trace operation;
• and
• a trace circuit coupled to the processor circuit via a trace interface, wherein the trace circuit is configured to:
• receive the trace information via the trace interface;
• in response to a detection of a load/store instruction in the trace information:
• assign a particular index to the load/store instruction from a pool of indices;
• and
• generate a data index trace packet using the particular index.