Patent ID: 7076767

Claim:
A method for selectively collecting information from a plurality of logical segments in a computing environment, the method comprising: controllably designating one of a plurality of information storage modes, wherein each of the information storage modes identifies one or more conditions occurring in the computing environment under which function, address, and control information of a memory access request will be stored; controllably designating at least one of a plurality of data collection periods defined by events occurring within designated portions of the computing environment, each of the plurality of data collection periods defining a respective temporal window in which storage of the function, address, and control information is enabled; and storing the function, address, and control information identified by the designated information storage mode only during the temporal window corresponding to the designated data collection period, wherein in response to a first mode the function, address, and control information is stored each time a memory request is received, and in response to a second mode the function, address, and control information stored responsive to function and address information in the memory request matching designated function and address information.