US Patent 9450849 Trace backtracking in distributed systems

Methods and systems for trace backtracking are disclosed. In response to receiving a request from an upstream component at a downstream component, a trace is initiated at the downstream component. A response to the request is sent from the downstream component to the upstream component. The response comprises trace metadata. Trace data is generated at the upstream component in response to receiving the trace metadata at the upstream component. The trace data describes an interaction between the upstream component and the downstream component. A call graph is generated based on the trace data. The call graph comprises a call path between the upstream component and the downstream component.