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# Introduction ## Overview TRACE32® is an industry-standard in-circuit debugging system developed by Lauterbach GmbH. It supports many target processors, including ARM® and Hexagon™ processors. TRACE32 consists of both hardware and software: - The hardware links the host computer with the hardware debug platform - The software provides a GUI debug interface on the host computer It can be used to debug and trace on hardware SURF boards, RUMI and ZeBu emulation platforms, and the Hexagon software simulator. All of these targets require the TRACE32 software; however, only the SURF boards and emulation targets require the TRACE32 hardware (which consists of an attached TRACE32 pod and license dongle). This document describes only the Hexagon-specific features of TRACE32. For information on generic TRACE32 features see the Lauterbach documentation (which is provided with the Hexagon software development tools). This document covers the following topics: - Installing TRACE32 software on the host computer - Configuring the TRACE32 hardware pod - Creating shortcuts for the software - Loading Hexagon binary images from the ARM processor - Configuring the Hexagon processor for debugging - Using TRACE32 to debug applications - Debugging multithreaded applications - Debugging applications on the software simulator Note This document does not cover ETM configuration for TRACE32. For more information see the document Training\_Hexagon\_ETM.pdf in the Lauterbach TRACE32 documentation. ## Block diagram The following figure shows the block diagram of a TRACE32-based debugging system. **TRACE32 debugging system** ## Reporting problems Most problems reported by TRACE32 users are ultimately caused not by the debugger but by incorrectly-configured hardware and software. Before reporting any problems or requesting support, be sure that you’re using the most recent version of TRACE32: - Check for the latest patch version in the TRACE32 release directory. - Check your current TRACE32 version by typing “VERSION” at the TRACE32 B:: prompt. - Include your TRACE32 version with any problem report or support request. When reporting a problem or requesting support, be sure to do the following: - When possible, create a simple test case which demonstrates the problem. - Scripting errors are common sources of problems. If using them provide information on where they can be found, or attach them to the problem report. - Debugger screen shots can be invaluable (and less work to create than written descriptions). Last Published: Oct 06, 2026 [Next Topic Installing TRACE32 Software](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-N2040-28/topics/installing-trace32-software.md)