A method and apparatus for performing a computer application trace without interference with other operations. An embodiment of a method includes establishing a server session for a computer application, where the computer application is operating on a computer system. A trace session is established on the computer system, the trace session being connected with the server session. A performance trace of the computer application under the trace session is enabled, and a set of trace data for the performance trace is collected, where the set of trace data to correlated with the server session.