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IntelliTrace is a new debugging technology introduced in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate. It’s based around low-overhead collection of debugger state at specific event points, exceptions, debugger stopping events and method enters and exits. From F5 debugging a user can move back in time to previous data collection points to examine collected data. In addition, the collected IntelliTrace file can be shared and the debugging session replayed on different machines.

When applications act up, you can break debugging and view the IntelliTrace events window. You’ll often see exceptions being thrown and caught that point to a possible issue or internal Microsoft .NET Framework calls that help convey what various frameworks are doing below the covers.

In the IntelliTrace options menu, a wide variety of IntelliTrace events can be configured for collection. These events were selected to cover a broad range of application types such as Windows Forms, ASP.NET and ADO.NET. A set of useful parameters has been selected for data collection at each event. With its ability to integrate with Microsoft Test Manager and save and debug from iTrace files, IntelliTrace can help close the “no repro” gap between developers and testers. A bug with an iTrace file attached is far more actionable for a developer. By integrating IntelliTrace into your testing workflows, you’ll improve life for both developers and testers.

By turning on the IntelliTrace calls information mode, data on method parameters and return values will be collected at all function enters and exits. This mode also provides several navigation features, such as searching for IntelliTrace results from source files and backward stepping to move between data collection points.

Source of Information : Visual Studio Magazine August 2010