Abstract: A system can include a host machine connected to a device under test (DUT) by a serial link. The host machine can include a serial interface, such as a Thunderbolt interface, and a memory. The DUT can include a trace data source, a high-speed trace interface (HTI) to receive trace data from the trace data source, a serial interface (such as a Thunderbolt interface), and a PIPE interface connecting the HTI with the serial interface. The HTI is to send the trace data to the serial interface through the PIPE interface. The serial interface is to packetize the trace data into a conforming packet format, and send the trace data as a packet across the serial link to the host machine. The host machine can receive the trace data at the host-side serial interface, store the trace data in memory, and process the trace data for debugging the DUT.