diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/dataflow/ConnectorDescriptorWithMessagingTest.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/dataflow/ConnectorDescriptorWithMessagingTest.java
index 56a45c6..ecc14b1 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/dataflow/ConnectorDescriptorWithMessagingTest.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/dataflow/ConnectorDescriptorWithMessagingTest.java
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNPartitioningWithMessageConnectorDescriptor;
 import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.PartitionWithMessageDataWriter;
 import org.apache.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
+import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.ITraceCategoryRegistry;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.ITracer;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@
                 for (IFrameWriter writer : partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().values()) {
                     recipients.add((TestFrameWriter) writer);
                 }
-                partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);
+                partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);
                 for (TestFrameWriter writer : recipients) {
                     Assert.assertEquals(writer.nextFrameCount(), 1);
                     fta.reset(writer.getLastFrame());
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@
                 message.getBuffer().clear();
                 message.getBuffer().put(MessagingFrameTupleAppender.ACK_REQ_FEED_MESSAGE);
                 message.getBuffer().flip();
-                partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+                partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
                 for (TestFrameWriter writer : recipients) {
                     Assert.assertEquals(writer.nextFrameCount(), 2);
                     fta.reset(writer.getLastFrame());
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@
                 message.getBuffer().clear();
                 message.getBuffer().put(MessagingFrameTupleAppender.NULL_FEED_MESSAGE);
                 message.getBuffer().flip();
-                partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+                partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
                 for (TestFrameWriter writer : recipients) {
                     Assert.assertEquals(writer.nextFrameCount(), 3);
                     fta.reset(writer.getLastFrame());
@@ -170,7 +171,7 @@
             for (IFrameWriter writer : partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().values()) {
                 recipients.add((TestFrameWriter) writer);
             }
-            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
             for (TestFrameWriter writer : recipients) {
                 Assert.assertEquals(writer.nextFrameCount(), 1);
                 fta.reset(writer.getLastFrame());
@@ -182,7 +183,7 @@
             message.getBuffer().clear();
             message.getBuffer().put(MessagingFrameTupleAppender.ACK_REQ_FEED_MESSAGE);
             message.getBuffer().flip();
-            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
             for (TestFrameWriter writer : recipients) {
                 Assert.assertEquals(writer.nextFrameCount(), 2);
                 fta.reset(writer.getLastFrame());
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@
             message.getBuffer().clear();
             message.getBuffer().put(MessagingFrameTupleAppender.NULL_FEED_MESSAGE);
             message.getBuffer().flip();
-            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
             for (TestFrameWriter writer : recipients) {
                 Assert.assertEquals(writer.nextFrameCount(), 3);
                 fta.reset(writer.getLastFrame());
@@ -265,7 +266,7 @@
                 tuple = ttg.next();
             }
             partitioner.nextFrame(frame.getBuffer());
-            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
             Assert.assertEquals(1, partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().get(0).nextFrameCount());
             Assert.assertEquals(2, partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().get(1).nextFrameCount());
             Assert.assertEquals(1, partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().get(2).nextFrameCount());
@@ -324,7 +325,7 @@
                 appender.append(tuple);
             }
             partitioner.nextFrame(frame.getBuffer());
-            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, null, null);;
+            partitioner.flush(ITracer.NONE, null, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_NONE, null);;
             Assert.assertEquals(partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().get(0).nextFrameCount(), 1);
             Assert.assertEquals(partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().get(1).nextFrameCount(), 1);
             Assert.assertEquals(partitionWriterFactory.getWriters().get(2).nextFrameCount(), 1);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/operators/FeedMetaStoreNodePushable.java b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/operators/FeedMetaStoreNodePushable.java
index 3791f61..459a3ea 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/operators/FeedMetaStoreNodePushable.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/operators/FeedMetaStoreNodePushable.java
@@ -88,6 +88,8 @@
 
     private final ITracer tracer;
 
+    private final long traceCategory;
+
     public FeedMetaStoreNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
             int partition, int nPartitions, IOperatorDescriptor coreOperator, FeedConnectionId feedConnectionId,
             Map<String, String> feedPolicyProperties, FeedMetaOperatorDescriptor feedMetaOperatorDescriptor)
@@ -105,6 +107,7 @@
         this.recordDescProvider = recordDescProvider;
         this.opDesc = feedMetaOperatorDescriptor;
         tracer = ctx.getJobletContext().getServiceContext().getTracer();
+        traceCategory = tracer.getRegistry().get("Process-Frame");
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -140,7 +143,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-        long tid = tracer.durationB("Ingestion-Store", "Process-Frame", null);
+        long tid = tracer.durationB("Ingestion-Store", traceCategory, null);
         try {
             FeedUtils.processFeedMessage(buffer, message, fta);
             writer.nextFrame(buffer);
@@ -148,7 +151,7 @@
             LOGGER.log(Level.WARNING, "Failure Processing a frame at store side", e);
             throw HyracksDataException.create(e);
         } finally {
-            tracer.durationE(tid, null);
+            tracer.durationE(tid, traceCategory, null);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java
index 75d76c0..7a01b87 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java
@@ -605,15 +605,17 @@
     private class TraceCurrentTimeTask extends TimerTask {
 
         private ITracer tracer;
+        private long traceCategory;
 
         public TraceCurrentTimeTask(ITracer tracer) {
             this.tracer = tracer;
+            this.traceCategory = tracer.getRegistry().get("Timestamp");
         }
 
         @Override
         public void run() {
             try {
-                ITracer.check(tracer).instant("CurrentTime", "Timestamp", Tracer.Scope.p, Tracer.dateTimeStamp());
+                tracer.instant("CurrentTime", traceCategory, Tracer.Scope.p, Tracer.dateTimeStamp());
             } catch (Exception e) {
                 LOGGER.log(Level.WARNING, "Exception tracing current time", e);
             }
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/application/NCServiceContext.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/application/NCServiceContext.java
index 8e35ed4..6a75471 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/application/NCServiceContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/control/nc/application/NCServiceContext.java
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.control.nc.io.IOManager;
 import org.apache.hyracks.control.nc.resources.memory.MemoryManager;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.ITracer;
+import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.TraceCategoryRegistry;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.Tracer;
 
 public class NCServiceContext extends ServiceContext implements INCServiceContext {
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@
         this.memoryManager = memoryManager;
         this.ncs = ncs;
         this.sdh = lccm::dumpState;
-        this.tracer = new Tracer(nodeId, ncs.getConfiguration().getTraceCategories());
+        this.tracer = new Tracer(nodeId, ncs.getConfiguration().getTraceCategories(), new TraceCategoryRegistry());
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public ITracer getTracer() {
-        return ITracer.check(tracer);
+        return tracer;
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/AbstractFrameAppender.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/AbstractFrameAppender.java
index a377d75..18ddf3e 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/AbstractFrameAppender.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/AbstractFrameAppender.java
@@ -117,13 +117,13 @@
         writer.flush();
     }
 
-    public void flush(IFrameWriter writer, ITracer tracer, String name, String cat, String args)
+    public void flush(IFrameWriter writer, ITracer tracer, String name, long traceCategory, String args)
             throws HyracksDataException {
-        final long tid = ITracer.check(tracer).durationB(name, cat, args);
+        final long tid = tracer.durationB(name, traceCategory, args);
         try {
             flush(writer);
         } finally {
-            ITracer.check(tracer).durationE(tid, args);
+            tracer.durationE(tid, traceCategory, args);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/util/FrameUtils.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/util/FrameUtils.java
index ea53c25..ec45437 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/util/FrameUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/util/FrameUtils.java
@@ -150,14 +150,14 @@
     }
 
     public static int appendToWriter(IFrameWriter writer, IFrameTupleAppender frameTupleAppender,
-            IFrameTupleAccessor tupleAccessor, int tIndex, ITracer tracer, String name, String cat, String args)
+            IFrameTupleAccessor tupleAccessor, int tIndex, ITracer tracer, String name, long cat, String args)
             throws HyracksDataException {
         int flushedBytes = 0;
         if (!frameTupleAppender.append(tupleAccessor, tIndex)) {
             flushedBytes = frameTupleAppender.getBuffer().capacity();
-            long tid = ITracer.check(tracer).durationB(name, cat, args);
+            long tid = tracer.durationB(name, cat, args);
             frameTupleAppender.write(writer, true);
-            ITracer.check(tracer).durationE(tid, args);
+            tracer.durationE(tid, cat, args);
             if (!frameTupleAppender.append(tupleAccessor, tIndex)) {
                 throw HyracksDataException.create(ErrorCode.TUPLE_CANNOT_FIT_INTO_EMPTY_FRAME,
                         tupleAccessor.getTupleLength(tIndex));
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/PartitionDataWriter.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/PartitionDataWriter.java
index 4705001..5e33275 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/PartitionDataWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/PartitionDataWriter.java
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public void flush(ITracer tracer, String name, String cat, String args) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public void flush(ITracer tracer, String name, long cat, String args) throws HyracksDataException {
         for (int i = 0; i < consumerPartitionCount; i++) {
             if (allocatedFrames[i]) {
                 appenders[i].flush(pWriters[i], tracer, name, cat, args);
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/ExternalIndexHarness.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/ExternalIndexHarness.java
index 11f2441..2f4dcc2 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/ExternalIndexHarness.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/ExternalIndexHarness.java
@@ -39,13 +39,14 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.LSMOperationType;
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.common.IIndexCursor;
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.common.ISearchPredicate;
+import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.ITracer;
 
 public class ExternalIndexHarness extends LSMHarness {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ExternalIndexHarness.class.getName());
 
     public ExternalIndexHarness(ILSMIndex lsmIndex, ILSMMergePolicy mergePolicy, ILSMOperationTracker opTracker,
             boolean replicationEnabled) {
-        super(lsmIndex, mergePolicy, opTracker, replicationEnabled, null);
+        super(lsmIndex, mergePolicy, opTracker, replicationEnabled, ITracer.NONE);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java
index ac38cba..efd7f8c 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@
     protected final boolean replicationEnabled;
     protected List<ILSMDiskComponent> componentsToBeReplicated;
     protected ITracer tracer;
+    protected long traceCategory;
 
     public LSMHarness(ILSMIndex lsmIndex, ILSMMergePolicy mergePolicy, ILSMOperationTracker opTracker,
             boolean replicationEnabled, ITracer tracer) {
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@
         this.opTracker = opTracker;
         this.mergePolicy = mergePolicy;
         this.tracer = tracer;
+        this.traceCategory = tracer.getRegistry().get("release-memory-component");
         fullMergeIsRequested = new AtomicBoolean();
         //only durable indexes are replicated
         this.replicationEnabled = replicationEnabled && lsmIndex.isDurable();
@@ -253,13 +255,13 @@
                                     }
                                     break;
                                 case INACTIVE:
-                                    ITracer.check(tracer).instant(c.toString(), "release-memory-component", Scope.p,
-                                            lsmIndex.toString());
+                                    tracer.instant(c.toString(), traceCategory, Scope.p, lsmIndex.toString());
                                     ((AbstractLSMMemoryComponent) c).reset();
-                                    // Notify all waiting threads whenever the mutable component's has change to inactive. This is important because
-                                    // even though we switched the mutable components, it is possible that the component that we just switched
-                                    // to is still busy flushing its data to disk. Thus, the notification that was issued upon scheduling the flush
-                                    // is not enough.
+                                    // Notify all waiting threads whenever the mutable component's state has changed to
+                                    // inactive. This is important because even though we switched the mutable
+                                    // components, it is possible that the component that we just switched to is still
+                                    // busy flushing its data to disk. Thus, the notification that was issued upon
+                                    // scheduling the flush is not enough.
                                     opTracker.notifyAll();
                                     break;
                                 default:
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TracedIOOperation.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TracedIOOperation.java
index a7ec8c3..88f3231 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TracedIOOperation.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TracedIOOperation.java
@@ -37,22 +37,25 @@
     protected final ILSMIOOperation ioOp;
     private final LSMIOOpertionType ioOpType;
     private final ITracer tracer;
-    private final String cat;
+    private final long traceCategory;
 
-    protected TracedIOOperation(ILSMIOOperation ioOp, ITracer tracer) {
+    protected TracedIOOperation(ILSMIOOperation ioOp, ITracer tracer, long traceCategory) {
         this.ioOp = ioOp;
         this.tracer = tracer;
         this.ioOpType = ioOp.getIOOpertionType();
-        this.cat = ioOpType.name().toLowerCase();
+        this.traceCategory = traceCategory;
     }
 
     public static ILSMIOOperation wrap(final ILSMIOOperation ioOp, final ITracer tracer) {
-        if (tracer != null && tracer.isEnabled()) {
-            tracer.instant(ioOp.getTarget().getRelativePath(),
-                    ioOp.getIOOpertionType() == LSMIOOpertionType.FLUSH ? "schedule-flush" : "schedule-merge", Scope.p,
-                    null);
-            return ioOp instanceof Comparable ? new ComparableTracedIOOperation(ioOp, tracer)
-                    : new TracedIOOperation(ioOp, tracer);
+        final String ioOpName = ioOp.getIOOpertionType().name().toLowerCase();
+        final long traceCategorySchedule = tracer.getRegistry().get("schedule-" + ioOpName);
+        if (tracer.isEnabled(traceCategorySchedule)) {
+            tracer.instant(ioOp.getTarget().getRelativePath(), traceCategorySchedule, Scope.p, null);
+        }
+        final long traceCategoryExec = tracer.getRegistry().get(ioOpName);
+        if (tracer.isEnabled(traceCategoryExec)) {
+            return ioOp instanceof Comparable ? new ComparableTracedIOOperation(ioOp, tracer, traceCategoryExec)
+                    : new TracedIOOperation(ioOp, tracer, traceCategoryExec);
         }
         return ioOp;
     }
@@ -83,12 +86,12 @@
 
     @Override
     public Boolean call() throws HyracksDataException {
-        final long tid = tracer.durationB(getTarget().getRelativePath(), cat, null);
+        final String name = getTarget().getRelativePath();
+        final long tid = tracer.durationB(name, traceCategory, null);
         try {
             return ioOp.call();
         } finally {
-            tracer.durationE(getTarget().getRelativePath(), cat, tid,
-                    "{\"size\":" + getTarget().getFile().length() + "}");
+            tracer.durationE(name, traceCategory, tid, "{\"size\":" + getTarget().getFile().length() + "}");
         }
     }
 
@@ -105,8 +108,8 @@
 
 class ComparableTracedIOOperation extends TracedIOOperation implements Comparable<ILSMIOOperation> {
 
-    protected ComparableTracedIOOperation(ILSMIOOperation ioOp, ITracer trace) {
-        super(ioOp, trace);
+    protected ComparableTracedIOOperation(ILSMIOOperation ioOp, ITracer trace, long traceCategory) {
+        super(ioOp, trace, traceCategory);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java
index ef5a0d2..84eae32 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java
@@ -41,7 +41,9 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMOperationTracker;
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.IVirtualBufferCache;
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.ITraceCategoryRegistry;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.ITracer;
+import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.TraceCategoryRegistry;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.trace.Tracer;
 
 @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
@@ -102,7 +104,8 @@
             lsmTree = LSMBTreeUtil.createLSMTree(ioManager, virtualBufferCaches, file, diskBufferCache, typeTraits,
                     cmpFactories, bloomFilterKeyFields, bloomFilterFalsePositiveRate, mergePolicy, opTracker,
                     ioScheduler, ioOpCallback, needKeyDupCheck, null, null, null, null, true,
-                    metadataPageManagerFactory, updateAware, Tracer.ALL);
+                    metadataPageManagerFactory, updateAware, new Tracer(LSMBTreeTestContext.class.getSimpleName(),
+                            ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_ALL, new TraceCategoryRegistry()));
         }
         LSMBTreeTestContext testCtx = new LSMBTreeTestContext(fieldSerdes, lsmTree, filtered);
         return testCtx;
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Event.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Event.java
index b3f5c98..3edba21 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Event.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Event.java
@@ -23,17 +23,19 @@
 final class Event {
     private static final long NANOTIME_DELTA_TO_EPOCH =
             System.nanoTime() - TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toNanos(System.currentTimeMillis());
+
     public final String name;
-    public final String cat;
+    public final long cat;
     public final ITracer.Phase ph;
     public final long ts;
     public final int pid;
     public final long tid;
     public final ITracer.Scope scope;
     public final String args;
+    public final TraceCategoryRegistry registry;
 
-    private Event(String name, String cat, ITracer.Phase ph, long ts, int pid, long tid, ITracer.Scope scope,
-            String args) {
+    private Event(String name, long cat, ITracer.Phase ph, long ts, int pid, long tid, ITracer.Scope scope, String args,
+            TraceCategoryRegistry registry) {
         this.name = name;
         this.cat = cat;
         this.ph = ph;
@@ -42,15 +44,16 @@
         this.tid = tid;
         this.scope = scope;
         this.args = args;
+        this.registry = registry;
     }
 
     private static long timestamp() {
         return (System.nanoTime() - NANOTIME_DELTA_TO_EPOCH) / 1000;
     }
 
-    public static Event create(String name, String cat, ITracer.Phase ph, int pid, long tid, ITracer.Scope scope,
-            String args) {
-        return new Event(name, cat, ph, timestamp(), pid, tid, scope, args);
+    public static Event create(String name, long cat, ITracer.Phase ph, int pid, long tid, ITracer.Scope scope,
+            String args, TraceCategoryRegistry registry) {
+        return new Event(name, cat, ph, timestamp(), pid, tid, scope, args, registry);
     }
 
     public String toJson() {
@@ -62,8 +65,9 @@
         if (name != null) {
             sb.append("\"name\":\"").append(name).append("\",");
         }
-        if (cat != null) {
-            sb.append("\"cat\":\"").append(cat).append("\",");
+        if (cat != 0L) {
+            final String catName = registry.getName(cat);
+            sb.append("\"cat\":\"").append(catName).append("\",");
         }
         sb.append("\"ph\":\"").append(ph).append("\",");
         sb.append("\"pid\":\"").append(pid).append("\",");
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITraceCategoryRegistry.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITraceCategoryRegistry.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efec0dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITraceCategoryRegistry.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.hyracks.util.trace;
+
+public interface ITraceCategoryRegistry {
+
+    int NO_CATEGORIES = 64;
+
+    long CATEGORIES_ALL = -1L;
+    long CATEGORIES_NONE = 0L;
+
+    ITraceCategoryRegistry NONE = new TraceCategoryRegistry() {
+        @Override
+        public long get(String name) {
+            return CATEGORIES_NONE;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public long get(String... names) {
+            return CATEGORIES_NONE;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String getName(long categoryCode) {
+            return "";
+        }
+    };
+
+    long get(String name);
+
+    long get(String... names);
+
+    String getName(long categoryCode);
+}
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITracer.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITracer.java
index 8342c5b..4f1c2b9 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITracer.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/ITracer.java
@@ -58,49 +58,49 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public boolean isEnabled() {
+        public ITraceCategoryRegistry getRegistry() {
+            return ITraceCategoryRegistry.NONE;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public boolean isEnabled(long cat) {
             return false;
         }
 
         @Override
-        public long durationB(String name, String cat, String args) {
+        public long durationB(String name, long cat, String args) {
             return -1;
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void durationE(long tid, String args) {
+        public void durationE(String name, long cat, long tid, String args) {
             // nothing to do here
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void instant(String name, String cat, Scope scope, String args) {
+        public void durationE(long tid, long cat, String args) {
             // nothing to do here
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void durationE(String name, String cat, long tid, String args) {
+        public void instant(String name, long cat, Scope scope, String args) {
             // nothing to do here
         }
     };
 
-    static ITracer check(ITracer tracer) {
-        if (tracer == null) {
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Tracer cannot be null");
-        }
-        return tracer.isEnabled() ? tracer : NONE;
-    }
-
     String getName();
 
-    boolean isEnabled();
+    ITraceCategoryRegistry getRegistry();
 
-    long durationB(String name, String cat, String args);
+    boolean isEnabled(long cat);
 
-    void durationE(long tid, String args);
+    long durationB(String name, long cat, String args);
 
-    void durationE(String name, String cat, long tid, String args);
+    void durationE(long tid, long cat, String args);
 
-    void instant(String name, String cat, Scope scope, String args);
+    void durationE(String name, long cat, long tid, String args);
+
+    void instant(String name, long cat, Scope scope, String args);
 
     @Override
     String toString();
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceCategoryRegistry.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceCategoryRegistry.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db11285
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceCategoryRegistry.java
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.hyracks.util.trace;
+
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
+
+public class TraceCategoryRegistry implements ITraceCategoryRegistry {
+
+    private Map<String, Long> categories = Collections.synchronizedMap(new HashMap<>());
+    private int bitPos = 0;
+
+    public TraceCategoryRegistry() {
+        categories.put("*", ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_ALL);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public long get(String name) {
+        return categories.computeIfAbsent(name, this::nextCode);
+    }
+
+    private long nextCode(String name) {
+        if (bitPos > NO_CATEGORIES - 1) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("Cannot add category " + name);
+        }
+        return 1L << bitPos++;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public long get(String... names) {
+        long result = 0;
+        for (String name : names) {
+            result |= get(name);
+        }
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    private Optional<Map.Entry<String, Long>> findEntry(long categoryCode) {
+        return categories.entrySet().stream().filter(e -> e.getValue() == categoryCode).findFirst();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String getName(long categoryCode) {
+        Optional<Map.Entry<String, Long>> entry = findEntry(categoryCode);
+        if (!entry.isPresent()) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("No category for code " + categoryCode);
+        }
+        return entry.get().getKey();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
+        for (int pos = 0; pos < NO_CATEGORIES; ++pos) {
+            long categoryCode = 1L << pos;
+            Optional<Map.Entry<String, Long>> entry = findEntry(categoryCode);
+            if (!entry.isPresent()) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            String name = entry.get().getKey();
+            String codeString = Long.toBinaryString(categoryCode);
+            sb.append(name).append(" -> ").append(codeString).append(' ');
+        }
+        return sb.toString();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Tracer.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Tracer.java
index d540dda..72a9989 100644
--- a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Tracer.java
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/main/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/Tracer.java
@@ -40,16 +40,25 @@
     protected static final DateFormat DATE_FORMAT = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSXXX");
 
     protected final Logger traceLog;
-    protected String[] categories;
+    protected long categories;
+    protected TraceCategoryRegistry registry;
 
     protected static final int pid = PidHelper.getPid();
 
-    public Tracer(String name, String[] categories) {
+    public Tracer(String name, long categories, TraceCategoryRegistry registry) {
         final String traceLoggerName = Tracer.class.getName() + "@" + name;
-        LOGGER.info("Initialize Tracer " + traceLoggerName + " " + Arrays.toString(categories));
+        LOGGER.info("Initialize Tracer " + traceLoggerName);
         this.traceLog = Logger.getLogger(traceLoggerName);
         this.categories = categories;
-        instant("Trace-Start", CAT, Scope.p, dateTimeStamp());
+        this.registry = registry;
+        final long traceCategory = getRegistry().get(CAT);
+        instant("Trace-Start", traceCategory, Scope.p, dateTimeStamp());
+    }
+
+    public Tracer(String name, String[] categories, TraceCategoryRegistry registry) {
+        this(name, ITraceCategoryRegistry.CATEGORIES_ALL, registry);
+        LOGGER.info("Set categories for Tracer " + this.traceLog.getName() + " to " + Arrays.toString(categories));
+        this.categories = getRegistry().get(categories);
     }
 
     public static String dateTimeStamp() {
@@ -58,11 +67,9 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public static final Tracer ALL = new Tracer("All", new String[] { "*" });
-
     @Override
     public String toString() {
-        return getName() + Arrays.toString(categories) + (isEnabled() ? "enabled" : "disabled");
+        return getName() + Long.toHexString(categories);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -71,32 +78,46 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public boolean isEnabled() {
-        return categories.length > 0;
+    public TraceCategoryRegistry getRegistry() {
+        return registry;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public long durationB(String name, String cat, String args) {
-        Event e = Event.create(name, cat, Phase.B, pid, Thread.currentThread().getId(), null, args);
-        traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
-        return e.tid;
+    public boolean isEnabled(long cat) {
+        return (categories & cat) != 0L;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void durationE(long tid, String args) {
-        Event e = Event.create(null, null, Phase.E, pid, tid, null, args);
-        traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+    public long durationB(String name, long cat, String args) {
+        if (isEnabled(cat)) {
+            Event e = Event.create(name, cat, Phase.B, pid, Thread.currentThread().getId(), null, args, getRegistry());
+            traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+            return e.tid;
+        }
+        return -1;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void durationE(String name, String cat, long tid, String args) {
-        Event e = Event.create(name, cat, Phase.E, pid, tid, null, args);
-        traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+    public void durationE(String name, long cat, long tid, String args) {
+        if (isEnabled(cat)) {
+            Event e = Event.create(name, cat, Phase.E, pid, tid, null, args, getRegistry());
+            traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void instant(String name, String cat, Scope scope, String args) {
-        Event e = Event.create(name, cat, Phase.i, pid, Thread.currentThread().getId(), scope, args);
-        traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+    public void durationE(long tid, long cat, String args) {
+        if (isEnabled(cat)) {
+            Event e = Event.create(null, 0L, Phase.E, pid, tid, null, args, getRegistry());
+            traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void instant(String name, long cat, Scope scope, String args) {
+        if (isEnabled(cat)) {
+            Event e = Event.create(name, cat, Phase.i, pid, Thread.currentThread().getId(), scope, args, getRegistry());
+            traceLog.log(TRACE_LOG_LEVEL, e.toJson());
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceCategoryRegistryTest.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceCategoryRegistryTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2207aba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceCategoryRegistryTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.hyracks.util.trace;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class TraceCategoryRegistryTest {
+
+    @Test
+    public void limit() {
+        TraceCategoryRegistry registry = new TraceCategoryRegistry();
+
+        int success = 0;
+        int fail = 0;
+        String expectedError = "Cannot add category";
+        String actualError = null;
+        for (int i = 0; i < ITraceCategoryRegistry.NO_CATEGORIES + 1; ++i) {
+            try {
+                final String name = "cat" + Integer.toHexString(i);
+                registry.get(name);
+                ++success;
+            } catch (IllegalStateException ise) {
+                actualError = ise.getMessage();
+                ++fail;
+            }
+        }
+        Assert.assertEquals(64, success);
+        Assert.assertEquals(1, fail);
+        Assert.assertTrue(actualError.contains(expectedError));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void getNameValidCode() {
+        TraceCategoryRegistry registry = new TraceCategoryRegistry();
+        registry.get("catA");
+        registry.get("catB");
+        registry.get("catC");
+
+        int success = 0;
+        int fail = 0;
+        String expectedError = "No category for code";
+        String actualError = null;
+        String expectedResult = "catC";
+        String actualResult = null;
+        for (int i = 0; i < ITraceCategoryRegistry.NO_CATEGORIES; ++i) {
+            try {
+                final long code = 1L << i;
+                actualResult = registry.getName(code);
+                ++success;
+            } catch (IllegalArgumentException iae) {
+                actualError = iae.getMessage();
+                ++fail;
+            }
+        }
+
+        Assert.assertEquals(3, success);
+        Assert.assertEquals(61, fail);
+        Assert.assertEquals(actualResult, expectedResult);
+        Assert.assertTrue(actualError.contains(expectedError));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void getNameInvalidCode() {
+        TraceCategoryRegistry registry = new TraceCategoryRegistry();
+
+        final String expectedError = "No category for code";
+        String actualError = null;
+        try {
+            registry.getName(11);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException iae) {
+            actualError = iae.getMessage();
+        }
+        Assert.assertTrue(actualError.contains(expectedError));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceTest.java b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b36013
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-fullstack/hyracks/hyracks-util/src/test/java/org/apache/hyracks/util/trace/TraceTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.apache.hyracks.util.trace;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.OutputStream;
+import java.util.logging.Formatter;
+import java.util.logging.LogRecord;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+import java.util.logging.StreamHandler;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+
+public class TraceTest {
+
+    private final ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
+    private final String name = "test";
+
+    private StreamHandler redirectTraceLog(OutputStream os) throws IOException {
+        final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(Tracer.class.getName() + "@" + name);
+        final StreamHandler handler = new StreamHandler(os, new Formatter() {
+            @Override
+            public String format(LogRecord record) {
+                return record.getMessage() + "\n";
+            }
+        });
+        logger.addHandler(handler);
+        return handler;
+    }
+
+    private JsonNode validate(String line) throws IOException {
+        return mapper.readTree(line);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testInstant() throws IOException {
+        final ByteArrayOutputStream os = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+        final StreamHandler handler = redirectTraceLog(os);
+
+        TraceCategoryRegistry registry = new TraceCategoryRegistry();
+        long cat1 = registry.get("CAT1");
+        long cat2 = registry.get("CAT2");
+        long cat3 = registry.get("CAT3");
+
+        ITracer tracer = new Tracer(name, new String[] { "CAT1", "CAT2" }, registry);
+        tracer.instant("test1", cat1, ITracer.Scope.p, null);
+        tracer.instant("test2", cat2, ITracer.Scope.p, null);
+        tracer.instant("test3", cat3, ITracer.Scope.p, null);
+
+        handler.flush();
+
+        String[] lines = os.toString().split("\n");
+        for (String line : lines) {
+            Assert.assertFalse(validate(line).get("cat").equals("CAT3"));
+        }
+    }
+}