A method by a computer includes generating polylines based on a sequence of values contained in performance trace data from a software source on a host machine node. Segments of the polylines are generated. Separate ones of the segments are categorized based on patterns of the polylines of the separate ones of the segments. For the separate ones of the segments, compressed data is generated that approximates values contained in the performance trace data corresponding to the polylines of the segment while regulating a level of fidelity of the approximations based on the categorization of the segment. The compressed data is stored in a log repository.