New Relic APM: Stale Transaction Trace Data Persists After Deletion

Issue Overview

New Relic APM stores transaction trace data in an in‑memory cache to speed up UI rendering. The eviction policy is time‑based, yet traces can remain cached beyond their expected window when certain load patterns occur. When a trace is removed from the database—either by retention policy or manual deletion—the cached copy may still appear in the UI, presenting stale results.

Cache Key Design

The cache key incorporates only the transaction name and timestamp, omitting the full trace ID. This can lead to key collisions when multiple traces share the same name and timestamp but differ in ID, causing the UI to display an outdated trace.

Unresolved Behavior

New Relic documentation notes a pending fix but offers no release date, and there is currently no exposed API to force cache invalidation.

Specific Questions

• Under what conditions does the time‑based eviction policy fail to remove stale transaction traces from the cache?
• Can the cache key design be altered to include the trace ID, and what impact would that have on cache performance?
• Is there a way to programmatically trigger cache eviction for a specific trace or globally within the New Relic APM UI?