diff -r 93d067517551 -r 12e1b3452d01 src/mem/CommMonitor.py
--- a/src/mem/CommMonitor.py	Wed Apr 23 13:07:09 2014 +0100
+++ b/src/mem/CommMonitor.py	Wed Apr 23 13:07:18 2014 +0100
@@ -53,6 +53,13 @@
     master = MasterPort("Master port")
     slave = SlavePort("Slave port")
 
+    # Boolean to enable or disable the trace. Writes to an a file named based on
+    # SimObject hierarchy.
+    trace_enable = Param.Bool(False, "Enable trace capture")
+
+    # Boolean to compress the trace or not.
+    trace_compress = Param.Bool(True, "Enable trace compression")
+
     # packet trace output file, disabled by default
     trace_file = Param.String("", "Packet trace output file")
 
diff -r 93d067517551 -r 12e1b3452d01 src/mem/comm_monitor.cc
--- a/src/mem/comm_monitor.cc	Wed Apr 23 13:07:09 2014 +0100
+++ b/src/mem/comm_monitor.cc	Wed Apr 23 13:07:18 2014 +0100
@@ -58,11 +58,28 @@
       traceStream(NULL),
       system(params->system)
 {
-    // If we are using a trace file, then open the file,
-    if (params->trace_file != "") {
-        // If the trace file is not specified as an absolute path,
-        // append the current simulation output directory
-        std::string filename = simout.resolve(params->trace_file);
+    // If we are using a trace file, then open the file
+    if (params->trace_enable) {
+        std::string filename;
+        if (params->trace_file != "") {
+            // If the trace file is not specified as an absolute path,
+            // append the current simulation output directory
+            filename = simout.resolve(params->trace_file);
+
+            std::string suffix = ".gz";
+            // If trace_compress has been set, check the suffix. Append
+            // accordingly.
+            if (params->trace_compress &&
+                filename.compare(filename.size() - suffix.size(), suffix.size(),
+                                 suffix) != 0)
+                    filename = filename + suffix;
+        } else {
+            // Generate a filename from the name of the SimObject. Append .trc
+            // and .gz if we want compression enabled.
+            filename = simout.resolve(name() + ".trc" +
+                                      (params->trace_compress ? ".gz" : ""));
+        }
+
         traceStream = new ProtoOutputStream(filename);
 
         // Create a protobuf message for the header and write it to
diff -r 93d067517551 -r 12e1b3452d01 tests/configs/tgen-simple-mem.py
--- a/tests/configs/tgen-simple-mem.py	Wed Apr 23 13:07:09 2014 +0100
+++ b/tests/configs/tgen-simple-mem.py	Wed Apr 23 13:07:18 2014 +0100
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
                                             VoltageDomain()))
 
 # add a communication monitor, and also trace all the packets
-system.monitor = CommMonitor(trace_file = "monitor.ptrc.gz")
+system.monitor = CommMonitor(trace_file = "monitor.ptrc.gz",
+                             trace_enable = True)
 
 # connect the traffic generator to the bus via a communication monitor
 system.cpu.port = system.monitor.slave