The various embodiments of the invention relate to analyzing operations of an emulated input-output processor. Instructions native to the first type of instruction processor are emulated on a second-type instruction processor. The instruction processor emulator executes an operating system that includes instructions native to the first type of instruction processor. The operating system includes instructions that write input/output (IO) requests to the memory arrangement in response to IO functions invoked by a program. An IOP emulator that is executable on the second-type processor emulates IOP processing of IO requests from the memory arrangement. The IOP emulator maintains in the memory arrangement a first set of data structures used in processing the IO requests. State data currently contained in the data structures is stored on a retentive storage device, and in response to user input controls, the state data is read from retentive storage and displayed.