1. A method in a distributed system comprising: generating in a server of the distributed system an operational data record corresponding to a transaction in the distributed system between two endpoints, the operational data record to be persisted as a record of the transaction; adding a root identifier (ID) to the operational data record that indicates a source endpoint of the transaction, the root ID being a first unique ID within the distributed system; adding a connection ID to the operational data record that indicates a communication message from the source endpoint to the destination endpoint related to the transaction, the connection ID being a second unique ID within the distributed system; and storing the operational data record with the root ID and the connection ID as persisted data in the server that services the transaction, the persisted data to indicate the transaction through the operational data record, and indicate a hierarchical position of the transaction within a business scenario transaction tree through the root ID and the connection ID.