Azul Systems takes on Oracle JRockit with Zing 5.0

Java company Azul Systems has launched a scalable Java Virtual Machine (JVM) for enterprise Java workloads, designed to cut operating costs and offer improved capacity and throughput.

Zing 5.0 is aimed at Linux and x86-based servers, and is intended to compete with Oracle's JRockit product. Azul claims it is the only JVM to support application instances exceeding 512GB of memory.

This means that businesses can simplify Java deployments by using fewer instances, and save on operating costs, the firm said.

Gil Tene, chief technology officer and co-founder of Azul, told V3 that Zing eliminates common Java scalability limitations such as garbage collection issues, and enables Java app instances to scale to dozens of CPU cores and hundreds of gigabytes of memory.

This enables greater application response time, consistency, capacity and sustained throughput, he added.

Tene explained that the new version is noteworthy because it adds new packaging which "significantly expands the reach" of the product.

"The dramatic difference is that this is designed for Linux OSs without requiring an infrastructure change," he said.

Zing also supports memory allocation rates above those of traditional JVMs, and can automatically scale memory and CPU resources up and down according to demand, Azul claimed. 

"Over the last year we've overcome the core issues behind traditional Java limitations on commodity and mainstream Linux server platforms, furthering our lead in Java innovation for the enterprise," Tene said. 

Zing 5.0 is now generally available based on an annual subscription per server.