Azul brings Java compilation to the cloud

Java software provider Azul is unveiling Cloud Native Compiler, a cloud-based compilation service aimed at improving the performance and startup times for JVMs. Performance is boosted for JVM-based languages including Java, Scala, Kotlin, Clojure, Groovy, and JRuby, the company said.

Launched as part of the Azul Intelligence Cloud platform on December 15, Cloud Native Compiler scales up and down and reuses previously optimized compilations across JVMs to boost the performance of all JVMs to which it connects. Compatible with all Java applications, Cloud Native Compiler decouples just-in-time (JIT) compilation from the JVM and works in conjunction with Azul’s Platform Prime Java runtime, which had been known as Zing.

Cloud Native Compiler runs as a cloud-native application in a full Kubernetes environment. It can be used in any cloud. Other benefits cited by Azul include:

• Reduced cost of operations, by shifting JIT compilation to cloud resources.
• Improved application performance through more efficient throughput and responsiveness for a range of applications including front end, back end, API gateways, containerized applications and microservices.
• Improved JVM-based infrastructure workload performance for Java-based applications such as Apache’s Cassandra database, Solr search, and Kafka event stream processing.
• Avoidance of overprovisioning through right-sizing of instances. The heavy work of compilation is offloaded to a scalable, dedicated service.
• Faster warmup to full-speed operation, with containers reaching top-line performance faster.

Cloud Native Compiler is the first offering under the Azul Intelligence Cloud umbrella. This platform is set to offer a family of products that apply cloud resources to analyzing and optimizing Java fleets. Azul officials this week declined to state what other technologies would be added Azul Intelligence Cloud.