Red Hat to preview Java caching technology

03.05.2011
Red Hat will launch a preview of a new commercial enterprise Java data caching technology, based on its experimental Infinispan data grid software, the company announced Tuesday.

JBoss Enterprise Data Grid 6 will compete with other enterprise Java data caches, such as Oracle's Coherence, VMware's GemStone and Terracotta's Ehcache.

Large-scale distributed Java caches "are a niche area now, but from the customers we've spoken to we're seeing a definite interest. We could see real mainstream adoption," said Rich Sharples[cq], Red Hat's director of applications and platforms.

Red Hat has also submitted the specifications of Infinispan as the standard data caching layer for the Java Enterprise Edition standard. "We think this is an area ripe for standardization," Sharples said.

Data caches are used to scale applications beyond a single server, by pooling working memory across multiple servers. Running the application and its data in this pooled memory can speed the application's response time due to the fewer writes and reads needed to and from disks.

"Disks are the new tape," Sharples said.