When optimizing - don't forget the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

Recently, I was working on a project that was coming to a close. It was related to optimizing a database using a Java based in-memory cache to reduce the load. The application had to process up to a million objects per day and was characterized by its heavy use of memory and the high number of read, write and update operations. These operations were found to be the most costly, which meant that optimization efforts were concentrated here.

The project had already achieved impressive performance increases, but one question remained unanswered - would changing the JVM increase performance?

Read more at:  http://bigdatamatters.com/bigdatamatters/2009/08/jvm-performance.html