Robert Casto Software Developer and Performance Engineer

Announcements

• Sun Java 6 Update 18 Released
  Sun has released an update to the Early Release Program with the following changes:

HotSpot version 16

Support for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

JavaFX performance improvements

Java WebStart related improvements for Java Store requirements

List of deployment features:

Info

• Lessons learned from getting .NET to REST with Java Performance …
  By Andreas Grabner
  On a recent project I had to call Java REST services from a .NET Client. Several problems came up – ranging from authentication to hidden performance issues. I want to share my lessons learned and encourage you to share your own …

Posted under Performance, Week in Review

Info

• New Java 6 Collections « Caught By Java
  By Asim
  Unlike Deque, List also allows us to insert or delete at any location within the list with a high performance cost. ArrayList has a higher cost for insert and delete operation as compared to ArrayDeque, as the portions of the array must …

• Stress tests rain on Amazon’s cloud
  CRN Australia – Australia
  The analysis simulated 2000 concurrent users connecting to services from each of … Net development platform, adapters are being released for Java and PHP …

Announcements

• Justice Dept says OK to Oracle’s $7.4 billion deal for Sun …
  By Jordan Robertson
  Clearance by the Justice Department had been held up over questions about the licensing of Java, a programming language that Sun invented that now runs on more than 7 billion electronic devices around the world, including cell phones … Sun’s performance had been shaky for nearly a decade before Oracle outbid IBM Corp. for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company in April. IBM is one of Oracle’s biggest database software rivals, and is a major Sun rival in computer servers. …

Posted under Performance, Week in Review

Information

• Google Page Speed – Firefox plugin for improving website performance – Tool that uses cache optimization, gzip, and minimizes request times. Can show network activity of webpages.
• Acquiring JVM Runtime Information – Descriptions of tools to get data from running Java processes. jps, jinfo, JConsole, and VisualVM)
• Dealing with multi-partition transactions in a distributed KV solution – Very interested discussion about performance ofl All0partition transactions.
• Java being ported to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ARM processor – Market will have yet another hardware platform running Java.

Tools

• NEOTYS Announced NeoLoad 3.0 for Stress and Load Testing of Web Applications – Update of tool that can load test web applications including GWT (Google Web Toolkit)
• Total Network Monitor 1.0.1 Released – Network monitoring tool from Softinventive Lab.
• Page Speed Introduced by Google – Firefox Add-on integrated with Firebug that tells you want can be done to improve a download and display for a web page.

How To

• SharePoint Performance, Stress or Load Testing – Discussion about performance testing a SharePoint service. Describes tools and metrics that are helpful.
• Monitoring Performance – Discusses what to monitor in a Windows environment.
• How to install MySQL Monitoring Tools mtop for CenOS Debian – Instructions on how to get the monitoring tool ‘mtop’ installed for MySQL on CentOS Debian.
• JETM – The easy way to monitor your Spring Application – Instructions on how to use JETM to monitor Spring.
• Building Scalable, Complex Apps on App Engine – Session Video by Brett Slatkin that discusses data structures, techniques, and other issues and how to make them scale on the Goggle App Engine.
• Improving page download perception by moving JavaScript to the end – Small article with PHP code that describes how to increase page load perception.
• Unofficial Guide to QuiteTest Professional 10 – Site devoted to helping users with QTP.

Why Performance Test

• Making a case for application performance management by Ann Bednarz – Discusses an Aberdeen Group report about issues with application performance.

Free!

• Eclipse Web Tools Platform: Developing Java Web Applications – Discusses the Test and Performance Tools Platform (TPTP).

Posted under Performance, Week in Review

Tools

• MemoryUp Pro, Memory And Ram Optimizer Reviewed – Review of eMobiStudio’s MemoryUp application for Symbian-powered smartphones.
• Free LogParser.Email Log Parser Built with VB.NET 2005 – Free application for processing log files written in VB.NET 2005.
• SQL Server 2005 Replication Enhancements – Updates to the replication monitor, pre-computed partitions, updates to unique keys, transactional parallelism, managed replication, and more.
• Apache JMeter 2.3.3 has been updated to version 2.3.3 – Test closedown, HTTP Cookie handling, saving JDBC results, and much more all improved.
• AirMagnet Receives Networking Award for their WiFi Analyzer – Monitors the performance of WiFi networks and assists with problem detection and resolution.
• Review of SQL Server Performance and Monitoring Tools – Lists the tools, how they can be used, and what data is available from each. Nice overview for those wanting to learn what performance monitoring options are available for SQL Server.
• Load Testing an Oracle database with OATS (Oracle Application Test Suite) – Alex Amat discusses how OATS can be used for more than just testing Oracle applications. Very nice article with lots of pictures and source code.
• TaskInfo v9.0 Released by IARSN Company – Replacement for Windows built-in Task Manager. Provides performance analysis graphs of processes, resources, and much more.
• Alchemy Network Monitor 10.1 Released – Inexpensive monitor for detecting network problems.
• JavaOne: Tolls and Utilities for Debugging the JVM – Lists a number of tools including one for visually monitoring garbage collection.
• An IPerf and JPerf Testing Procedure Example – Describes a procedure with these tools to find the performance of a Point to Point connection.
• Everest Ultimate Edition 4.6 Free – Software Updated to Version 5.02 – Windows performance and system information tool including overclocking info, diagnostics, and benchmarking.
• D-Link updates Desktop Widget for monitoring 802.11N Wi-Fi Routers – Widgets for Yahoo!, Vista, and Mac Dashboard updated for monitoring 802.11n Wi-Fi routers

Information

• The speed, size and dependability of programming languages – A great article showing various programming languages and how they relate to each other based on speed, size and dependability
• The Computer Language Benchmarks Game – Programming language measurements.
• Java Software used to monitor performance of LincVolt – How’s that for a cool use of Java technology!
• Performance Tuning is a Dynamic Process – Article discusses Dynamics AX specifically, but is a good read about the the tuning processing and why it is not predictable.
• Tata Communications launches Application Performance Visibility Service – Suite of integrated tiiered service options for monitoring system performance.
• David Holmes on Java Real-Time Systems – Interview by Steve Haines of InformIT Java Reference Guide before the 2009 JavaOne conference.
• Breaking Through JVM Memory Limits – Gil Tene is interviewed about memory issues by Frank Sommers.
• Kirk Pepperdine demonstrates performance pitfalls – Kirk shows why blind performance improvements don’t necessarily result in better system performance. Two examples are given both of which are common pitfalls developers fall into when trying to improve code.
• Larry Ellison says Oracle will pour money into Java – At JavaOne Larry Ellison said they have a huge investment on the technology. He admitted that everything they do that sits above the database is written in Java. They will be investing heavily and are most interested in its continued improvement.
• Tools for Monitoring Synchronization Waits in Java – Nice discussion on the Java Performance Professionals LinkedIn group about how to monitor thread contention and sychronization waits in Java.
• The Trouble with Troubleshooting – Discusses the problem of network monitoring and why tools never quite meet the challenge.

Why Performance Test

• Performance issues cost Simson Confections $3.2 million – Downtime results in lost revenue. Doing proper performance testing can find these problems before they become a boardroom statistic.
• What went wrong with Nokia’s Ovi Store Launch – Yet another example where proper QA and Performance Testing would have avoided launch problems.

Jobs

• Database Administrator in Knoxville TN – Contract positions working on Oracle/SQL Server databases. Requires understanding of performance monitoring and tuning.
• Senior QA Analyst in Chicago Available – Jaffar Sheik’s Resume
• Flex Java – Performance Testing Engineers – Position in Central London
• Oracle Data Analyst in Chicago, IL – Senior Data Architect and Data Modeler needed who understands performance tuning and trading or financial exchange systems.

Miscellaneous

• Benchmark Your Browser – Tool that runs tests to determine how well various browsers run on your system. Figure out which one is the fastest for you.

Books

• High Performance Web Sites: Essential Knowledge for Front-End Engineers
• Even Faster Web Sites: Performance Best Practices for Web Developers

Posted under Performance, Week in Review