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Date:      Thu, 2 Aug 2007 14:16:56 -0700
From:      Landon Fuller <landonf@threerings.net>
To:        Ernst de Haan <znerd@FreeBSD.org>
Cc:        java@FreeBSD.org
Subject:   Re: Why do you run/prefer Java on FreeBSD?
Message-ID:  <6DA164D4-8F80-45DA-9C21-9B0B593FD82E@threerings.net>
In-Reply-To: <9F90521E-76CF-4C93-84E1-B1083F76C2A5@FreeBSD.org>
References:  <9F90521E-76CF-4C93-84E1-B1083F76C2A5@FreeBSD.org>

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On Aug 2, 2007, at 02:03, Ernst de Haan wrote:

> Java on FreeBSD-folks,
>
>
> I intend to write an article on why and when Java on FreeBSD is a  
> good choice. I'd love to get insights from you guys (and girls?).
>
> So:
> - why do you run Java on FreeBSD (instead of Solaris or Linux)?

Three Rings made a very early decision to move to FreeBSD as our  
primary game server platform -- FreeBSD provides us with a solid,  
rigorously engineered operating system, and FreeBSD 6's stability has  
proven phenomenal, especially as compared to our early experiences  
with Linux.

While Solaris is a fantastic operating system, the ability to more  
easily and directly contribute to FreeBSD has been to our significant  
advantage. Additionally, Solaris' archaic userland is a significant  
encumbrance to administration; That said, this situation may be  
improved by both OpenSolaris and Ian Murdock's Project Indiana.

> - do you consider Java on FreeBSD fast?

We have an extensive production deployment of Java/FreeBSD, handling  
all of our corporate and production services, including game servers  
for Puzzle Pirates, Bang! Howdy, and Whirled. We have absolutely no  
complaints regarding JVM or FreeBSD performance, and have been  
consistently impressed with FreeBSD's improving SMP performance on  
larger, multi-core systems.

> - do you consider it stable/reliable?

Java on FreeBSD has become very reliable. When we first deployed Java  
1.4, we submitted a couple fixes for critical issues -- resolver  
thread safety, handling of ECONNRESET in getsockname(). Future  
releases have proven to be stable and reliable, but it's also  
comforting that we can interact directly with the developers and  
easily submit fixes for inclusion in future releases.

> - do you consider it secure?

It's more secure now thanks to Sun's new JIUL-licensed (Java Internal  
Use License) source releases. Prior to the JIUL/JRL, SCSL source  
releases would not be made for every patch level. This often meant  
that bug fixes needed to be independently developed, applied, and  
released. With the new JIUL licensed releases, source drops are  
readily available and easily deployed, and the BSD Java team does an  
excellent job of quickly updating the BSD patchset.

> - which version of Java are you running?

java version "1.5.0_12-p6"

> - was the installation of Java easy or a pain? (or somewhere in  
> between?)

With the availability of "diablo" binary releases, installation, as  
well as bootstrapping of local builds, is very easy.

> - how important is Java 1.6 for you?

We will need Java 1.6 eventually, but we can't move to 1.6 features  
now -- it's not available for our Mac OS X developers (myself  
included). As I understand it, Greg Lewis is planning on releasing an  
initial 1.6 FreeBSD patchset soon (if it hasn't been already) --  
we'll plan on an eventual, limited 1.6 deployment as it is made  
available for both FreeBSD and Mac OS X.

Landon Fuller
Director of Infrastructure
Three Rings Design, Inc - www.threerings.net

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