Azul Systems
Encyclopedia
Azul Systems, Inc., a privately held company, develops runtime platforms for executing Java
-based applications. Founded in March 2002, Azul Systems is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California
, with offices in Slough
, United Kingdom
; Tokyo
, Japan
and Bangalore
, India
.
Zing became generally available October 19, 2010. The product includes a JVM, management tool and monitoring tool Zing is based on established technology from Azul that allows existing Java applications to scale to dozens of CPU cores and hundreds of gigabytes of memory 'elastically', meaning resources can also scale up and down based on real-time demands, and without garbage collection pauses present in other Java runtimes.
The Zing JVM is 100% Java-compatible and based on Oracle HotSpot. Where a typical Java Virtual Machine uses static heap sizes and reaches a practical size limitation due to garbage collection pauses, the Zing JVM implements Azul's C4 (Continously Concurrent Compacting Collector) garbage collection software technology, allowing heap sizes of hundreds of GBs without pauses. Zing also utilizes Azul's technology for elastic memory, which allows memory heaps for Java instances to grow and shrink based on load.
The Zing Resource Controller is a tool for systems administrators that provides a high level view of Java application infrastructure and automatically scales memory heap size up and down dynamically as applications require. This dynamic heap scaling removes the need for most JVM and GC tuning.
Zing Vision provides low overhead production visibility of running Java applications using statistical information that is already available from processing occurring within the JRE.
Zing is available for Linux
and Solaris, and requires x86-based hardware with Intel Nehalem or AMD Opteron processors.
Azul's Java Compute Appliances (JCAs) were designed to massively scale up the usable compute resources available to Java applications. A proxy Java Virtual Machine (JVM) installed on the existing system will transparently redeploy Java applications to the Azul appliance, the latest version of which, the Vega 3, can contain up to 864 processor cores and 768 GB of memory.
Stephen DeWitt previously held the position of CEO.
, who offered a licensing deal for patents it claimed Azul had violated. In March, 2006, Azul Systems sued Sun Microsystems, asking a U.S. District Court in northern California to rule on the issue of patent infringement. In May 2006, Sun Microsystems sued Azul Systems in federal court in San Jose, CA, claiming patent infringement and violation of a non-competitive agreement with former Azul CEO, Stephen DeWitt, also a former Sun employee. Both parties agreed to the terms of an undisclosed settlement in June 2007 prior to either suit going to trial.
Major investors include Accel Partners
, Austin Ventures
, Credit Suisse
, Meritech Capital Partners
, Redpoint Ventures
, Velocity Interactive Group, and Worldview Technology Partners. ComVentures and JVax Investment Group have also invested in Azul.
Azul Systems released the Vega 2 7200 Series, in June 2007. The 7200 series contains up to 768 processing cores on 16 processor chips with 768 GB of memory. Azul designed the 48 core Vega 2 processor chip. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC
) fabricated the Vega 2 processor. Notable companies utilizing the 7200 series include Credit Suisse
, Wachovia
, British Telecom, and TransUnion
.
Azul Systems released the Vega 3 7300 Series in May 2008. The 7300 series contains up to 864 processing cores with 768 GB of memory.
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
-based applications. Founded in March 2002, Azul Systems is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, with offices in Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Products
Azul produces Zing, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and runtime platform for Java applications that is designed to remove memory limitations and scale elastically. The company was formerly known for its Vega Java Compute Appliances (JCAs), specialized hardware designed to massively scale the usable compute resources available to Java applications. Zing utilizes and improves on the software technology developed for the Vega hardware.Zing became generally available October 19, 2010. The product includes a JVM, management tool and monitoring tool Zing is based on established technology from Azul that allows existing Java applications to scale to dozens of CPU cores and hundreds of gigabytes of memory 'elastically', meaning resources can also scale up and down based on real-time demands, and without garbage collection pauses present in other Java runtimes.
The Zing JVM is 100% Java-compatible and based on Oracle HotSpot. Where a typical Java Virtual Machine uses static heap sizes and reaches a practical size limitation due to garbage collection pauses, the Zing JVM implements Azul's C4 (Continously Concurrent Compacting Collector) garbage collection software technology, allowing heap sizes of hundreds of GBs without pauses. Zing also utilizes Azul's technology for elastic memory, which allows memory heaps for Java instances to grow and shrink based on load.
The Zing Resource Controller is a tool for systems administrators that provides a high level view of Java application infrastructure and automatically scales memory heap size up and down dynamically as applications require. This dynamic heap scaling removes the need for most JVM and GC tuning.
Zing Vision provides low overhead production visibility of running Java applications using statistical information that is already available from processing occurring within the JRE.
Zing is available for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Solaris, and requires x86-based hardware with Intel Nehalem or AMD Opteron processors.
Azul's Java Compute Appliances (JCAs) were designed to massively scale up the usable compute resources available to Java applications. A proxy Java Virtual Machine (JVM) installed on the existing system will transparently redeploy Java applications to the Azul appliance, the latest version of which, the Vega 3, can contain up to 864 processor cores and 768 GB of memory.
Company history
Azul Systems was founded by Scott Sellers (now President & CEO), Shyam Pillalamarri (VP of Engineering), and Gil Tene (CTO). The first compute appliances, offered in April 2005, were the 960, 1920 and 3840, consisting of 96, 192 and 384 processor cores, respectively.Stephen DeWitt previously held the position of CEO.
Legal issues
Azul Systems was approached in 2005 by Sun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, who offered a licensing deal for patents it claimed Azul had violated. In March, 2006, Azul Systems sued Sun Microsystems, asking a U.S. District Court in northern California to rule on the issue of patent infringement. In May 2006, Sun Microsystems sued Azul Systems in federal court in San Jose, CA, claiming patent infringement and violation of a non-competitive agreement with former Azul CEO, Stephen DeWitt, also a former Sun employee. Both parties agreed to the terms of an undisclosed settlement in June 2007 prior to either suit going to trial.
Finances
Based on public filings, Azul has raised more than $200M in financing to date.| Date | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-01-22 | Series A | $7,000,000 |
| 2003-03-04 | Series A | $1,027,162 |
| 2003-05-29 | Series B | $13,572,021 |
| 2004-05-19 | Series C | $34,999,994 |
| 2005-02-16 | Series D | $29,473,400 |
| 2006-01-13 | Series E | $42,189,628 |
| 2007-05-31 | Bridge | $10,016,758 |
| 2007-08-30 | Series F | $40,552,043 |
| 2007-12-04 | Series F | $18,557,590 |
| 2008-11-26 | Series 2 | $9,408,124 |
Major investors include Accel Partners
Accel Partners
Accel Partners is a global venture and growth equity firm funding companies from inception through the growth stage.The firm is based in Palo Alto, California with major offices in Bangalore, Beijing, London, and Shanghai....
, Austin Ventures
Austin Ventures
Austin Ventures is a private equity firm focused on venture capital and growth equity investments in business services and supply chain, financial services, new media, Internet, and information services companies nationally with a focus on Texas. The firm, which is based in Austin, Texas, was...
, Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
, Meritech Capital Partners
Meritech Capital Partners
Meritech Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on late stage venture capital investments in information technology companies with a focus on consumer Internet and media, software and services, enterprise infrastructure, and medical devices....
, Redpoint Ventures
Redpoint Ventures
Redpoint Ventures is a prominent venture capital firm focused on investments in early stage technology companies. The firm's partners include Allen Beasley, Jeff Brody, Satish Dharmaraj, Tom Dyal, Tim Haley, Brad Jones, Nety Krishna, Chris Moore, Lars Pedersen, Scott Raney, John Walecka, Geoff...
, Velocity Interactive Group, and Worldview Technology Partners. ComVentures and JVax Investment Group have also invested in Azul.
Production systems
Azul Systems released Zing 4.0 in October, 2010.Azul Systems released the Vega 2 7200 Series, in June 2007. The 7200 series contains up to 768 processing cores on 16 processor chips with 768 GB of memory. Azul designed the 48 core Vega 2 processor chip. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited or TSMC is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan.-Overview:...
) fabricated the Vega 2 processor. Notable companies utilizing the 7200 series include Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
, Wachovia
Wachovia
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
, British Telecom, and TransUnion
TransUnion
TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :...
.
Azul Systems released the Vega 3 7300 Series in May 2008. The 7300 series contains up to 864 processing cores with 768 GB of memory.
External links
- Azul Systems - Official site.
- Azul Launches Vega 2 Devices – Byte and Switch, June 14, 2007
- Butler Review of Azul's Compute Appliance - no longer available - Technology Audit
- Java on a 1000 Cores - Tales of Hardware / Software CoDesign - Lecture given at GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
by Cliff Click (Distinguished Engineer at Azul Systems) - A JVM Does That? - A follow-up lecture given by Cliff Click