Azul produces Zing, a Java Virtual Machine and runtime platform for Java applications. Zing is compliant with the associated Java SE version standards. It is based on the same HotSpot JVM and JDK code base used by the Oracle and OpenJDKJDKs, with enhancements relating to Garbage Collection, JIT Compilation, and Warmup behaviors, all aimed at producing improved application execution metrics and performance indicators. Key feature area touted by Zing include:
C4 : A Garbage collector reported to maintain concurrent, disruption-free application execution across wide ranges of heap sizes and allocation rates
Falcon : An LLVM-based JIT compiler that delivers dynamically and heavily optimized application codeat runtime
ReadyNow : A feature aimed at improving application startup and warmup behaviors, reducing the amount of slowness experienced by Java applications as they get started or restarted
Zing first became generally available on October 19, 2010. The company was formerly known for its Vega Java Compute Appliances, specialized hardware designed to use compute resources available to Java applications. Zing utilized and improved on the software technology initially developed for the Vega hardware. The product has been regularly updated and refreshed since. Zing is available for Linux, and requires x86-based hardware powered by Intel or AMD processors.
Zulu and Zulu Embedded JVM
Azul distributes and supports Zulu and Zulu Enterprise, a certified binary build of OpenJDK. The initial release in September 2013 supported Java 7 and 6 and ran on Windows 2008 R2 and 2012 on the Windows Azure Cloud. On January 21, 2014, Azul announced Zulu support for multiple Linux versions as well as Zulu Enterprise, which has subscription support options. Support for Java 8 was added in April 2014 and Mac OS X support was added in June 2014. In September 2014, Zulu was extended to support Docker. Zulu Embedded, which allows developers to customize the build footprint, was released in March, 2015. Developed for manufacturers in the embedded, mobile and Internet of Things markets, each Zulu Embedded build is verified by Azul using the Java Community Technology Compatibility Kit and incorporates the latest OpenJDK bug fixes and security patches. Azul produces the jHiccup open source performance measurement tool for Java applications. It is designed to measure the stalls or "hiccups" caused by an application's underlying Java platform.
Company history
Azul Systems was founded by Scott Sellers, Gil Tene, and Shyam Pillalamarri. Initially founded as a hardware appliance company, Azul's Java Compute Appliances were designed to massively scale up the usable computing resources available to Java applications. A proxy Java Virtual Machine installed on the existing system will transparently redeploy Java applications to the Azul appliance. The first compute appliances, offered in April 2005, were the Vega 1 based models 960, 1920 and 3840, consisting of 96, 192 and 384 processor cores, respectively.. The latest appliance versions, based on the Vega 3 platform, contained up to 864 processor cores and 768 GB of memory. With the introduction of Zing in 2010 , the company transitioned to producing software-only solutions, later adding Zulu and Zulu Embedded. It retired its hardware appliance Vega product lines in 2013. Stephen DeWitt previously held the position of CEO.
Funding history
Based on public filings, Azul has raised more than $200M in financing to date.
