-server flag: what does it do?

[Dirk Gomez]

Hello out there,

I recently turned on the -server flag on a production system with
disastrous effects: the load rocketed up and the response times went
through the roof.

Here's what I use:

* Tomcat 4.1.30
* Solaris Sparc 7 with 2 GB RAM
* Java Standard Edition 1.4.0_01-b03
* Webapp running against Oracle 8.1.7.4


Can someone shed light on the -server flag or give me some pointers?

-- Dirk

 

[Remon van Vliet]

The -server (as opposed to the -client default) VM flag puts the VM in
"server mode". This roughly means it'll prioritize performance over startup
times and memory consumption. I've never ran into a situation where this
flag actually slows anything down once the application is properly started
up (which, like i said, takes longer). It will definately cause a bigger
memory load as it'll be more aggressive with inlining and other JIT-related
tricks. In short, -server flag almost always improves performance at the
cost of hardware resources and boot time.

Remon