A High Performance Java Middleware with a Real Application

Previous experiments with high-performance Java were initially disappointing. After several years of optimization, this paper investigates the current suitability of such object-oriented middle-ware for High-Performance and Grid programming. Using a middleware o®ering high level abstractions (ProActive), we have replaced the standard Java RMI layer with the optimized Ibis RMI interface. Ibis is a grid programming environment featuring e±cient communications. Using a 3D electromagnetic application (an object-oriented time domain ¯nite volume solver for 3D Maxwell equations) we have ¯rst conducted benchmarks on single clusters, including comparisons with the same application in Fortran MPI. Finally, Grid experiments have been conducted simultaneously on up to 5 di®erent clusters. Overall, the paper reports extremely promising results. For instance, a speed up of 12 on 16 machines (vs. 13.8 for Fortran), a speedup of 100 on 150 machines on a Grid.