Kernel bypass with Java 7?

Question

I read in a couple of comments on SO Java 7 supports kernel bypass. However, when googling the topic I did not see any immediate examples of this.

Does anyone have an example of Java 7 performing kernel bypass? I'd be interested to see it

Answer 1

The Answers to this related Question mention that SolarFlare has Java bindings: Networking with Kernel Bypass in Java.

As far as Java 7 is concerned, there is no support for this kind of thing in the core libraries. Kernel bypass is too system / vendor specific for inclusion in the standard APIs.

You can do other things to improve network throughput in Java that don't involve kernel bypass. For instance using the NIO Buffer and Channel APIs ... However, your typical Java "framework" tends to get in the way of this ... by only exposing Stream / Reader and other high level I/O abstractions to "application" code.

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(I would also opine that if you have an application where network latency and throughput are critical enough for kernel bypass to be worthwhile, you should use a programming language that is "closer to the metal". Java is better for applications where the biggest problem is application complexity ... NOT moving lots of bits through the network fast.)