Cache performance in Java virtual machines: a study of constituent phases

Abstract

This paper studies the level 1 cache performance of Java programs by analyzing memory reference traces of the SPECjvm98 applications executed by the Latte Java virtual machine. We study in detail Java programs' cache performance of different access types in three JVM phases, under two execution modes, using three cache configurations and two application data sets. We observe that the poor data cache performance in the JIT execution mode is caused by code installation, when the data write miss rate in the execution engine can be as high as 70%. In addition, code installation also deteriorates instruction cache performance during execution of translated code. High cache miss rate in garbage collection is mainly caused by large working set and pointer chasing of the garbage collector. A larger data cache works better on eliminating data cache read misses than write misses, and is more efficient on improving cache performance in the execution engine than in the garbage collection. As application data set increases in the JIT execution mode, instruction cache and data cache write miss rates of the execution engine decrease, while data cache read miss rate of the execution engine increases. On the other hand, impact of varying data set on cache performance is not as pronounced in the interpreted mode as in the JIT mode.