Articles and Whitepapers

[download]	Technical Introduction to Terracotta Description This article provides a quick deep-dive into Terracotta including example code that shows Terracotta in action. Excerpt Java applications are easiest to write and test when they run in a single JVM. However, the requirements to make applications scalable and highly available have forced Java applications to run on more than one JVM. In this article, we introduce Terracotta, an enterprise-class, open-source JVM-level clustering solution.
[download]	Terracotta Value Proposition Description This document provides a framework to help you assess how Terracotta can deliver dramatic cost savings versus alternative approaches. Excerpt Terracotta's ROI has two components; The first is the reduction of the opportunity cost of not having a scalable and highly available solution in place; The second is the reduction of the cost of achieving scalability and availability through alternative approaches. The data and examples presented in this document have been gathered from real world examples of production Terracotta customers. They will help guide you to produce your own analysis.
[download]	Clustering POJOs with Terracotta Description This paper highlights Terracotta DSO features and demonstrates how it can be used to easily cluster any Java application. Excerpt Terracotta DSO (Distributed Shared Objects) clusters at the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) level, instead of the application. DSO seamlessly stitches together groups of JVMs to create High Availability (HA), Load Balancing (LB), or High Performance (HP) clusters. While others may claim to do the same, what differentiates this product is that while others may cluster, they do so only after developers have hard coded the product into the application. This white paper explains how DSO can cluster your application in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) without imposing intrusive developmental tasks on your developers.
[download]	Scale Your Application Without Punishing Your Database This paper describes how Terracotta lets you scale out your application tier while relieving database load and avoiding costly database updates. Excerpt The multi-tier scale-out application architecture has put tremendous strain on the database. The dream of independently scalable architecture tiers has given way to the reality of a database crushed by the towering application tier. This database in peril arises as a result of inefﬁ ciencies in the way the application tier reads and writes data as well as an abuse of the database by the application tier in what data it chooses to store. . By providing network-attached virtual heap to the application tier, Terracotta frees the database from the burden of application-tier scale-out, eliminating the complexity and cost of scaling the data tier along with it.
[download]	Clustering Caches with Terracotta Description This paper highlights Terracotta DSO features and demonstrates how it can be used to easily cluster a CacheManager with caches. Excerpt For distributed caches, Terracotta provides simplicity to the application developer and efficient, coherent replication at linear scale so as to provide a solid solution for software architects looking to improve the effectiveness of their application caches.
[download]	Hibernate Without Database Bottlenecks Description This paper discusses how to get HA Hibernate with maximum performance and scalability with Terracotta. Excerpt Hibernate is the most popular way to manipulate relational data in an object-oriented runtime. Terracotta can immediately deliver significant application performance increases and database load reduction when used to cluster the Hibernate second-level cache. When used to cluster Hibernate objects in disconnected mode, Terracotta can deliver orders of magnitude more such performance increase and database relief, resulting in significant savings in terms of development time and database infrastructure investment.
[download]	Scalability Metrics: Clustering Sessions with Terracotta and Tomcat Description This paper measures scalability of the Terracotta Sessions products versus Tomcat's (simple TcpCluster) mechanism using the JPetstore application. Excerpt Because of its unique architecture, Terracotta delivers the following benefits: linear scale-out; significantly reduced TCO; high-performance clustering; no application changes; high network efficiency.
[download]	Weblogic Benchmark Results Description Terracotta HTTP Session Clustering vs. BEA WebLogic 8.1 HTTP Session Clustering Excerpt In this paper, we discuss the advantages of the Terracotta approach for HTTP session clustering. In particular, we present the results of a comparison of the Terracotta sessions clustering solution against the popular BEA WebLogic 8.1 HTTP session replication solution. The results of this benchmark show how Terracotta provides significantly better performance both in terms of increased request throughput and reduced need for garbage collection cycles.
[download]	Comparison with JBoss Caches Description Terracotta used as a cache vs. JBoss Tree Cache—with scalability comparisons Excerpt Terracotta's architecture helped deliver higher application availability than JBossCache by keeping cache data available across JVM crashes and restarts. The Terracotta-enabled caching service is capable of scaling well past 16 nodes at linear scale: far beyond all three customers' initial requirements.