Ehcache 2.0 Delivers Enterprise-Class Distributed Caching for Any Standard Java Application in Minutes

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terracotta, a recognized leader in infrastructure software for enterprise Java scalability, today announced the availability of Ehcache 2.0 as well as upgrades to its Web sessions clustering product. Ehcache 2.0, an open source product, and the world’s most popular caching solution, now delivers the enterprise-class capabilities of high priced and proprietary technologies like Oracle Coherence without requiring application changes. This release brings instant scale to the majority of Java applications, since they already use Ehcache or Hibernate today.

“Terracotta and its Ehcache product deliver critical capabilities for the thousands of Java developers that must scale their applications, including those using Hibernate for database access”

For any organization using or considering Ehcache to support its application, this release provides a number of new features that simplify development effort, testing and scale-out, such as an express mode that easily clusters application data via configuration changes, whether it is in Hibernate, a distributed cache, or session objects. Other enhancements in this release include a series of enterprise features that better integrate Ehcache with the database, such as JTA for transactions, and data write-behind to increase performance while avoiding database bottlenecks.

These significant upgrades to Ehcache and Terracotta’s clustering technologies extend developers’ flexibility to scale applications built on a broad range of frameworks. For example, this release provides snap-in scale for applications developed with Grails, a popular framework for rapid development of business applications. Scale-out for Grails is achieved with simple configuration changes and no code changes using Terracotta Web Sessions, Ehcache and Quartz Job Scheduler clustering. Support for OSGi containers is also included, allowing developers building applications with next-generation application servers to build their applications from the start with a clear path to scale-out as user demand grows.

“Terracotta and its Ehcache product deliver critical capabilities for the thousands of Java developers that must scale their applications, including those using Hibernate for database access,” said Robin Bloor, Ph.D., president and chief analyst, The Bloor Group. “They deliver a seamless path from single server caches to extremely high application scalability without the need for expensive investments in proprietary database software. Any Java developer tasked with delivering application scalability should take a look at Terracotta and Ehcache 2.0.”

New Ehcache 2.0 Feature Details

Ehcache provides a simple caching API for building high-performance data caches, and serves as a plug-in cache for Hibernate, the object/relational persistence and query service. The Ehcache 2.0 enhancements will further entrench it as the de facto caching industry standard for maximizing application throughput and performance and eliminating database bottlenecks.

Easier configuration - Ehcache now supports fully-coherent distributed caching as a Hibernate Second-Level Cache, as well as directly through the Ehcache API, using one common jar file that is JVM vendor-agnostic. Switching between local and distributed implementations is done with a simple configuration change, and without the need for Java agents or boot jars.
Write-behind - A new Ehcache API supports write-behind caching with guaranteed asynchronous batching of updates to the database that reduces database load and improves application latency.
JTA – New JTA support enables Ehcache to participate as a XA resource in transactions coordinated by a transaction manager alongside other XA resources like databases and message queues.
Fast loading – Optimized bulk-loading enables fast cache warming and rapid application start-up.
Management – A new management feature provides dynamic configuration for Ehcache, whereby cache parameters like TTI and TTL can be changed on the fly via the Terracotta management console or any JMX-compliant tool.

New Terracotta Express Web Sessions Feature Details

Terracotta Web Sessions provides fully-coherent, highly available and durable Web session clustering that is easier to use for a broader range of application stacks.

Streamlined development – Terracotta Web Sessions can now be configured by simply including a jar file in the classpath and a small container-specific configuration change. Unlike other cluster solutions, no complex configuration is required.
Streamlined deployment - This new version is JVM vendor-agnostic, requiring no Java agents or boot jars.
Broad container support – The simplified features include support for a broad range of containers including Weblogic, Tomcat, JBoss and Jetty.

“The new express modes simplify deployment of our robust scalability platform and allow all developers to quickly take full advantage of the powerful features of Ehcache 2.0 and Terracotta Web Sessions,” says Ari Zilka, CTO of Terracotta. “This product family has always enabled our customers to reduce their development efforts and ongoing operating costs, but this release is a major expansion of these capabilities, addressing a significantly expanded share of the development community.”

Ehcache 2.0 and Terracotta Express Web Sessions are available immediately for download at www.terracotta.org.

About Terracotta, Inc.

Terracotta and its Ehcache and Quartz products are infrastructure software that provides affordable and scalable high availability for Java applications. The majority of the Global 2000 and thousands of other companies use Terracotta products to boost performance, offload work from databases and application servers, and to reduce their software development efforts. Founded in 2003, Terracotta, Inc. is a private firm headquartered in San Francisco. More information is available at www.terracottatech.com. Terracotta’s open source community is available at www.terracotta.org.