A middleware performance characterization of Linux using IBM WebSphere Application Server

As an open-source operating system, Linux™ made an impressive mark in the history of computing when interest from the corporate IT industry soared toward the end of 1990s. Linux, however, still faces some challenges in the areas of high performance, especially on symmetrical multiprocessor systems. This paper describes an initiative to investigate Linux performance using IBM WebSphere® Application Server software. The primary goal was to study how Linux performance and scalability could be improved by applying some of the new enhancements put into the kernel as well as by fine-tuning the middleware. We describe the results of this investigation and explain in detail how issues were resolved through our collaboration with the open-source community as well as within the IBM product teams.