JDK Requirements: Use the correct bit-level per operating system in use

  • 7011142
  • 31-May-2011
  • 19-Oct-2012

Resolution

NetIQ is aware that there are some questions around which type of JDK to deploy within an instance of Access Governance Suite. We would like to take this opportunity to state clearly to our clients and partners that when you are deploying Access Governance Suite, use a JDK version that matches the bit-level of the operating system upon which you are about to deploy Access Governance Suite. The reasons for this requirement are that a mismatch will severely impact the performance and capabilities of the infrastructure to handle the requirements of the Access Governance Suite enterprise application to deliver upon the required tasks and activities.

 

If you are running Access Governance Suite on a 32-bit operating system, then clearly, you can and must run a 32-bit JDK on that system as no other JDK will work. Use of a 32-bit operating system is probably sufficient for smaller, less-complex deployments not intended to be enterprise deployments.

 

However, if you are deploying upon a 64-bit operating system, it will operate with a 32-bit JDK, but it will run very inefficiently and not perform to the fullest of its designed capability or capacity. The reason for this inefficiency is due to the 32-bit memory-space, heap-size limitation being imposed upon the application server and therefore upon the application itself. The reason that it operates at all is not due to Sailpoint's design, but due to the fact that 64-bit systems will operate 32-bit software, although they will not operate at optimal levels that take full advantage of the 64-bit architecture.

 

When using a 64-bit operating system, install a 64-bit JDK. If done properly from the outset, this will allow you the time during UAT to run tests to determine the optimal heap sizes required in production, and to tune your environment if profiled properly. If you should find yourself with a 32-bit JDK atop a 64-bit operating system, then the first course of action should be to resolve this issue by correcting that deployment issue and redeploying a correct 64-bit JDK. You will likely have to adjust you heap sizes as well as the max heap size that a 32-bit JDK could address is 3.5GB (theoretical limit) and a 64-bit JDK can take advantage of a significantly greater amount of physical RAM.

 

You should also note that although this will solve a great deal of initial issues, this is only the start of true Performance Tuning for Access Governance Suite. Having a working setup configured with the correct software and hardware is just the beginning, moving beyond that for understanding which parameters to set to tune within your particular environment and JVM settings are highly dependent on working with our Performance Lab for a much greater understanding of what works best for your particular environment.

 

Should you have questions about this issue, please feel free to contact support for more assistance with your issue.