BellSoft Supercharges Legacy Java with JVM 21 in Liberica JDK Performance Edition Upgrade
Delivers faster startup, lower latency, and better throughput for legacy Java apps
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BellSoft, the creator of Liberica JDK, a progressive Java runtime for the most complete Java experience and a leading OpenJDK contributor, today announced a major upgrade to Liberica JDK Performance Edition, now powered by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) from JDK 21. The enhanced release delivers significant performance gains for organizations still running Java 8 and 11 with no code changes or migration required.
"This upgrade is about future-proofing without the hassle," said Alexander Belokrylov, co-founder and CEO of BellSoft. "Many companies are still running business-critical applications on Java 8 or 11 not because they're behind, but because those platforms are stable, proven, and deeply integrated into their workflows. With Liberica JDK Performance Edition, we're giving those teams a drop-in way to unlock the performance of JDK 21 without rewriting a single line of code. It's a practical, engineering-first approach that respects the realities of enterprise development."
While newer Long-Term Support (LTS) versions of Java offer steady improvements, many organizations continue to rely on older releases. As of 2025, 28.8% of businesses still run Java 8, and JDK 11 remains widely used. In BellSoft's 2024 survey, two-thirds of developers reported that they still support applications running on Java 11 or earlier. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they allocate additional budget to improve performance on those older runtimes. With Liberica JDK Performance Edition, teams can boost performance without rewriting code or spending resources on costly workarounds.
Originally launched in April 2024, Liberica JDK Performance Edition was built to give legacy Java applications a serious performance boost. The latest version takes it up a notch, baking the core JVM and HotSpot from JDK 21 directly into builds of JDK 8 and 11, giving enterprises the benefits of modern Java runtime performance while maintaining plug-and-play simplicity.
Key Improvements in the Upgrade
- Upgraded from JDK 17 to JDK 21 JVM core for JDK 8 and 11 builds
- Delivers 5 to 10% better performance in most workloads, with gains of up to 40% in select cases.
- Faster startup, reduced latency, and 2x+ compression speed with zlib-ng, a next-generation zlib data compression library designed for modern systems that delivers unprecedented performance improvements compared to OpenJDK packages using standard zlib.
Performance and Runtime Enhancements
Liberica JDK Performance Edition now includes production-ready ZGC with generational support, optimized G1GC, NUMA-aware tuning, and runtime tools like AppCDS and segmented code cache. Advanced compression via zlib-ng delivers real gains for I/O-intensive applications.
Benchmark Results
Liberica JDK Performance Edition was tested against standard OpenJDK builds using the Spring PetClinic as a reference application. The results showed significant gains across multiple performance metrics. Compression speed more than doubled, with a 126 percent improvement in compression and a 149 percent improvement in decompression. In enterprise workload testing using SpecJBB, throughput nearly doubled, with a 100 percent increase in Critical JOps and a 43 percent boost in MaxJOps when running G1GC on small-memory configurations. Latency in memory-intensive operations was also reduced by nearly 100 percent when switching from JDK 8 G1GC to the Performance Edition with ZGC. These improvements demonstrate clear advantages for applications that rely on high-throughput, efficient compression, and low-latency performance. For full benchmark details and technical documentation, visit Liberica JDK Performance Edition.
Availability
Liberica JDK Performance Edition is available now for JDK 8 and JDK 11 on both x86_64 and AArch64 architectures, with builds supporting major operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. Each version is powered by the JVM from JDK 21. Support for additional configurations and environments is available on demand.
Resources
- Download Liberica JDK, the best alternative to Oracle JDK
- Forbes Council: BellSoft CEO Alex Belokrylov on Java's 30th Anniversary—A Look At Years Of Sun And Clouds
- Join our live webinar on July 23 at 7:00 PM CEST: "It's Fine, Actually: Doing Better in Legacy Java." Pasha Finkelshteyn, Developer Advocate at BellSoft, and Baruch Sadogursky, Developer Advocate at TuxCare, will share practical tips on writing cleaner, more modern-feeling Java even when you're working with older language versions. Register here.
About BellSoft
BellSoft delivers the most complete Java experience. Our Java platform, Liberica JDK, provides a unified Java experience across organizations, delivering a more secure, reliable, and cost-effective approach to application development. Our flexible approach empowers developers to build, run, and manage Java applications in any platform and environment. BellSoft is one of the largest contributors to OpenJDK and is the runtime of choice for VMware, Spring, JetBrains, and more. BellSoft serves millions of use cases and global brands across every industry, helping companies build for the future every day. For more information, visit https://bell-sw.com/
Media Contacts
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SOURCE BellSoft