Java Sequential IO Performance

Martin ThompsonJuly 20th, 2012Last Updated: October 22nd, 2012

0 112 6 minutes read

Many applications record a series of events to file-based storage for later use. This can be anything from logging and auditing, through to keeping a transaction redo log in an event sourced design or its close relative CQRS.

Java has a number of means by which a file can be sequentially written to, or read back again. This article explores some of these mechanisms to understand their performance characteristics. For the scope of this article I will be using pre-allocated files because I want to focus on performance. Constantly extending a file imposes a significant performance overhead and adds jitter to an application resulting in highly variable latency. “Why is a pre-allocated file better performance?”, I hear you ask. Well, on disk a file is made up from a series of blocks/pages containing the data. Firstly, it is important that these blocks are contiguous to provide fast sequential access. Secondly, meta-data must be allocated to describe this file on disk and saved within the file-system. A typical large file will have a number of “indirect” blocks allocated to describe the chain of data-blocks containing the file contents that make up part of this meta-data. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader, or maybe a later article, to explore the performance impact of not preallocating the data files. If you have used a database you may have noticed that it preallocates the files it will require.

The Test

I want to experiment with 2 file sizes. One that is sufficiently large to test sequential access, but can easily fit in the file-system cache, and another that is much larger so that the cache subsystem is forced to retire pages so that new ones can be loaded. For these two cases I’ll use 400MB and 8GB respectively. I’ll also loop over the files a number of times to show the pre and post warm-up characteristics.

I’ll test 4 means of writing and reading back files sequentially:

RandomAccessFile using a vanilla byte[] of page size.
Buffered FileInputStream and FileOutputStream.
NIO FileChannel with ByteBuffer of page size.
Memory mapping a file using NIO and direct MappedByteBuffer.

The tests are run on a 2.0Ghz Sandybridge CPU with 8GB RAM, an Intel 320 SSD on Fedora Core 15 64-bit Linux with an ext4 file system, and Oracle JDK 1.6.0_30.

The Code

import java.io.*;
import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
import java.nio.MappedByteBuffer;
import java.nio.channels.FileChannel;
 
import static java.lang.Integer.MAX_VALUE;
import static java.lang.System.out;
import static java.nio.channels.FileChannel.MapMode.READ_ONLY;
import static java.nio.channels.FileChannel.MapMode.READ_WRITE;
 
public final class TestSequentialIoPerf
{
    public static final int PAGE_SIZE = 1024 * 4;
    public static final long FILE_SIZE = PAGE_SIZE * 2000L * 1000L;
    public static final String FILE_NAME = "test.dat";
    public static final byte[] BLANK_PAGE = new byte[PAGE_SIZE];
 
    public static void main(final String[] arg) throws Exception
    {
        preallocateTestFile(FILE_NAME);
 
        for (final PerfTestCase testCase : testCases)
        {
            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
            {
                System.gc();
                long writeDurationMs = testCase.test(PerfTestCase.Type.WRITE,
                                                     FILE_NAME);
 
                System.gc();
                long readDurationMs = testCase.test(PerfTestCase.Type.READ,
                                                    FILE_NAME);
 
                long bytesReadPerSec = (FILE_SIZE * 1000L) / readDurationMs;
                long bytesWrittenPerSec = (FILE_SIZE * 1000L) / writeDurationMs;
 
                out.format("%s\twrite=%,d\tread=%,d bytes/sec\n",
                           testCase.getName(),
                           bytesWrittenPerSec, bytesReadPerSec);
            }
        }
 
        deleteFile(FILE_NAME);
    }
 
    private static void preallocateTestFile(final String fileName)
        throws Exception
    {
        RandomAccessFile file = new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "rw");
 
        for (long i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i += PAGE_SIZE)
        {
            file.write(BLANK_PAGE, 0, PAGE_SIZE);
        }
 
        file.close();
    }
 
    private static void deleteFile(final String testFileName) throws Exception
    {
        File file = new File(testFileName);
        if (!file.delete())
        {
            out.println("Failed to delete test file=" + testFileName);
            out.println("Windows does not allow mapped files to be deleted.");
        }
    }
 
    public abstract static class PerfTestCase
    {
        public enum Type { READ, WRITE }
 
        private final String name;
        private int checkSum;
 
        public PerfTestCase(final String name)
        {
            this.name = name;
        }
 
        public String getName()
        {
            return name;
        }
 
        public long test(final Type type, final String fileName)
        {
            long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
 
            try
            {
                switch (type)
                {
                    case WRITE:
                    {
                        checkSum = testWrite(fileName);
                        break;
                    }
 
                    case READ:
                    {
                        final int checkSum = testRead(fileName);
                        if (checkSum != this.checkSum)
                        {
                            final String msg = getName() +
                                " expected=" + this.checkSum +
                                " got=" + checkSum;
                            throw new IllegalStateException(msg);
                        }
                        break;
                    }
                }
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                ex.printStackTrace();
            }
 
            return System.currentTimeMillis() - start;
        }
 
        public abstract int testWrite(final String fileName) throws Exception;
        public abstract int testRead(final String fileName) throws Exception;
    }
 
    private static PerfTestCase[] testCases =
    {
        new PerfTestCase("RandomAccessFile")
        {
            public int testWrite(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                RandomAccessFile file = new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "rw");
                final byte[] buffer = new byte[PAGE_SIZE];
                int pos = 0;
                int checkSum = 0;
 
                for (long i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i++)
                {
                    byte b = (byte)i;
                    checkSum += b;
 
                    buffer[pos++] = b;
                    if (PAGE_SIZE == pos)
                    {
                        file.write(buffer, 0, PAGE_SIZE);
                        pos = 0;
                    }
                }
 
                file.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
 
            public int testRead(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                RandomAccessFile file = new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "r");
                final byte[] buffer = new byte[PAGE_SIZE];
                int checkSum = 0;
                int bytesRead;
 
                while (-1 != (bytesRead = file.read(buffer)))
                {
                    for (int i = 0; i < bytesRead; i++)
                    {
                        checkSum += buffer[i];
                    }
                }
 
                file.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
        },
 
        new PerfTestCase("BufferedStreamFile")
        {
            public int testWrite(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                int checkSum = 0;
                OutputStream out = 
                    new BufferedOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(fileName));
 
                for (long i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i++)
                {
                    byte b = (byte)i;
                    checkSum += b;
                    out.write(b);
                }
 
                out.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
 
            public int testRead(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                int checkSum = 0;
                InputStream in = 
                    new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream(fileName));
 
                int b;
                while (-1 != (b = in.read()))
                {
                    checkSum += (byte)b;
                }
 
                in.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
        },
 
 
        new PerfTestCase("BufferedChannelFile")
        {
            public int testWrite(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                FileChannel channel = 
                    new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "rw").getChannel();
                ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(PAGE_SIZE);
                int checkSum = 0;
 
                for (long i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i++)
                {
                    byte b = (byte)i;
                    checkSum += b;
                    buffer.put(b);
 
                    if (!buffer.hasRemaining())
                    {
                        buffer.flip();
                        channel.write(buffer);
                        buffer.clear();
                    }
                }
 
                channel.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
 
            public int testRead(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                FileChannel channel = 
                    new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "rw").getChannel();
                ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(PAGE_SIZE);
                int checkSum = 0;
 
                while (-1 != (channel.read(buffer)))
                {
                    buffer.flip();
 
                    while (buffer.hasRemaining())
                    {
                        checkSum += buffer.get();
                    }
 
                    buffer.clear();
                }
 
                return checkSum;
            }
        },
 
        new PerfTestCase("MemoryMappedFile")
        {
            public int testWrite(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                FileChannel channel = 
                    new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "rw").getChannel();
                MappedByteBuffer buffer = 
                    channel.map(READ_WRITE, 0,
                                Math.min(channel.size(), MAX_VALUE));
                int checkSum = 0;
 
                for (long i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i++)
                {
                    if (!buffer.hasRemaining())
                    {
                        buffer = 
                            channel.map(READ_WRITE, i,
                                        Math.min(channel.size() - i , MAX_VALUE));
                    }
 
                    byte b = (byte)i;
                    checkSum += b;
                    buffer.put(b);
                }
 
                channel.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
 
            public int testRead(final String fileName) throws Exception
            {
                FileChannel channel = 
                    new RandomAccessFile(fileName, "rw").getChannel();
                MappedByteBuffer buffer = 
                    channel.map(READ_ONLY, 0,
                                Math.min(channel.size(), MAX_VALUE));
                int checkSum = 0;
 
                for (long i = 0; i < FILE_SIZE; i++)
                {
                    if (!buffer.hasRemaining())
                    {
                        buffer = 
                            channel.map(READ_WRITE, i,
                                        Math.min(channel.size() - i , MAX_VALUE));
                    }
 
                    checkSum += buffer.get();
                }
 
                channel.close();
 
                return checkSum;
            }
        },
    };
}

Results

400MB file =========== RandomAccessFile write=379,610,750 read=1,452,482,269 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=294,041,636 read=1,494,890,510 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=250,980,392 read=1,422,222,222 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=250,366,748 read=1,388,474,576 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=260,394,151 read=1,422,222,222 bytes/sec

BufferedStreamFile write=98,178,331 read=286,433,566 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=100,244,738 read=288,857,545 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=82,948,562 read=154,100,827 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=108,503,311 read=153,869,271 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=113,055,478 read=152,608,047 bytes/sec

BufferedChannelFile write=228,443,948 read=356,173,913 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=265,629,053 read=374,063,926 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=223,825,136 read=1,539,849,624 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=232,992,036 read=1,539,849,624 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=212,779,220 read=1,534,082,397 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=300,955,180 read=305,899,925 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=313,149,847 read=310,538,286 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=326,374,501 read=303,857,566 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=327,680,000 read=304,535,315 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=326,895,450 read=303,632,320 bytes/sec

8GB File ============ RandomAccessFile write=167,402,321 read=251,922,012 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=193,934,802 read=257,052,307 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=192,948,159 read=248,460,768 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=191,814,180 read=245,225,408 bytes/sec RandomAccessFile write=190,635,762 read=275,315,073 bytes/sec

BufferedStreamFile write=154,823,102 read=248,355,313 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=152,083,913 read=253,418,301 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=133,099,369 read=146,056,197 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=131,065,708 read=146,217,827 bytes/sec BufferedStreamFile write=132,694,052 read=148,116,004 bytes/sec

BufferedChannelFile write=186,703,740 read=215,075,218 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=190,591,410 read=211,030,680 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=187,220,038 read=223,087,606 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=191,585,397 read=221,297,747 bytes/sec BufferedChannelFile write=192,653,214 read=211,789,038 bytes/sec

MemoryMappedFile write=123,023,322 read=231,530,156 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=121,961,023 read=230,403,600 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=123,317,778 read=229,899,250 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=121,472,738 read=231,739,745 bytes/sec MemoryMappedFile write=120,362,615 read=231,190,382 bytes/sec

Analysis

For years I was a big fan of using RandomAccessFile directly because of the control it gives and the predictable execution. I never found using buffered streams to be useful from a performance perspective and this still seems to be the case.

In more recent testing I’ve found that using NIO FileChannel and ByteBuffer are doing much better. With Java 7 the flexibility of this programming approach has been improved for random access with SeekableByteChannel.

It seems that for reading RandomAccessFile and NIO do very well with Memory Mapped files winning for writes in some cases.

I’ve seen these results vary greatly depending on platform. File system, OS, storage devices, and available memory all have a significant impact. In a few cases I’ve seen memory-mapped files perform significantly better than the others but this needs to be tested on your platform because your mileage may vary…

A special note should be made for the use of memory-mapped large files when pushing for maximum throughput. I’ve often found the OS can become unresponsive due the the pressure put on the virtual memory sub-system.

Conclusion

There is a significant difference in performance for the different means of doing sequential file IO from Java. Not all methods are even remotely equal. For most IO I’ve found the use of ByteBuffers and Channels to be the best optimised parts of the IO libraries. If buffered streams are your IO libraries of choice, then it is worth branching out and and getting familiar with the implementations of Channel and Buffer or even falling back and using the good old RandomAccessFile.

Reference: Java Sequential IO Performance from our JCG partner Martin Thompson at the Mechanical Sympathy blog.