GigaSpaces has released eXtreme Application Platform (XAP) 7.0, an enterprise-grade application server for deploying and scaling Java and .NET applications under the most demanding and changing requirements. GigaSpaces XAP R7.0 is the only platform available that was designed from the ground up to support extremely scalable applications ranging from transactional systems through large-scale web applications to SaaS-delivered services. By combining a state-of-the-art in-memory data grid, the Jetty web container, and a grid-based business logic execution framework, it forms a single, easy-to -use platform on which you can build and run your application. Through the use of SLA-driven deployment, it enables applications to grow and shrink dynamically based on real-time application workloads.

Much faster performance

• Scalability improvements of up to 300% in highly multithreaded read scenarios.
• Memory footprint reduction of up to 50%.
• 40-times faster local read access, resulting from a complete overhaul of the local cache mechanism.

New monitoring and administration tools

• Groovy and Java Cluster Monitoring and Administration API, which enables you to automate, monitor and control the entire GigaSpaces XAP runtime environment programmatically, form within your application. Read more here.
• GigaSpaces Agent, allowing GigaSpaces servers and applications can be controlled from a remote location, within the enterprise data center or even remotely on a public cloud.
• Zones SLA, allowing users to define fine-grained redundancy constraints. For example, users may want to ensure that the primary partition and its backup are not hosted on the same machine.
• Revamped Management Console, allowing users to gain full control, from the physical machine layer through to the internal application components, with improved troubleshooting capabilities.

Powerful New Data Grid APIs and Simpler Packaging

As always, GigaSpaces is focused on maximizing developer productivity. Our goal is to provide a non-intrusive and intuitive platform. To this end, we've removed a few of our past limitations and introduced additional APIs, including:

• Query by ID API - GigaSpaces core API now supports ID-based queries in addition to template and SQL queries.
• Standard war/jar structure - existing war files can be deployed into GigaSpaces XAP without structural changes.
• Simplified IDE experience - we have greatly simplified the experience of adding the GigaSpaces XAP libraries into the IDE's build path.
• Map/Reduce - Grid Task Execution API.
• Async Operations - provides improved call-level scalability and improved resource utilization.
• Users can evaluate XAP online, observing real enterprise applications running within a production-ready environment, without downloading the actual software.

			XAP 7.0 press release (high-level overview of the release)
			Blog post about the release by VP R&D Guy Nirpaz
			What's new in XAP 7.0 (all new features)