Ship Jira with G1GC enabled by default

Problem Definition

Currently JIRA is not explicitly selecting a GC method to use. Most JIRA Server instances are using the oldparallel method or Concurrent (CMS) methods to handle the JAVA garbage collection.

Suggested Solution

By default, JIRA should come with the -XX:+UseG1GC JVM startup parameter.

Why this is important

• Improved performance on environments with large heaps
• consistent GC method across initial deployments
• The Tuning garbage collection guide explicitly recommends using G1GC, but neglects to inform users on how to enable it

Workaround

JIRA Admins are able to manually enable the G1GC method by following the steps in Setting properties and options on startup and adding the parameter of

-XX:+UseG1GC
-XX:+ExplicitGCInvokesConcurrent

to the JVM_SUPPORT_RECOMMENDED_ARGS= section of the <JiraInstallDir>/bin/setenv.[sh|bat] file.

• See also Health Check: Explicit Garbage Collection.