When we launch applications, we specify the initial memory size and maximum memory size. For the applications that run on JVM (Java Virtual Machine), initial and maximum memory size is specified through "-Xms" and "-Xmx" arguments. If Java applications are running on containers, it’s specified through "-XX: InitialRAMPercentage" and "-XX: MaxRAMPercentage" arguments. Most enterprises set the initial memory size to a lower value than the maximum memory size. As opposed to this commonly accepted practice, setting the initial memory size the same as the maximum memory size has certain "cool" advantages. Let’s discuss them in this post.
1. Availability
Suppose you are launching your application with the initial heap size to be 2GB and the maximum heap size to be 24GB. This means when the application starts, the operating system will allocate 2GB of memory to your application. From that point, as the application starts to process new requests, additional memory will be allocated until a maximum of 24GB is reached.