Apparatus, system, and method for improving system performance in a large memory heap environment

A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

• execute an operating system (OS) utilizing garbage collection memory management;
• assign newly created objects to a first memory category;
• assign persistent objects to a second memory category;
• assign infrequently accessed persistent objects from the second memory category to a third memory category;
• and
• operate a garbage collector to check the first memory category at a first frequency, to check the second memory category at a second frequency, and to not check the third memory category;
• wherein checking each memory category comprises checking whether at least one object assigned to the memory category still has a reference.

A system for managing memory objects, the system comprising:

• an operating system (OS) comprising a Java virtual machine running on a computer system;
• a memory management system comprising:
• a first memory heap module configured to assign a newly created object to a first memory category;
• a second memory heap module configured to assign a persistent object to a second memory category;
• a third memory heap module configured to assign infrequently accessed persistent objects from the second memory category to a third memory category;
• a garbage collecting module configured to check the first memory category at a first frequency, and to check the second memory category at a second frequency, and to not check the third memory category;
• and
• wherein checking each memory category comprises checking whether at least one object assigned to the memory category still has a reference.