Hibernate mechanism for virtualized java virtual machines

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed in a computing device, manage memory of a runtime environment executing in a virtual machine by performing the steps of:

• receiving an indication of an idle state of a runtime environment executing in a virtual machine;
• suspending operation of a plurality of threads associated with the runtime environment, wherein the plurality of threads is configured to run program code within the runtime environment;
• determining a plurality of memory pages associated with the runtime environment based on the indication of the idle state;
• transmitting, to a virtualization layer, a request to page out and compress the plurality of memory pages into a compression cache;
• and
• executing a listener thread configured to monitor for a refresh request for the runtime environment.

A computer system for executing an application on a host computer executing a plurality of virtual machines therein, comprising:

• a system memory comprising a plurality of memory pages;
• a virtualization layer, executing on one or more processors, configured to manage sharing of the system memory among a plurality of virtual machines;
• a first virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines having a runtime environment and a listener thread executing therein, wherein the runtime environment comprises a plurality of threads configured to run program code within the runtime environment, wherein the listener thread is configured to monitor for hibernate requests and refresh requests for the runtime environment;
• a controller configured to determine an idle state of the runtime environment, and transmit a hibernate request to the runtime environment indicating the idle state;
• wherein the runtime environment configured to:
• responsive to receiving the hibernate request, suspend operation of the plurality of threads associated with the runtime environment,
• determine a plurality of memory pages associated with the runtime environment based on the hibernate request, and
• transmit, to the virtualization layer, a request to page out and compress the plurality of memory pages into a compression cache.