Is GridGain CE based on Apache Ignite?

Yes. GridGain Community Edition is built on Apache Ignite with additional hardening. The AIX port adds an OpenJ9 compatibility patch so it runs on IBM Semeru instead of HotSpot.

Live · AIX 7.3 · ppc64

GridGain In-memory cache · SQL · Compute grid · IBM AIX ppc64

Name: GridGain CE for AIX
Author: LibrePower

The only in-memory computing platform for IBM AIX. Distributed key-value store, ANSI SQL, and compute grid — 5,000+ ops/s on POWER9, zero changes to your system Java.

Download RPM GitLab → More AIX packages

CE 8.9.30 · Apache Ignite IBM Semeru JDK 25 ppc64 big-endian Apache 2.0

5,094 ops/s · GET thin client · single node

2,758 ops/s · PUT thin client · single node

6,019 ops/s · BULK PUT 100-key batches

0 System Java changes private JDK · isolated

The Java problem — solved

Your system Java.
Completely untouched.

AIX environments are notoriously sensitive to Java changes — version mismatches break applications. GridGain for AIX uses its own private IBM Semeru JDK 25 installed in isolation. The wrapper scripts set JAVA_HOME internally — nothing is exported system-wide.

Java isolation — on-disk layoutnothing system-wide modified

# Your existing Java — UNTOUCHED
/usr/java8_64/          ← your apps use this
/usr/java17_64/         ← still untouched

# GridGain's private JDK (installed by dnf)
/opt/freeware/lib/jvm/semeru-25/  ← isolated

# Wrapper scripts — JAVA_HOME set internally
gridgain         start  # uses semeru-25 only
gridgain-sqlline         # uses semeru-25 only
gridgain-control --state # uses semeru-25 only

# Check — your JAVA_HOME unchanged after install:
$ echo $JAVA_HOME
/usr/java8_64  ← still your original value

Why this matters on AIX

AIX production systems often run critical middleware (WebSphere, MQ, Db2) tied to specific Java versions. Any modification to the system JDK can cascade into downtime. LibrePower's packaging keeps GridGain completely isolated.

OpenJ9 compatibility patch

HotSpot-specific APIs replaced — GridGain runs on IBM Semeru / Eclipse OpenJ9 (the only JVM for AIX ppc64). Source: IgniteMBeanUtils.java in SOURCES/.

Single install command

dnf install gridgain pulls IBM Semeru JDK 25 automatically as a dependency. No manual Java setup.

Full source transparency

Patch published at gitlab.com/librepower/aix. SOURCES/ contains the full IgniteMBeanUtils.java.

Architecture

How GridGain works on AIX.

Data lives in-memory across the cluster, optionally persisted to disk. Applications connect via thin client (TCP 10800), REST (HTTP 8080), or JDBC. SQL queries execute directly over in-memory partitions.

Installation

Three steps.
Five minutes.

From zero to a live in-memory SQL cluster on AIX.

Add repo & install

# repo setup (one-time) curl -fsSL https://aix.librepower.org/install.sh | sh dnf install gridgain

✔ semeru-jdk25 + gridgain installed

Start & check status

gridgain start gridgain status

✔ GridGain running (PID 38241)

Query with SQL

gridgain-sqlline # inside SQLLine: CREATE TABLE city (id INT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR) WITH "CACHE_NAME=c"; SELECT * FROM city;

✔ ANSI SQL on in-memory data

Download RPM View source on GitLab ~221 MB GridGain + ~262 MB JDK

REST API

HTTP on port 8080.
Any language. No JVM.

GridGain exposes a full REST API out of the box. Cache, retrieve, and manage data from any language without a JVM client.

Request

# Create a cache
curl "http://localhost:8080/ignite?
  cmd=getorcreate&cacheName=demo"

# Store a value
curl "http://localhost:8080/ignite?
  cmd=put&cacheName=demo
  &key=hello&val=AIX"

# Retrieve it
curl "http://localhost:8080/ignite?
  cmd=get&cacheName=demo&key=hello"

Response

# Create cache
{"successStatus":0,"response":true}

# PUT
{"successStatus":0,"response":true}

# GET
{"successStatus":0,"response":"AIX"}

# Management commands
gridgain-control --state
gridgain stop

Features on AIX

Full feature parity.
Confirmed on AIX 7.3.

Feature	Description	Status
Key-Value Cache	PUT, GET, REMOVE, BULK — sub-millisecond in-memory access across nodes	✓ Live
SQL Engine	ANSI SQL via `gridgain-sqlline` or JDBC — queries over in-memory data	✓ Live
REST API	HTTP API on port 8080 — accessible from any language without a JVM client	✓ Live
Thin Client	Lightweight TCP client on port 10800 — lower overhead than thick client	✓ Live
Compute Grid	Distribute computation tasks across cluster nodes on IBM POWER	✓ Live
Native Persistence	Persist in-memory data to disk — survives restarts without full reload	✓ Live
Cluster	Multi-node topology — partition and replicate data across POWER nodes	✓ Live
Control Utility	`gridgain-control --state` — cluster state management	✓ Live

Performance

POWER9 in-memory speed.

IBM Power S924 · AIX 7.3 TL4 · thin client · 10,000 operations · single node.

5,094 ops/s · GET thin client · single node

2,758 ops/s · PUT thin client · single node

6,019 ops/s · BULK PUT 100-key batches

Operation	ops/s POWER9	Client	Notes
GET	5,094	thin	single node
PUT	2,758	thin	single node
BULK PUT	6,019	thin	100-key batches

FAQ

Common questions

How do I install GridGain on AIX?

Add the LibrePower repo with curl -fsSL https://aix.librepower.org/install.sh | sh, then dnf install gridgain. IBM Semeru JDK 25 is pulled automatically as a dependency — no manual Java setup.

Does GridGain for AIX modify my system Java?

No. GridGain uses its own private JDK at /opt/freeware/lib/jvm/semeru-25. Your existing /usr/java8_64 or /usr/java17_64 are completely untouched. The wrapper scripts set JAVA_HOME internally — nothing is exported system-wide.

Is GridGain CE the same as Apache Ignite?

GridGain Community Edition is built on Apache Ignite with additional hardening and patches from GridGain Systems. The LibrePower AIX port adds an OpenJ9 compatibility patch so GridGain runs cleanly on IBM Semeru (Eclipse OpenJ9) — HotSpot doesn't exist for AIX ppc64.

What is the OpenJ9 compatibility patch?

GridGain uses HotSpotDiagnosticMXBean.getVMOption(), which crashes on Eclipse OpenJ9. LibrePower's patch to IgniteMBeanUtils.class catches all HotSpot-specific exceptions and returns safe defaults. Full source published in SOURCES/ on GitLab.

How does GridGain compare to Redis on AIX?

Redis doesn't run natively on AIX ppc64. GridGain CE is currently the primary in-memory caching option for AIX, adding SQL queries, compute grid, and native persistence — capabilities not included in Redis open-source.

Which AIX versions are supported?

Tested and confirmed on AIX 7.3 TL4 on IBM Power S924 (POWER9). AIX 7.1 and 7.2 compatibility depends on IBM Semeru JDK 25 availability for those versions — not yet confirmed by LibrePower.

Open Source for IBM Power