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Linux JVM memory stress

Apply memory stress inside a target Java process on a Linux machine for a configurable duration so you can test how the JVM behaves under memory pressure.

Linux JVM memory stress is a chaos fault that uses Byteman to consume memory in the heap or stack of the target Java process for DURATION, then releases the memory. The memory region is selected by MEMORY_TYPE (heap or stack). The target Java process is selected by PID, by STARTUP_COMMAND, or by attaching to a running Byteman agent on PORT. The fault runs through the Linux Chaos Infrastructure (LCI) systemd service installed on the target VM.

Use this fault to test how a Java workload behaves under memory pressure: whether GC keeps up, whether OutOfMemoryError surfaces cleanly, whether the application slows down via excessive GC, and whether monitoring detects the pressure within the alerting SLA.

RUN YOUR FIRST EXPERIMENT

If you have not installed the Linux Chaos Infrastructure yet, go to Linux Chaos Infrastructure to install the agent and connect the VM to the control plane.

Use cases

Run this fault when you want to answer concrete questions like:

  • Heap headroom: When the heap fills up, does the application stay inside its latency SLA, or does GC dominate?

  • OOM handling: Does the application surface OutOfMemoryError cleanly, or does it crash with a stuck JVM?

  • Stack pressure: With MEMORY_TYPE=stack, does the application handle StackOverflowError without leaking threads?

  • Monitoring fidelity: Do alerts on jvm_memory_bytes_used, GC pause time, and full GC rate fire within the alerting SLA?

Prerequisites

  • Linux Chaos Infrastructure installed: The linux-chaos-infrastructure systemd service is active on the target VM and the infrastructure is in CONNECTED state. Go to Linux Chaos Infrastructure to install it.

  • Target JVM identifiable: Provide one of PID or STARTUP_COMMAND, or ensure a Byteman agent is already listening on PORT.

  • JAVA_HOME reachable: Set JAVA_HOME if it is not on the LCI service environment.

  • Byteman port reachable: PORT (default 9091) must be free or already hosting the Byteman listener for the target JVM.

Supported environments

The fault has been tested on the following Linux distributions. Go to Linux fault requirements to see the full compatibility matrix.

Platform
Support status

Ubuntu 16+, Debian 10+

Supported

CentOS 7+, RHEL 7+, Fedora 30+

Supported

openSUSE LEAP 15.4+ / SUSE Linux Enterprise 15+

Supported

JVM versions

OpenJDK 8, 11, 17, 21 (any JVM compatible with Byteman)

Permissions required

This fault is classified as a Basic Linux fault. It runs with the privileges of the Linux Chaos Infrastructure systemd service (root user and root user group) on the target VM. The LCI service must have permission to attach to the target Java process. No cloud credentials are needed.

Fault tunables

Configure the following fault parameters when you add Linux JVM memory stress to an experiment in Chaos Studio. Defaults are shown for reference.

JVM selectors (provide one or rely on PORT)

Tunable
Description
Default

PID

PID of the target Java process. Set to 0 to fall back to STARTUP_COMMAND or PORT.

0

STARTUP_COMMAND

Substring of the Java process command line used to identify the target.

""

PORT

Port of the Byteman agent.

9091

JAVA_HOME

Path to the JDK used by the target JVM.

""

Chaos parameters

Tunable
Description
Default

DURATION

Total duration of the fault. Accepts [hours]h[minutes]m[seconds]s format.

30s

MEMORY_TYPE

JVM memory region to stress. Accepts heap or stack.

heap

RAMP_TIME

Wait period in seconds before and after the fault. Go to ramp time to read how it is applied.

0

Tunables that apply to every fault are documented in common tunables for all faults.

Fault execution in brief

Attaches Byteman to the target JVM on PORT, installs a rule that allocates memory in the MEMORY_TYPE region for DURATION, then removes the rule and releases the memory.

Expected behavior during fault execution

  • Memory utilization for the target JVM rises for the duration of the fault.

  • With MEMORY_TYPE=heap, full GC events increase; with MEMORY_TYPE=stack, StackOverflowError may fire.

  • Request latency inside the JVM grows; throughput drops.

  • If the JVM hits its configured -Xmx, OutOfMemoryError is thrown and the application may exit.

  • After the duration ends, the Byteman rule is removed; allocated objects become eligible for GC.

WHEN THE FAULT ENDS

The chaos pod removes the Byteman rule and allocated memory becomes eligible for GC. The next GC cycle reclaims the space; the JVM does not need to restart.

Signals to watch

Attach resilience probes to assert each layer:

  • Heap usage: Use a Prometheus probe on jvm_memory_bytes_used{area="heap"} and assert it rose.

  • Full GC rate: Use a Prometheus probe on jvm_gc_collection_seconds_count for the full collector.

  • OutOfMemoryError: Use a command probe to scan the application log for OutOfMemoryError.

Verify the fault execution effect

  1. Observe live JVM memory.

    Used heap should rise during the chaos window. With stack, observe stack-depth warnings in the application log.

  2. Inspect Byteman state.

  3. Inspect Linux Chaos Infrastructure logs.

Recovery and cleanup

  • End of duration: The chaos pod removes the Byteman rule when DURATION elapses.

  • Abort the experiment: Stopping the experiment from Chaos Studio also removes the rule.

  • Manual recovery: If the rule survives an abort, remove it with sudo $JAVA_HOME/bin/bmtool -p <PORT> -u <rule>. If the JVM exited with OutOfMemoryError, restart the application service.

Limitations

  • JVM-only: The fault stresses JVM memory only; host-level memory pressure is not produced (use Linux memory stress for that).

  • Byteman dependency: The target JVM must allow Byteman attachment.

  • OOM kills the JVM: With MEMORY_TYPE=heap, an OutOfMemoryError may take down the JVM; the fault cannot recover from a process exit.

  • Single JVM scope: Each fault run targets one Java process.

Troubleshooting

Linux JVM memory stress fault could not attach to target JVM in Harness Chaos Engineering

Confirm PID or STARTUP_COMMAND resolves to a running Java process and that JAVA_HOME points to a JDK matching the target JVM major version. Verify the LCI service has permission to attach (same user namespace, no AppArmor block).

JVM crashed with OutOfMemoryError during the experiment

This is the intended observation for some heap experiments. If unintended, reduce DURATION or increase -Xmx on the application. Capture a heap dump with -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError to analyze the allocation pattern.

Heap stayed elevated after the experiment ended

GC reclaims the chaos allocations on the next cycle. Trigger a full GC if needed (sudo jcmd GC.run). If the rule was not removed, list and remove with bmtool -l / -u as documented in cleanup.

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