Akka distributed computing platform adds Java SDK

Akka, formerly known as Lightbend, has released Akka 3, an update to the JVM-based distributed computing platform that adds a Java SDK as well as serverless and “bring your own cloud” deployment options.

Akka 3 and the company’s name change were announced November 15. Sign-ups to try out Akka can be done at the company website.

The SDK in Akka 3 combines high-level components, a local console, and an event debugger. The composable components, covering endpoints, entities, streaming consumers, workflows, views, and timers, make it easy to build responsive, elastic, and resilient cloud applications, Akka said. While Akka libraries have supported both the Scala and Java languages for many years, the new SDK is based on Java. Akka believes the SDK is simple enough that most engineers, regardless of their language expertise, will be productive with Akka within one day, a company spokesman said.

Deployment options now include serverless, with Akka running the user’s apps in Akka’s cloud, and “bring your own cloud,” with users supplying their own AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud cloud instances and Akka bringing the control plane, a cost profile, and managed infrastructure services. In early-2025, the company plans to roll out a self-hosted option for running Akka apps wherever desired, either on-premises or in private or a hybrid cloud.

For cloud deployments, Akka has focused on providing more flexibility regarding how an application is deployed and replicated, supporting single-region/pinned, multi-region/read-replicated, and multi-region/write-replicated topologies. Innovations in Akka 3 include an application runtime with multi-master replication, where each service instance runs in multiple locations, and a PaaS that migrates across hyperscalers, with operations able to stretch an application across multiple clouds and migrate an app from one cloud to another with no downtime or disruption.

Akka enables development of applications that are primarily event-driven. The platform provides libraries, components, sandboxes, build packs, and a cloud runtime, the company said.