Java's performance for cold code is bad period. This doesn't really have to do with code being paged out (that very rarely happens) but due to the JIT compiler not having warmed up the appropriate execution paths so that it runs in interpreted mode, often made worse as static object initialization happening when the first code that needs that particular class runs, and if you're unlucky with how the system was designed that may introduce cascading class initialization.

Though any halfway competent Java developer following modern best practices will know to build systems that don't have these characteristics.

> Though any halfway competent Java developer following modern best practices will know to build systems that don't have these characteristics.

I'll let you know if I ever meet any. Until then, another terabyte of RAM for tomcat.