Performance problems in 2012 version - Time to upgrade?

[Lance]

We have been using the ASP.NET AJAX UI product for a client since 2012. I have had 8 staff members working on it full time since 2012 so as you can imagine, this is a gigantic application. Over the years the client has requested more and more features and the most important page in the application is now very heavy and taking a minute and a half to load out in the field on a tablet. The frustration level is at a breaking point. We absolutely must improve performance.

1. Do you think upgrading to the latest version would give us a significant performance boost?

2. If we upgrade are we going to introduce a whole host of new issues?

3. What are the best tips/tricks for optimising pages heavey with telerik grids, tabs and dropdowns?

-Lance Keene

[Rumen]

Hi Lance,

Before stating an upgrade of your project, you may find it useful to review the following resources:

• The Known Issues and Important Changes sticky thread. It lists changes that may affect your code and known regression issues (that are usually fixed in the subsequent release). Review the information for the releases you go through so you can evaluate whether you will be affected by anything.
• The Telerik Upgrade API Analyzer can analyze your C# code to notify you of changes between your version and the new version you want to upgrade to. It offers information as of the Q1 2012 (2012.1.225) release.
• UI for ASP.NET AJAX Release History—reviewing the release notes for all releases you go through will let you see what has changed, what fixes, features and controls have been implemented so you are better prepared to meet your project's challenges.
  
  

With regards to your questions:

1. Yes, it might have, especially if you switch to Lightweight render mode, which is based on HTML5 and CSS3 rendering.
2. Please check the The Known Issues and Important Changes sticky thread and UI for ASP.NET AJAX Release History to see what are the changes between the versions.
3. My advice is to examine the following resources and follow the instructions:
   1. Optimizing Performance
   2. Grid Performance Optimizations
   3. Optimizing the Combobox
   4. Optimizing RadTabStrip Performance.

Best Regards,
Rumen
Progress Telerik