If I already use Visual Studio and Web Deployment Projects, will AspNitro benefit me?

There is only one scenario where AspNitro can't deliver significant benefit, which is: You want your website to be deployed non-updatable.

Otherwise you really need to try AspNitro because it allows you to achieve the great performance of full binary (non-updatable) deployment, while retaining 100% post-deployment updatability.

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What exactly does ASPNitro.Net do?

AspNitro delivers the lightening speed of full binary non-updateable deployment PLUS you can still easily edit your deployed website. Also you can do this with the simple click of a browser button, without ever going into Visual Studio™.

You may think you already get the performance of full binary deployment by pre-compiling updateable within Visual studio. If so, then AspNitro will snap your head back with improved performance, because here's what many people don't know. When you publish your website, even though your application code is compiled, the JIT (just in time) compiler still has to compile everything else; and I mean everything, including the HTML within your .aspx, .ascx, and .master pages, as well as global and local resource files, themes, etc. This slows your website down.

But for many developer/designers, pre-compiling updateable is the only practical choice, because they require their deployed web pages to be editable. This is where AspNitro can really deliver. Simply put, ASPNitro invokes the JIT compiler ahead of time, and it optimizes the ongoing JIT decision making path so that JIT quickly knows its job is done. This produces lightening performance, while your published website remains easily editable.

With ASPNitro you get to have your cake and eat it too, because ASPNitro accomplishes all the same performance benefits of using Visual Studio® or aspnet_compiler to deploy your website in full binary, non-updatable fashion; but in CONTRAST, ASPNitro is browser-based, quick and easy to use, and it allows you to edit your web pages while there're deployed.

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When is AspNitro used, before during or after deployment?

AspNitro is used after deployment via a browser based console. You install AspNitro by uploading it to your existing deployed website. You can also include AspNitro within your new web projects, to be included in deployment.

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How do I use AspNitro?

AspNitro is used via a browser based console.

After you download and unzip AspNitro, upload the bin and AspNitro folders to the root of your deployed website. Then navigate to http://yoursite.com/AspNitro/AspNitro.ashx and click the Optimize button. Play this video to See AspNitro in Action.

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Do you have to be a server administrator to use ASPNitro?

No. Not only do you NOT have to be a server administrator, but you don't even have to be at the server to use it. You can be anywhere that has a browser.

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When my site is optimized are my existing pages altered?

No. None of your pages are altered by the optimization process. So you can be assured that when you Remove the Optimization they are just as you left them. This allows you to run an optimization on a live production site. And if you don't like the Optimization, just click Remove and you are right back where you started!

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Do my ASP.net pages run faster on First-page delay, or on EVERY access?

First-page delay is eliminated, and your ASP.net pages run faster on EVERY request.

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Do non ASP.net pages run faster also?

No, only ASP.Net pages and source code are performance enhanced.

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How long does it take to optimize?

That varies as a function of the number of pages in your website. But to give you and idea, we optimize TheBeerHouse CMS and E-commerce Starter Kit in about 75 seconds!

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What is the JIT compiler?

JIT stands for "just in time", and that's exactly what the JIT compiler does. It compiles your web pages on the fly, just in time, when they are requested by a web browser.

One of the things that makes ASP.Net so easy to work with is "just in time" compiling. JIT allows you to create Active Server web pages and controls, using markup along with embedded or referenced VB or C# source code, without ever compiling the code yourself. This is great functionality and flexibility, PLUS you're not required to be a high-powered developer, using Visual Studio®, to get your job done.

However there is a price to pay for this convenience. Each time a page is requested, the JIT compiler has to determine whether or not any changes have been made to the website; first it checks for global site configuration changes, and then it checks for changes to the requested webpage. If JIT finds a site configuration change, then it begins recompiling the entire (or significant subset of the) website. If JIT finds a change to the requested webpage, then it begins recompiling that page along with any dependencies. Periods of inactivity, individual page compile thresholds, and application restarts also trigger the JIT compiler to recompile the entire site.

I'm sure you experience the side effects of the above process frequently. The first time you navigate to your site, it takes too long for the page to load. We refer to this as "first page delay". Plus, in seemingly random fashion, some pages take longer than others to load. The JIT compiler is the culprit.

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