Diagram Performance

[Richard Deverson]

Hello,
We are evaluating the latest Syncfusion diagram component, and I would very much appreciate some comments about performance.
Our diagram will essentially display a computer network. There could be several hundreds of Nodes (e.g. computers, switches, routers etc.).
Every node will have at least one connection to another node, e.g. computers connected to switches.
We would probably like to use the layers feature, e.g. to show different subnetworks on different layers.
We would create the diagram dynamically, from our own object model.
The diagram needs to be fast, e.g. a diagram with hundreds (but not thousands) of nodes must load in 1-2 seconds.
Adding, moving or deleting a node must be "instantaneous".
We would like to use the data-binding functionality of the Syncfusion Diagram. I.e. we would like our diagram to update automatically when our object model changes (e.g. if the object model is updated from another "client", we want to see the changes immediately in the diagram).
What kind of performance can we expect from the Syncfusion Diagram component?
Are there any samples that specifically address performance? E.g. a big diagram sample with data-binding to a large object model (or dataset or similar)?

Regards
Richard

[Richard Deverson]

Further to the above.
I have done some testing with the Diagram Builder sample, and using the NetworkFlowModel.edp symbol palette.
In runtime I created approximately 400 "Workstations" using the NetworkFlowModel "Workstation" symbol model. I also created approximately 50 nodes using a "switch" symbol model I designed myself. The switch symbol model consists of a bitmap image with 16 ports.
I also set the Model.SizeToContent property to true, in order that the nodes could be appended to the model.
The results are:
1. The diagram takes a long time to load (approx. 60 seconds).
2. When the diagram is loaded, it is generally unresponsive. Zooming and panning with the overview control is very slow. Scrolling in the diagram window is also very slow. Moving nodes around is not too bad, but there is a noticable "lag" in response.
Does anybody have any tips or comments?
E.g.
Would using multiple views on the same model help?
Note:
I have no connections in this diagram, this will be my next step, but I suspect it won't be any faster.
Attached are a couple of screen shots, one showing the document explorer, and one showing the Pan and Zoom window - the diagram is rather large.




diagram3_6ffc21e2.zip

[Ajeet M]

Hi Rihard,

Thanks for evaluating Syncfusion products.

You need to use the coding as follows to ensure minimum time to load your symbols to the diagram's model control.

----------

this.diagram1.BeginUpdate();

//
//Enter your code for adding your nodes

this.diagram1.EndUpdate();

----------

This practice of including "the code" to "Add" or "Delete" from diagram's model will ensure the fastest response to the order of just some "milliseconds".

I am attaching my sample file that loads 1000 "Workstation" nodes and layouts them neatly in just 0.890 seconds!

Let me know if this helps.

Happy Coding!

-Ajeet




Diagram_WF_ManySymbols_49464d2e.zip

[Richard Deverson]

Hi Ajeet,
Thanks very much for the sample.

When I run the sample using a slightly more complicated symbol, i.e. the Workstations symbol from the NetworkFlowDiagram palette, it takes a long time to load the diagram. About 3 minutes on my PC.

When I run the sample as is, the diagram loads fast (circa 2 seconds).

The performance seems to me to be dependent on the complexity of the symbol models.

It's easy to reproduce, just load the attached palette. The symbol index is the same as in your sample.

I'd be interested to hear what the performance is like in your environment, and if there is anything else I can do to improve it.




NetworkFlowModel_40b25bf5.zip

[Richard Deverson]

Hi Ajeet,
Still on the subject of performance.

Do you have any "best practises" for programmatically creating connections between ports?

I have extended my test project to create orthogonal connections between a bunch of ports on my "switch" symbol, and several computers. It takes a long time to load the diagram, so long I gave up waiting!

I enabled line routing and line bridging for each connector. Attached is a code snippet. Any suggestions for performance improvements would be welcomed!





ConnectorCode_b41082d5.zip

[Ajeet M]

Hi Richard,

I was able to optimise the load time of the "WorkStation" node from your palette "NetworkFlowModel.edp" file.

The result was as follows:

1. With my first optimisation techinque:

700 "Workstation" Nodes: ~35 seconds.

2. With my updated and latest optimisation techinques:

700 "Workstation" Nodes: ~5.7 seconds!

The advanced optimisations used here are as follows:

-----START-------

this.diagram1.Model.BeginUpdate();
this.diagram1.Model.HistoryManager.Pause();
this.diagram1.EventSink.Pause();
this.diagram1.Model.EventSink.Pause();

-------
//AddNodes Code;
-------

this.diagram1.Model.EventSink.Resume();
this.diagram1.EventSink.Resume();
this.diagram1.Model.HistoryManager.Resume();
this.diagram1.Model.EndUpdate();

-------END-------

For your convenience, I am attaching my updated sample file that demonstrates the advanced optimisations used.

Let me know if this helps.

Happy coding!
-Ajeet




Diagram_WF_ManySymbols_ded96baf.zip

[Richard Deverson]

Hi Ajeet,
Thanks for the updated sample.

I did some investigation based on this sample, and I discovered that the biggest performance gain was simply through assigning a name to the nodes. I.e.

string s = "my" + count.ToString();
Node node = (Node)paletteGroupView1.Palette.Nodes[1].Clone();
if (myNet != null)
{
this.diagram1.Model.AppendChild(node);
node.Name = s; //This improves performance dramatically!!
}

With this addition, the loading time went from 2 minutes down to 30 seconds, on my lame PC.

Adding EventSink.Pause()/Resume() and HistoryManager.Pause()/Resume() did improve the performance slightly, but it still took 2 minutes to load on my PC.

Attached is the form1.cs file - see the LoadDiagram() method.

regards
Richard



Form1_2bb8cd45.zip

[Ajeet M]

Hi Richard,

Yes, you correctly identified the area where the performance increased drastically.

This is my personal favourite optimisation technique that I suggest everyone to use who has significantly large nodes on the diagram.

The reason is simple as follows:

The name assigning is more rapid when the application knows what it has to assign, rather when it has to compute an unique name and then assign.

This use of manually assigning the name to the nodes, removes this computational overload from the application and thus the rapid results!

I am sure you liked the optimisation techiniques discussed in this thread.

Happy Coding!
- Ajeet

[Administrator]

Shouldn't you just "compute unique names" more efficiently???

P.S. Why do I have to enter the email address and "anti-spam" number when I'm already logged in?

[Administrator]

Hi Richard,
Sorry for the delay in response. I have discussed regarding this performance issues with our development team and they informed me that the performance has been improved drastically in the upcoming VOL 2 release. Regarding the E-mail address and antispam issues there has been already a feature request placed for this forum issue and soon it will be implemented.

Thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Dinesh

[Perry van Kuppeveld]

While evaluating your latest version I was running in a performance issue.
When I run the Diagram_WF_ManySymbols sample from previous posting in VS2005, debugger attached, there's no performance problem. When I convert this solution to VS2010, it runs much slower.

Running the executable without debugging gives not a performance problem.

Why is the perfomance of this sample in VS2010 so poor?

[Pandi Murugan A]

Hi Perry,

Thanks for evaluating Syncfusion products.

I am afraid that i am unable to reproduce the reported performance issue. The sample application taken reasonable time(5.1 secs) to load and Layout(TableLayout) the diagram. Please let me know if you have any concerns.

Regards,
Pandi Murugan A

[Perry van Kuppeveld]

Hi Pandi,

I opened the solution in VS2005, hit 'F5'. Time: 8.2 seconds
Running the exe produced by VS2005: Time 8.2 seconds

In VS2010 (after running the convecion wizard) I hit 'F5' Time: 1 minute 56.2 sec.
Running the exe produced by VS2010: Time 8.2 seconds

[Amsath Ali M]

Hi Perry,

Thanks for the update.

We are afraid that we are not able to reproduce the reported performance issue. The sample application taken reasonable time (6.1 secs) to load and Layout(TableLayout) the diagram.

Please see the below attached video and let us know if you have any queries.
Video1-735692884.zip


Regards,
Amsath Ali. M