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DavidCo3
Level 10
May 9, 2016
Question

Performance - specifically browser freezing due to high CPU and high disk I/O

  • May 9, 2016
  • 21 replies
  • 3043 views
Hi, We have found a performance issue which I strongly believe is at the client end. This is not cloud-server or network related....it seems to be platform/browser related. On most small projects (less than approx 30 tasks), performance is normal and quite reasonable. However, on larger projects (e.g. 100 tasks), the browser (chrome or firefox) intermittently and significantly freezes when scrolling up and down, even after the initial list of tasks has finished loading. Once the list of tasks has loaded, and the user starts scrolling down the page, the freezing starts to occur. It freezes and unfreezes several times for 1 to 2 minutes (depending on how many lines there are). Whilst the freezing is occurring, you often hear the computer's CPU fan increase in speed as it is trying to cool the CPU. Looking at task manager, you can see increased CPU usage, steadily increasing RAM usage and high disk IO usage. Sometimes the Windows spinning blue circle appears whilst it is frozen. After the initial period of 1 to 2 minutes, the CPU fan quietens down, RAM stops increasing (although it has increased by 500-600MB during the freezing period) and performance returns to normal whilst you remain viewing that project. The issue recoccurs when you move to a different project. This issue is separate to the initial page load performance, which also takes longer with larger projects (greater than 50 tasks). Whilst users would obviously prefer if the initial page load was quicker, they can sort of understand the initial wait. However once the page loads and they start scrolling, the freezing issue really creates the frustration. While it is freezing it makes it very difficult to edit tasks and do normal work. It seems like there is something in the Workfront code which is causing the browser to work really hard - even after the initial task list has loaded. Note that my Chrome and Firefox browsers are both up-to-date. My PC runs Windows 10, Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM and has a SSD so hardware performance isn't an issue. The freezing issue occurs across other users/devices in our organisation. The larger the project, the worse this issue is. Does anyone else have experience with this issue? I have submitted it to Workfront support who said their developers are investigating but no fix has been identified yet. Regards, David.
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21 replies

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DavidCo3Author
Level 10
May 10, 2016
Thanks Jeffrey. I actually have rarely felt that the production system was too slow from a server point of view. The Custom Refresh Sandbox is of course much slower but I don't generally have an issue with Production server performance. Our issues seem mainly related to browser/client performance. Looking at your list of items that could affect performance, I don't believe that these are an issue for us (although they are all very valid as other causes). i.e. Using chrome, no other tabs open, no video, no other aps open, plenty of RAM (8GB), Disk I/O (SSD), and performance is the same if AV software is disabled. Regarding the suggestion of a tiered service environment, I'd be interested if this became an option but would likely not see the need to pay more for a higher level at this point.
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DavidCo3Author
Level 10
June 22, 2016
Quick update on this. A fix has been made available on the Preview Sandbox and it looks like our browser freezing issue has been resolved. Browser performance (other than usual sandbox slowness) is phenomenally improved now. We just have to wait another week for it to get into Production, but this should greatly improve user satisfaction. Well done to Workfront Dev for the fix and thanks to the Support team in helping to identifiy it and facilitate the resolution. Thanks
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EricLu2
Level 10
June 23, 2016
Kudos to the WorkFront Development team. This will be a positive for every user. Good job! Eric
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JeffreyWa
Level 2
June 23, 2016
Anxiously awaiting the implementation -----End Original Message----- This message and any attachments may contain confidential or privileged information and are only for the use of the intended recipient of this message. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender by return email, and delete or destroy this and all copies of this message and all attachments. Any unauthorized disclosure, use, distribution, or reproduction of this message or any attachments is prohibited and may be unlawful.
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JeffreyWa
Level 2
June 28, 2016
David, Is there any mention of this fix in the June release ? I can't find anything out for the timing of this release (which is much needed). thanks Jeffrey
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DavidCo3Author
Level 10
June 29, 2016
Hi Jeffrey, I have been told that it will be in the June release. This is occurring on the 29th June (USA time I assume). I have told our users in Australia that they should see the performance improvement on the 30th. What sort of issues are you experiencing? The same browser pausing/freezing? We have had some other issues recently with blank/frozen task lines etc. Apparently this fix is still in QA and no release timing is yet known. There are some other fixes for us in the release though apparently, relating to chart values. Regards, David.
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JeffreyWa
Level 2
June 29, 2016
As we bring aboard new project managers, we are seeing a continual stream of complaints about slow performance. The tool requires a significant amount of RAM & CPU capability (esp. on Windows-based machines). Due to the large in-memory footprint, there is a great deal of paging that is required when working with larger projects (> 250 tasks). The additional paging also creates a drag on network throughput (routers are getting hammered though the backbone is fine). Some of our users are experiencing more wait time than work time so productivity is degrading so user adoption is grinding to a halt.
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DavidCo3Author
Level 10
June 29, 2016
This sounds exactly like our issue which, I believe (crossing all fingers and toes) is now fixed and will be available to us tomorrow. e.g. By keeping Chrome's task manager open, I can see that when viewing most of our projects the javascript memory usage starts from around 60MB and builds up over a couple of minutes to around 600MB-1000MB per project. The whole time it is building, the browser freezes. Comparing this to the 'fixed' code in the Preview Sandbox, the memory usage barely increases at all when you open a project and the freezing doesn't occur.
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JeffreyWa
Level 2
June 29, 2016
Fingers crossed
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DavidCo3Author
Level 10
June 29, 2016
Does anyone know if the software update has already been released? We have not seen the expected improvement in performance yet on our production system. In fact, our users are complaining about receiving many new error messages this morning.
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