AJAX Executes Complete Page On Server

http://www.asp.net/Ajax/Documentation/Live/overview/UpdatePanelOverview.aspx

An asynchronous postback behaves like a regular postback in that the resulting server page executes the complete page and control life cycle.

It makes sense that the whole page is executed on the server otherwise the child controls would not know what to show. The benefit of the partial page update is that the rendered content is not sent to the browser client which may be a performance benefit and of course page flicker is eliminated.

Nevertheless it must be considered that AJAX will not necessarily reduce the processor load on the server.

Post your ASP.Net and AJAX experiences in the comments below…