ASP.NET Ria Essential Pack is a library that includes the Silverlight-based versions of ASP.NET GridView and ASP.NET Chart. These controls are based on the RIA principle: they are usual ASP.NET controls with properties similar to GridView and Chart, but they use the in-built Silverlight application for visualizing data in a user's browser.

In comparison to their standard analogues, Ria controls have several advantages:

1. Rich UI. Because the user interaction is subject of the client side, the application functionality may include anything that could be implemented in a desktop application, including drag and drop, using a slider to change data, smoothing, transparency and so on.

2. Short response time. Because the browser doesn't need to interact with the server on every operation, the RIA is usually much more responsive than standard web applications that call for a new page every time they need something new.

3. Web-server relief. Unlike traditional web applications, the RIA's client side takes the lion's share of computing tasks, and so frees the server resources for other tasks. This allows the server to serve more client sessions at the same time, and the whole "computing" balance is better distributed through the net.

4. Asynchronous interaction. While usual web applications have to wait for the user to perform an interface action such as clicking a button, RIA can interact with the server in the background, i.e. asynchronously. Because of this RIA developers can move data between client side and the server without making the user wait, and thus create the illusion of a desktop application.

5. Network traffic reduction. RIA's client side is usually able to decide what data it needs from the server to perform an action, so it can only request the part of data that is actually needed in each interaction. So the overall network load is reduced.