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Upgrade your ArcGIS Enterprise portal

The Portal for ArcGIS 10.6.1 setup is designed to detect and upgrade an existing installation of Portal for ArcGIS.

Prepare to upgrade Portal for ArcGIS

Before upgrading, carefully review the following information.

  • If you are upgrading to 10.6.1 from version 10.5.1 or earlier, you will need to reauthorize your software with a new authorization file for 10.6.1. You can access your new authorization files in My Esri. If you are upgrading from version 10.6, you do not need to re-authorize.
  • Running the Portal for ArcGIS 10.6.1 setup will automatically upgrade your portal to 10.6.1. There is no need to obtain and install each previously released version in sequence, or to uninstall your previous version of Portal for ArcGIS.
  • If you've configured a highly available portal, there are specific steps you'll need to follow to complete the upgrade. These steps are outlined in the topic Configuring a highly available portal.
    Note:

    At 10.6, highly available deployments use available ports 5701, 7005, 7099, 7654, 7120, and 7220 for intermachine communications. You must ensure that your firewall allows local communication on these ports and they are not currently in use by another application.

  • If you have already configured an enterprise geodatabase as the managed database for your hosting server and you are upgrading to 10.6.1, you will need to conduct a few additional steps. Once you've upgraded Server, you will need to register the enterprise geodatabase as a database (as opposed to a managed database). Then, install ArcGIS Data Store and register it as a relational data store. This will configure ArcGIS Data Store as your hosting server's managed database.
  • The time it takes to complete the upgrade varies, depending on how much content your portal contains and how many accounts are registered, as well as how many components and customizations you deploy.
  • If you published applications based on configurable app templates, check to see if the app template was retired. Retired configurable app templates may not function or display correctly once you upgrade your portal. You will need to re-create these apps using new app templates. Note that if your portal is several releases old, you need to check the retired templates for each release. For example, if you're upgrading from Portal for ArcGIS 10.5, check the list of retired templates for all releases between 10.5 and the current release.
  • If you have Esri apps configured with your portal, you will need to ensure you are at a version that's compatible with the 10.6.1 portal before upgrading.
  • If you have configured Insights for ArcGIS, you must uninstall Insights for ArcGIS prior to upgrading ArcGIS Enterprise. After the upgrade is complete, you will need to install a compatible version of Insights for ArcGIS.
  • If you have configured Navigator for ArcGIS mobile map packages with your portal, you will need to reconfigure them after upgrading the portal to 10.6.1.
Note:

The Portal for ArcGIS setup asks for the account the Windows service will run as. When upgrading from versions 10.4 and later, you can upgrade existing content on a shared network directory, provided the account running the Windows service has full access to these locations.

If the Windows service is currently running as a LocalSystem account with no password applied, you must first change the account to a local account with a password before proceeding with the upgrade.

ArcGIS Enterprise upgrade order

For your ArcGIS Enterprise portal to function, it must be the same version as your hosting server, Web Adaptor, and Data Store. The recommended order to upgrade your ArcGIS Enterprise deployment is as follows:

  1. Upgrade Portal for ArcGIS
  2. Upgrade ArcGIS Web Adaptor (for Portal)
  3. Upgrade ArcGIS Server (update hosting server first, and then any other servers)
  4. Upgrade ArcGIS Web Adaptor (for Server)
  5. ArcGIS Data Store (upgrade primary first, and then stand-by)
  • Your ArcGIS Enterprise portal's version must match the version of the hosting server, any GeoAnalytics Server, any GeoEvent Server, and any Raster Analytics Server federated with it. However, a 10.6 portal will work with any other federated server that is at version 10.5 or later. For example, a 10.5 GIS Server (that is not the hosting server) and a 10.5.1 Business Analyst Server can be federated with a 10.6 portal, as long as its hosting server is at version 10.6.
  • If you have registered items in your portal from a non-federated ArcGIS Server site, you do not need to upgrade the server to 10.6.1 to use the site's services with your portal. Services from previous versions of ArcGIS Server can be consumed by Portal for ArcGIS 10.6.1.
  • If the ArcGIS Server site you've federated with the portal includes multiple machines, upgrade your GIS servers sequentially. If you have ArcGIS Web Adaptor (single or multiple) configured with your ArcGIS Server site, you also need to update the Web Adaptors to the same version as ArcGIS Server.
  • If you cannot update your current Web Adaptor, you can alternatively install a 10.6.1 version of ArcGIS Web Adaptor (IIS) alongside your previous version on the same machine. For example, you can retain your 10.5 version of ArcGIS Web Adaptor (IIS) and install 10.6.1 on the same web server. You must keep the same Web Adaptor context when upgrading. To do this, you'll uninstall the Web Adaptor currently configured with your portal. You will then install the 10.6.1 Web Adaptor with the same name used previously. Note that two Web Adaptors with the same context cannot be installed on the same machine.

Back up your content

If you are using ArcGIS Data Store with your portal's hosting server, create a full backup of the data store before upgrading.

You'll also need to back up any customization you've configured for your portal (such as properties you modified in config.js).

Legacy:

Previously, you were required to back up the certificate keystore (portal.ks) containing certificates you'd imported into the portal. Starting at 10.4.1, this is no longer necessary and the portal keystore will be automatically migrated during your upgrade.

  • If you heavily customized the previous version of your portal, it is recommended that you install 10.6.1 on a separate machine and prototype your portal upgrade.
  • Extensions for Operations Dashboard or Web AppBuilder must also be backed up. The upgrade will not preserve any extensions you have deployed for these clients. Once your upgrade is complete, you must redeploy your extensions.
  • Conversely, your content, services, site information, and security settings are all automatically backed up and preserved when upgrading. General settings you edited through the portal website, such as adding your organization's logo and name to the website, are also preserved when upgrading. You don't need to manually back up this information before upgrading.
  • To ensure you have enough disk space to support the automatic backup during upgrading, determine the amount of space allocated to the portal's content, index, db, and temp directories. Validate that the amount of free space available on disk is at least 2.5 times this amount. If not, allocate at least 2.5 times more space on disk. The portal upgrade will need this free space to successfully back up and upgrade your portal's content, site information, and security settings. The default location for these directories is C:\arcgisportal.
  • When the upgrade completes, the backed-up information is retained on disk. For example, you'll see this information denoted with _10.<version number> appended to the end of the directory. It's recommended you move this information to another location to save disk space.
  • It is also recommended that you back up the arcgisportal content directory folder. If your upgrade encounters issues and you then need to revert to your previously installed version, you can apply this folder to restore your portal's content.

Perform an upgrade of your portal deployment

Caution:

Your portal deployment, any ArcGIS Server site you've federated with your portal, ArcGIS Data Store (if used), and ArcGIS Pro (if used), will be offline during the upgrade.

  1. Back up the following information:

    Tip:
    You can follow steps below to back up your site manually or you may use the webgisdr utility to create a back up of your ArcGIS Enterprise deployment. To do so, follow steps to export ArcGIS Enterprise.

    • Any customization you configured for your portal, such as properties you modified in config.js. If you heavily customized the previous version of your portal, it is recommended that you install 10.6.1 on a separate machine and prototype your portal upgrade.
    • The ArcGIS Data Store managed database. See Upgrade ArcGIS Data Store for details on running the backup.
    • Any extensions you have deployed for Operations Dashboard or Web AppBuilder. These will not be preserved upon upgrading and must be redeployed after the upgrade is complete.
    • Back up your ArcGIS Server site so that in the case where you need to revert your site to the earlier version, you can import and restore the site.
  2. Determine the amount of disk space allocated to the portal's content, index, db, and temp directories. Validate that the amount of free space available on disk is at least 2.5 times this amount. If not, allocate at least 2.5 times more space on disk. The portal upgrade will need this free space to successfully back up and upgrade your portal's content, site information, and security settings. The default location for these directories is C:\arcgisportal. If the content directory resides on a different machine, the same recommendation applies.
    Note:

    When the upgrade completes, the backed-up information is retained on disk. For example, a new folder called upgrade-backup is created and contains version specific folders with backed up contents. It's recommended you move this information to another location to save disk space.

  3. Log in to the machine hosting the Web Adaptor you're using with your portal, and uninstall ArcGIS Web Adaptor. For full instructions, see the uninstallation topic for IIS, Java (Windows), or Java (Linux). Be sure to note the context of the Web Adaptor before you uninstall it.
  4. Start the Portal for ArcGIS setup program, Setup.exe, and read the welcome screen and terms. Click Next when you're ready to proceed. You can also upgrade Portal for ArcGIS silently by using the following command line parameter:

    <path to Portal for ArcGIS setup download>\setup.exe /qb USER_NAME=admin PASSWORD=itsasecret

  5. Read the license agreement and accept it, or exit if you do not agree with the terms. The features that will be installed display.
  6. Click Install to begin the upgrade. Do not interrupt the installation process.
  7. Click Finish to close the installation wizard. You will need to authorize your software with a new authorization file. The portal website opens in a browser window.
  8. Clear your browser's cache (including cookies). Information left over in the cache from the previous version of the website may cause the upgraded website to display incorrectly and you may not be able to log in. It's recommended that you clear the cache (including cookies) on all browsers that will be viewing the upgraded portal website.
  9. Click the Continue Portal Upgrade button. This triggers the upgrade and creates a backup of your portal's content, site information, and security settings. This step will take a few minutes to complete.
  10. Open the ArcGIS Portal Directory and sign in with the initial administrator account. The URL is formatted https://portal.domain.com:7443/arcgis/portaladmin.
  11. The directory page will display a warning message that your machine is not completely upgraded. Click the Post Upgrade operation.
  12. Note:
    Starting at 10.6, you can also use the upgradeportal command line utility to complete the upgrade and post-upgrade operations silently. In the command line, navigate to your <Portal install directory>/tools/upgradeportal folder and run the following: upgradeportal.bat -s. For assistance, run the command with -h or --help.
  13. Click System > Indexer > Reindex.
  14. Click the Mode drop-down list, and select Full.
  15. Click Reindex. This step will complete the upgrade of your portal. Depending on the number of users and volume of content in your portal, it will take some time for the reindex to complete. Do not interrupt the reindex process. You can monitor the indexing status by opening a new browser window (or tab), navigating to System > Indexer > Index Status, and refreshing the page. When the store and index counts are equal, the reindex and upgrade is complete.
  16. Install the Web Adaptor that will be used with your portal. For full instructions, see the installation topic for IIS, Java (Windows), or Java (Linux). Ensure that you use the Web Adaptor context that you used in the previous version.
  17. Configure ArcGIS Web Adaptor with your portal. For full instructions, see the configuring topic for IIS, Java (Windows), or Java (Linux).
  18. Verify that you can sign in to the portal website through the ArcGIS Web Adaptor URL as an Administrator of your organization. The URL is formatted https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/home.
  19. While signed in as an organization Administrator, upgrade your ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World content. Go to Organization > Edit Settings > ArcGIS Online. Within the Configure Living Atlas Content section, click Upgrade Content. Do not close the ArcGIS Online page until the portal finishes upgrading the ArcGIS Online content. Click Save to return to the Organization page. If your portal was not configured to access Living Atlas content, this step is not needed.
  20. If you've federated an ArcGIS Server site with your portal and you're using ArcGIS Web Adaptor with your site, log in to the machine hosting the Web Adaptor and uninstall the Web Adaptor. Take note of the Web Adaptor name; you'll need to use the same name when you reinstall. For full instructions, see the uninstallation topic for IIS, Java (Windows), or Java (Linux).
  21. If you've federated an ArcGIS Server site with your portal, upgrade each site to 10.6.1. There is no need to uninstall and reinstall. You'll need to run the setup on each GIS server machine in each site. Upgrade your GIS servers sequentially (back-to-back). For full instructions, see Upgrading a previous version of ArcGIS Server.
  22. When the server upgrade completes, verify you can access the local URL of the ArcGIS Server Services Directory. The local URL is formatted https://gisserver.domain.com:6443/arcgis/rest/services.
  23. If you were previously using ArcGIS Web Adaptor with ArcGIS Server, reinstall ArcGIS Web Adaptor. Use the same name you specified for the Web Adaptor in the previous installation. For full instructions, see the installation topic for IIS, Java (Windows), or Java (Linux).
  24. Configure ArcGIS Web Adaptor with your server. For full instructions, see the configuring topic for IIS, Java (Windows), or Java (Linux). If you had previously enabled administrative access to your ArcGIS Server through the Web Adaptor, ensure that you enable it again. This is especially important if you used the Web Adaptor URL for the administrative URL when federating your portal and ArcGIS Server site.
  25. Verify that you can access the ArcGIS Server Services Directory through the ArcGIS Web Adaptor URL. The URL is formatted https://webadaptorhost.domain.com/webadaptorname/rest/services.
  26. If your portal's hosting server is using ArcGIS Data Store, create a backup of the data store, upgrade ArcGIS Data Store, and reconfigure the data store to work with ArcGIS Server. See Upgrade ArcGIS Data Store for specific instructions.
  27. If you've configured ArcGIS Pro licenses with your organization, optionally upgrade ArcGIS License Server Administrator. When upgrading ArcGIS License Server Administrator, members with ArcGIS Pro licenses will be unable to access ArcGIS Pro. If members are currently logged in to ArcGIS Pro, they will see a message stating that the program will be closed in twenty-four hours. Members can complete or save their work within this time period. You are not required to reconfigure ArcGIS Pro licenses after upgrading ArcGIS License Server Administrator.
  28. Restore any customization you previously configured for your portal. When restoring your portal customizations in 10.6.1, do not replace the files you modified in the previous version in 10.6.1. This adversely affects your 10.6.1 deployment. You must open each file at 10.6.1 and manually re-add your custom behavior from the previous version.
    Tip:

    Esri recommends using the portalScan.py script to check for security best practices with your upgraded ArcGIS Enterprise portal.

Considerations after upgrading Portal for ArcGIS

After upgrading, carefully review the following information.

After upgrading, the portal website does not display correctly, displays an error message, or I can't log in. What's wrong?

Clear your browser's cache (including cookies). These errors are typically due to leftover information from the previous version of the website being cached in the browser. If you still can't log in, make sure you are using the initial administrator account or an account that has administrative privileges to your portal.

After upgrading, I don't see all of my items, groups, and users in my portal. What's going on?

After installing the software and specifying the initial administrator account, you're required to reindex your portal. This step completes the upgrade of your portal. Initially, you may not see all of your items, groups, and users because the reindex is not complete. Depending on the number of users and volume of content in your portal, it will take some time for the reindex to complete. For example, a small organization (hundreds of users and content items) running Portal for ArcGIS on a machine with 8 cores may take 15 minutes to reindex. Conversely, a large organization (tens of thousands of users and content items) running Portal for ArcGIS on machine with 8 cores may take over 3 hours to reindex.

You can check the status of the reindex by following the steps below. When the store and index counts are equal, the reindex and upgrade is complete.

  1. Open the ArcGIS Portal Directory and sign in with the initial administrator account. The URL is formatted https://portal.domain.com:7443/arcgis/portaladmin.
  2. Click System > Indexer > Index Status.
  3. Refresh the page to obtain the latest status.

After upgrading to 10.6.1, Living Atlas content is no longer accessible in my portal.

If a Living Atlas layer is not accessible in your portal after you upgrade, it's possible that the item is retired at this release. Check the What's new in Portal topic for an updated list of retired items.

If subscriber or premium content items cannot be opened post-upgrade, verify that you've completed the step to upgrade the Living Atlas content.

After upgrading to 10.6.1, I see that all of my members belong to membership level 2. Can I update some of these members to membership level 1?

By default, all upgraded members are assigned to roles in membership level 2. The portal administrator may update members to roles in membership level 1 as long as those members do not own content and sufficient membership is available. If members own content, the portal administrator must reassign their content prior to changing their membership level.

I received a software authorization error stating that the number of registered members in the portal exceeds the maximum number that the portal has been licensed for. How do I resolve this issue?

In Portal for ArcGIS 10.2.1 and later versions, the portal's named user licensing model is enforced. You will no longer be able to add more members into your portal than what it is currently licensed for. If the number of members your portal is licensed for is exceeded at 10.6.1, you will see a software authorization error message when accessing the portal website with an account that has administrative privileges. Additionally, users will not be able to create new accounts and members without administrative privileges will not be able to sign in to the portal. See Enforcement of named user licensing to learn more about how to resolve these issues.

There was an error creating my initial administrator account. How do I resolve this to complete the upgrade?

If you receive this error when creating the initial administrator account, information in the portal logs can help you resolve the issue. Often, this error may occur if network connectivity was temporarily lost when creating the account. To access the logs, browse to the logs directory and open the most recent log file (for example, C:\arcgisportal\logs\<machine name>\portal\portal-20141201.095803-8596-0.0.log). If necessary, you can share this information with Esri Support.

If you were upgrading from 10.3.1 and had Survey123 for ArcGIS or Collector for ArcGIS configured with your portal, you will need to contact Esri Support to continue the upgrade.

If you are reverting to your previous deployment, before you revert to the earlier version, copy all log files to aid in troubleshooting your support incident. (To access the logs, browse to the logs directory (for example, C:\arcgisportal\logs\).

Do I need to do anything with my utility services after upgrading?

If you're using the OfflinePackaging, RasterUtilities, or GeocodingTools utility services, you need to manually update them after you upgrade:

  1. Once your upgrade is complete, log in to ArcGIS Server Manager as the user who owns the utility services.
  2. On the Manage Services section of the Services tab, click the Utilities folder.
  3. Click the Sharing Properties Shared icon.
  4. In the dialog box that opens, click Save. This will update the service in your ArcGIS Enterprise portal.
  5. Log in to the portal as an administrator. On the Content tab, locate the service you've updated. Click Share. Update the sharing settings if needed, and then click OK. This updates the service with each group it's shared to.
  6. Repeat these steps for each applicable service.

My portal is configured with the ArcGIS Online World Geocode Service. Do I need to reconfigure after upgrading?

If you upgraded from version 10.2.x, you will need to recreate the proxy item in your portal to the ArcGIS Online World Geocode Service. Then, configure the item as a geocoder for the portal. As of 10.3.1, you do not need to update the proxy item to the ArcGIS Online World Geocode service.