AGOL and web tier authentication

Question

The ArcGIS online help system states the following :

“ArcGIS Online supports ArcGIS Server authentication (not Web Tier authentication) for adding and accessing secure services.”

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/arcgis-server-services.htm#ESRI_SECTION2_F33AA3DF4B6E49A69A2C92F199797CC5

I have to say that the statement is a bit confusing to me since I am able to add secured services from ArcGIS Servers secured using Web Tier Authentication and I don’t run into any problems.  Can anyone clarify what this statement really means ? Is web tier authentication not really supported or I am missing something ? Many clients out there use web tier authentication for single sign and integration with other corporate systems.

Regards,

AaronFindlay · Answer

I have been struggling with this authentication issue for some time and slowly working toward moving to AgsGIS Server Authentication however I have just seen that this issue has somewhat changed. Positivitly I hope.

The article referrenced has been updated and now states support for Web Tier Authentication:

ArcGIS Online supports ArcGIS Server authentication, including web-tier authentication such as Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) and a public key infrastructure (PKI),  for adding and accessing secure services. When you add a token-based secure ArcGIS Server service to a map, ArcGIS Online prompts you for credentials every time you access the service. Credentials are not stored in the map. ArcGIS Online takes care of obtaining a token for authentication; there is nothing additional you need to do. You should not attempt to append a token to the URL when you add a service to a map.

The map viewer, Web AppBuilder, and the configurable apps support editing feature services secured with web-tier authentication. To take advantage of this support, administrators must configure trusted servers that allow ArcGIS Online to automatically pass through credentials.

I am workign through this new position now but wanted to share this with others who had been hitting this issue.

BledarBirbo1 · Answer

Hi.

We are having the same issue with Webtier authentication, we republished our services to a new arcgis server with arcgis security but now we are forcing our users to use enter their credentials for the ArcGIS server services, each time they open the map. (which is very annoying)

Is there any estimation on when and if AGOL will support Webtier authentication for editing ?

Thanks in advance.

Sanderten_Arve · Answer

Hi Ihab, the problem (really) starts when you are using feature access enabled map services in ArcGIS Online. When you use Web Tier authentication for your AGS server you will get this error message: "layer seems to be on an internal network and are not accessible to arcgis.com". You will get your map service visible but you will not be able to edit. hope this helps.

kind regards,

Sander