This article provides GIS managers and analysts with an understanding of the fundamental concepts of Portal for ArcGIS and its capabilities. It presents a general overview of Portal for ArcGIS; discusses its key features, architecture, and implementation; and highlights the ArcGIS platform client applications that are available with Portal for ArcGIS.
Belated thanks for the kind feedback Jacob!
a must-read document for people trying to understand the general concept of Portal before they dive into more specific topics.
Simo:
Here's another article you might find useful.
It describes the various levels of usage, integration, etc... for Server and it's various components in the WebGIS world (including Portal, Geo Processor.)
It's a good complement to Derek's paper, especially in terms of initial understanding and how the "new" WebGIS fits together:
ArcGIS 10.3.1 for Server Functionality Matrix
http://www.esri.com/library/brochures/pdfs/arcgis-server-functionality-matrix.pdf
That's really nice, thanks for sharing Paul.