My organizing is going to install Portal for ArcGIS for the first time; looking for advice on which version to install - we have an Enterprise SDE platform and are running ArcMap 10.3.1. Do I have to match the Portal version to our software or do we have

[MonicaBeaton]

My bad, I put all the details into the question above:

Do I have to match the Portal version to our software version? We are running ArcMap 10.3.1 on a versioned, enterprise GDB. My goal was to install ArcGIS for Portal on a separate server for testing before deploying to the rest of the organization. Will the most updated version of Portal work with ArcMap 10.3.1 or do I also have to install a newer version of ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro?

[DerekLaw]

Hi Monica,

> Do I have to match the Portal version to our software version? We are running ArcMap 10.3.1 on a versioned, enterprise GDB. ... Will the most updated version of Portal work with ArcMap 10.3.1 or do I also have to install a newer version of ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro?

As a general best practice: it is recommended that your ArcGIS Desktop client apps (e.g., ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro) match the release version of your ArcGIS Enterprise (e.g., Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Server, etc.). So I would answer with a "Yes - you should also upgrade ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro to a newer release version". You can leave your enterprise geodatabase at 10.3.1 - but if you can, I would also upgrade it.

I noticed in your post that you don't mention installing ArcGIS Server/ArcGIS Data Store/ArcGIS Web Adaptor - you'll need to also install these ArcGIS Enterprise components to fully leverage the capabilities that Portal for ArcGIS offers.

Some resources:

• ArcGIS Enterprise: An Introduction UC tech session video
• Base ArcGIS Enterprise deployment—ArcGIS Enterprise | ArcGIS Enterprise 
• Portal for ArcGIS 101 - ArcUser Technical Article 

Hope this helps,

[MonicaBeaton]

Thank you very kindly Derek! Your response is much appreciated.