Migrate ArcGIS Server 11.3 using Join operation without Active Directory domain?

[JonSwoveland]

Hi all, I am trying to figure out how to migrate an ArcGIS 11.3 Server from one Windows machine, to another. 

The complication here is that the ArcGIS Enterprise is deployed in an AWS environment, and none of the machines are domain-joined.  I am by no means an expert in AWS, and the person who manages that for us does not know if  it's possible to setup up a network file share that would be accessible to both servers via UNC path.

Using regular Windows file sharing, I have managed to mount equivalent network drives on both machines, and I'm wondering if ArcGIS Server will be able to use this.

To clarify what I mean by  "equivalent network drives", and how the approach would work:

First, the machines:

• Existing ArcGIS Server host:   AGS_Source
• Target ArcGIS Server host:     AGS_Target
• Path to existing ArcGIS Server config-store and server directories (on AGS_Source): C:\arcgisserver
• Path to future ArcGIS Server config-store and server directories (on AGS_Target): D:\arcgis\arcgisserver

The steps I'm considering (this would happen during a maintenance period, so downtime is ok):

1. Stop ArcGIS Server on AGS_Source
2. Copy config-store and server directories from \\AGS_Source\C$\arcgiserver to \\AGS_Target\D$\arcgis\arcgiserver
3. Using windows file sharing, share \\AGS_Target\D$\arcgis as "arcgis"
4. On AGS_Source, map \\AGS_Target\arcgis as a network drive.
   I have confirm I can map a network drive on AGS_Source that points to AGS_Target
5. On AGS_Source's ArcGIS Admin, repoint config-store and server directory paths to "Z:\arcgisserver"
6. Start ArcGIS Server on AGS_Source and see if it works
7. If so,  on AGS_Target, map \\AGS_Target\arcgis as a network drive (yes, this is pointing back to itself)
   *Now both machines have a Z:\arcgisserver path that points to the same physical files. 
8. Try to join ArcGIS Server on AGS_Target to AGS_Source's Server site. 
9. If that works, drop AGS_Source from the site
10. Repoint AGS_Target's config-store and server directories to "D:\arcgis\arcgisserver"

So, does anybody know if the ArcGIS Server will be ok using a Mapped network drive like this, or is the use of a UNC path hardcoded somewhere?  I did read that ArcGIS Server does not support the use of special characters (including '$') in UNC paths.  

Also, I should point out that I can't just use "\\AGS_Target\arcgis" as a UNC path, because there's no way (AFAIK) to configure permission for the ArcGIS Server identity to access it.  

Thanks!

[Joshua-Young]

To the best of my understanding, the Join Site operation is not supposed to be used to migrate from on-premises to cloud. The WEBGISDR tool is supposed to be used instead. From Esri about Join Site migration:

"Due to the dependency on shared storage between machines that participate in the same site, this strategy should only be used if the machine you're migrating to is within the same data center as the original machine. If you are migrating to machines in a separate data center, consider using the WebGISDR tool."

https://enterprise.arcgis.com/en/portal/11.3/administer/windows/migrate-to-new-machines.htm 

Maybe you can trick it into thinking that both servers are looking at the same shared directory, but I would make sure you have a good backup before trying that. If I remember correctly, Portal for ArcGIS allowed me to manually copy directories ahead of doing a Join Site, but I think ArcGIS Server started copying its directories as part of the Join Site operation except for the Cache folder.

[JonSwoveland]

Thanks Joshua, I appreciate the response. 

To clarify, both machines (source and target) are in AWS, and I am only moving the ArcGIS Server machine, not Portal.  I will definitely look further into WebGISDR. It's been a while since I used that.