Deploying a webapp

[PaulCharsley]

We are creating a web app using Experience Builder in our own ArcGIS Enterprise environment. We now wish to deploy it to a web server. All documentation describes the way to do this as:

1. Download the webapp as a zip file through the developer Experience builder tool
2. Deploy the zip file on the web server of your choice

However, ArcGIS Portal also creates a link that can be shared when an Experience Builder web app is published. This seems much simpler than the zip file deployment process described above.

Can anyone tell me the difference between the 2 processes. Does the Portal publishing process deploy the web app to the web server used by the web adaptor in the same way as the manual documented process?

[Grant-S-Carroll · Accepted solution]

Hi Paul

If you publish via ArcGIS Enterprise, then you have a link to access the application that is served out of ArcGIS Enterprise, the link would be something like portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=ba023be66b454100845b43fbe3d41c83

If you download the app, then you have the opportunity to deploy that on a seperate web server or via a cloud provider as a static web site or app service.

The difference is really about how users would access it, if you deploy it via the download process then you are creating a stand alone application, and you can specify whatever URL you want for it.

If you just push it out via Enterprise, then the link is always tied to Enterprise and the only differentiation between apps is the id associated in the link. 

So it comes down to what the purpose of the application is, how its to be used. If its going to be a publicly avaiable application, then you might what to have a bit of seperation between your Enterprise implementation and the application. If its just an application to be shared with members of your organisation then keeping it in Enterprise is the simpler solution.

Also if you download the application, then its versioned at whatever version you have downloaded it at, if you want to update it, you would have to download it again and redeploy it.

If you keep it in Enterprise, as you upgrade Enterprise, the app would update. Updating it would be as simple as publishing it again.

Hope that helps.

[jcarlson]

Using the zip file method is great for end users, as it enables you to deploy your app to a simple URL that updates when you want it to. We have a number of Experiences in our Portal, but our users prefer to have something like maps.co.kendall.il.us/mapviewer rather than a long itemID string.

I would also like to add that the zip deployment is how you would share something built in the Developer Edition. If you haven't looked into, you really ought to, as the Developer Edition has access to the latest and greatest widgets you might see in AGOL's EB, and you don't have to wait for a Portal upgrade to use the newest tools.