Hosted feature layer terminology

[LarryCutforth]

When publishing a hosted feature layer in ArcGIS Online using default settings, should you say that it has been published to ArcGIS portal, Amazon Web Services, or something else?  The terminology is a hang up for our server administrators.

[RebeccaStrauch__GISP]

I'm surprised no one has chimed in with an opinion or standard terminology yet.  So, even though I don't know what is the true correct answer, I'll give it a bump with a comment, and maybe others will have a better solution.

Most of the tech session and documentation refer to ArcGIS Online as an "ArcGIS portal" (lower case "p")  which includes both the web base based ArcGIS Online, and the locally hosted Portal. Personally, I just say it's been "published to ArcGIS Online" which I say is part of the cloud.  I always hesitate to use the buzzword "cloud", since that sometimes conjures up negative thoughts for IT, but I guess "technically", it is. 

We have access to ArcGIS Server, so many of our services for Online are just passing thru, so I consider the ArcGIS Online as just a way to "advertise" layers that typically are not available direct from our server.

Just my thoughts.

[MikeMinami]

The terminology can be confusing and it does change over time, so someone else may have comments on my view...

In general, I refer to hosted layers as being stored in ArcGIS Online. While ArcGIS Online leverages many cloud infrastructures (e.g., Amazon, Azure), this is sort of a back end detail that most can ignore (but may be nice to know). And ArcGIS Online's implementation can change over time as technology changes.

Portal For ArcGIS is a product that is an extension to ArcGIS for Server. I have also heard people refer to ArcGIS Online as an "online portal" and Portal for ArcGIS as the "on premises portal," and that sort of makes sense too because Portal for ArcGIS, from a user perspective, looks and works very similar to the ArcGIS.com website. But, again, the back end implementation of Portal for ArcGIS is different, as it uses ArcGIS for Server, and not cloud infrastructure. (Note, your Portal for ArcGIS may be a hybrid that also accesses the cloud.)

It sounds like some people may be concerned about the security of your data when stored in ArcGIS Online. Visit this site, http://trust.arcgis.com, for more information.

Hope this helps.

MIke

[LeoLadefian]

We call them Hosted Feature Services when they are published to ArcGIS Online. ESRI uses an amazon cloud server I believe, but I don't think a distinction is necessary.  Hosted just means cloud to us, off our internal network.