Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

[TheoFaull]

It's too slow.

The system requirements are too high. The program installed for me (just!) but using it is a jumpy, laggy experience. For geospatial analysis and editing, you need something quick and snappy. Pro (1.4.1) just isn't that.

I'm not in a position in my office to request having more RAM, a new CPU, graphics card etc. so I'm stuck.

I've change all the display options for best performance and it's still too slow. Here is my Shift+E readout:

Pro needs moire customising options relating to performance vs quality (one example off the top of my head: remove the glowing outline fade after editing a shape. Instead just have it change instantly.)

ArcMap 10.4 runs fine, using the exact same datasets. Other software runs fine.

I get that ESRI are going for a more flashy and graphical interface, but at the cost of slower performance? That shouldn't be the case...

My specs:

Windows 7:

[George_Thompson]

I can see why it may be running slow (64-bit Pro vs. 32-bit Desktop). That amount of RAM for a 64-bit system does not seem like much. I am not even using Pro/Desktop and my machine consumes about 4-5 GB of RAM just using: Chrome, Outlook, Skype, OneNote and IE on Windows 10 O/S. This is less RAM that Windows 7 used for the same workload.

I wonder if your machine is pegged out with the Physical RAM and using page file?

I would think that it is not realistic of your employer, in my opinion, to expect you to do real geospatial analysis and editing with only 4 GB of RAM and not have some issues with the machine.

Could send them the System Requirements documentation: ArcGIS Pro 1.4 system requirements—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 

[TheoFaull]

"I would think that it is not realistic of your employer, in my opinion, to expect you to do real geospatial analysis and editing with only 4 GB of RAM and not have some issues with the machine."

Well 4GB was fine for ArcMap, so it's never been a problem until now.

Also I'm the only GIS tech in the whole company so my bargaining power is rather limited

We do run off Citrix virtual desktops. So not sure if that makes a difference. Perhaps my RAM specs posted earlier are simply what I've been allocated virtually? I'll find out.

I don't think I have a proper graphics card, so that must be bottlenecking performance a bit too...

[George_Thompson]

Yeah running it in Citrix may not be the best with the current configuration. I can understand you stance, but I still believe that your machine is very under resourced. If you started to use Desktop with larger datasets and/or very complex analysis (Imagery processing) you may see some performance issues with just 4GB of RAM.

I know that there are post in https://community.esri.com/?sr=search&searchId=35366b58-e1a9-46cf-83ba-8f8112eb44a0&searchIndex=1‌ that people ask about minimum specs for a machine.

[JayantaPoddar]

You might like to Enable ReadyBoost to Increase System Performance using a Flashdrive. I, sometimes, use the readyboost with an 8 GB pen-drive. It improve the performance of the system.

[JeremyWright]

Theo,

You're running on a machine that doesn't meet the minimum requirements for ArcGIS Pro.  As such, your user experience will be severely degraded.

The readout says WARP - that means your GPU is being emulated by the CPU.  This is because you're using a Citrix version that doesn't support GPU acceleration.

Probably the easiest way to explain the need for an upgrade to your IT staff would be to run the "ArcGIS Pro system checker" - it should fail on the GPU requirement:

http://links.esri.com/run-arcgis-pro

See also the blog posts here for example:

https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2014/06/30/38908/

https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2015/03/08/arcgis-pro-in-vmware-horizon-view/

Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns in this matter.

Regards,

Jeremy W.

[JasonHarris2]

We provide ArcGIS Desktop (and now Pro too) to customers via CItrix based virtualization.  ArcGIS Desktop runs like a champ in this environment.  But, as you have seen - Pro will not for various reasons - but most obvious is the lack of GPU acceleration.  So, that means if you want to run Pro you'll need to do one of 2 things.  Start running Pro locally outside of the Citrix environment on a properly spec'ed machine or move to a virtualization platform with server side GPU acceleration. Amazon's Workspaces product has a GPU enabled virtual Desktop that will run Pro smooth as butter. Really really good stuff.  AppStream2 - which is most like Citrix's streamed applications, will be getting Elastic GPU support in the near future and that's very very promising.  

I believe that in the long run, when people look at the specs required for Pro they'll opt to run it inside a virtualized environment. 

[JohnMeza]

Yes, ArcGIS Pro is more difficult to virtualize than ArcMap. This is why: Pro is designed to be a modern, contemporary application that fully utilizes a GPU when it's available. That includes on-premise and cloud virtualization, as well as a physical desktop/laptop. This allows Pro to deliver the excellent UX that our users expect.

While ArcMap does have the most spatial capability of any software app on this planet (and most other planets), it's older and doesn't take advantage of a GPU.  BTW: Pro is quickly closing that gap.

Pro virtualizes well. The virtualization environment must be configured properly. We have and continue to perform extensive UX and performance testing in virtualized environments. Citrix XenDesktop on XenServer or VMWare ESXi deliver a great UX.  

From the information you have provided, here are a few comments:

• it's unclear if your using XenDesktop or XenApp. You mention XenDesktop, but unsure if your VM is accessing Pro via XenApp.
• Don't use XenApp, it can't support high-end graphics rich applications like Pro
• it's unclear which hypervisor you are using.
• Ensure your IT dept is using a either VMWare ESXi or Citrix XenServer that supports Nvidia GRID  cards and GRID Virtual GPU Manager 
• The hypervisor server should have a Nvidia K2 or (preferably) M60. An M10 or M6 may do the job, depends on the configuration
• Your VM needs 1.)more memory. Go for 8GB, 2.) 6 virtual CPU cores, 3.) min 1Gb vGPU framebuffer profile, 4.)network min 8-9 Mbit.#

Here are links to blogs with more info (we are writing new blogs -now-):

• Nvidia GRID vGPU user guide
• High level look at virtualizing ArcGIS Pro
• Virtualizing Pro with an Nvidia GRID Tesla M60
• ArcGIS Virtualization Appliance

If you are attending the Esri User Conference in San Diego we will have an area dedicated to showing how Pro can be virtualized, on-premises and in the cloud. You can try it out yourself. 

[JustinConnerWR]

For a single GIS user in an organization that does not have a dedicated IT department, I will stick with Desktop as long as possible - because while the user interface may be clunky and the 32-bit architecture occasionally a problem, it runs the tasks I need to do, and it does it reliably on machines I can afford.  Pro doesn't run many of the tasks I need to do on any machine, and does not run on machines that are within our org's budget.

[BrandonArmstrong]

Hi Theo,

The following blog may also be of use to you...

Troubleshooting Performance Issues in ArcGIS Pro

Regards,

Brandon