Slow and other Problems with Web App - Hosted feature layers

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01-05-2016 08:56 AM
by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hello all,

I am trying to use Esri out of the box ArcGIS Online Web App builder with hosted feature layers. Trying is the key word there...

1) It is SLOW. What is the issue here? Hosted feature layers? Cloud is super slow? Does anyone have a web site link they could share that is using hosted feature layers in ArcGIS Online in a Web App that I could compare to ours? It just doesn't make sense that it is this slow. Especially when trying to view the records in the attribute table. My users won't buy this product!

Edit: Esri support suggested it was our network performance trying to reach the cloud to get the data...And they also said that was outside their area of support so I should check with our IT company...I love that answer from Esri. Sorry Esri, If you have a cloud and you are encouraging customers to put their data on your cloud and create apps, it is now in your area of support when that cloud and website are slow. I would like to try that answer with my clients though.

2) Labels disappear when you click the edit widget. This is not acceptable as our users need to read the labels to put the info in the new point they just created. I have tech support researching to see if this is a documented bug. Edit: tech support says it is a documented announcement and it is assigned.

3) Edit widget: Reshape tool doesn't work - Tech support said this is a known bug. Edit: no bug, just a tool meant for polygons only, not lines.

4) Undo button doesn't work most of the time.

Related Collector App, same map:

1) The data doesn't all load - have to scroll and pan to get the remaining data to appear.  Sometimes, doesn't load at all.

2) No Labels in Collector app- I think this is a known limitation? Edit: known limitation. Looking into creating a map cache that has labels.

Feel free to ignore the Collector App questions since this is the Web App forum...I can repost in a different location for those.

Appreciate any ideas and feedback...

Thanks,

A

Message was edited by: Andrea B, GISP

A few more edits to above:

1) I didn't know you could have the default for Web AppBuilder be that all attribute tables are closed. I had left the default so they were all trying to load at the same time. Just configure the Attribute Table widget and uncheck all of the tables. Then they won't show by default.

3) Correction again - reshape tool does work for polygons but could not reshape multiple polygons with the same sketch. Have now created ENH-000093404: The Web AppBuilder Re-shape tool should reshape multiple polygons with the same sketch.

4) Undo button: bug. BUG-000086165: The Undo method performs inconsistently with the Cut and Reshape tools in Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS.

Message was edited by: Andrea B, GISP

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7 Replies
JeffreyWarren
New Contributor III

Andrea,

We are also seeing issues with our WebApps.  The data loads so slow, if at all.  The only way to get it to load quickly is to zoom extremely far in and then zoom back out.  But that is not something a regular consumer is going to know/do.  We use AGOL to host all of our data as well as used AGOL's WebApp Builder to build the webapp.  I'm not sure as to why the data loads so slowly in the app, when I can open the Online map (same exact data) and it loads quickly.  We have incredibly fast and reliable internet here, so I know there are no speed/connection issues with that.  I'm debating getting rid of the webapp and going back to just using the online map.

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by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Jeffrey,

Well, it's nice to know we're not the only ones.

I talked to tech support several times about this issue and I received some good feedback and advice.

Some that might be applicable to you are:

1) "Use a hosted application template rather than Web AppBuilder. The more complex structure of Web AppBuilder can sometimes affect performance." (isn't it funny that an Esri tech support person actually said this!?! I thought it was...)

2) "Host feature services on your own server, rather than in ArcGIS Online. This may help to minimize the traffic when loading the services into the map to help with speed." (again, I thought that was funny)

3) "It appears that the slower performance you were seeing in your web application and webmap can be attributed to the number of layers and the number of features that appear on your map. When you have a number of layers turned on at the time the map opens or when you are zooming, all of the features from these layers are being returned by the server, whether they're in the map view or not.

Instead, by modifying the max record count to bring it down to something around 1000 or 5000, only that number of records within the map view will be returned by the server. You can also set the visible scales for these layers, so the features only start to appear on the map as you zoom in. Not every feature in the layer will appear at this zoomed-in scale, so you likely would not exceed the set max record count by doing this. These changes can be made in ArcMap, then can be used to overwrite the service in ArcGIS Online. (http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2012/09/24/arcgis-online-layers/)" (I actually put my max record count at 500 and it worked for my map)

4) "ArcGIS Online feature layers are dynamic and will be redrawn within the browser each time you pan or zoom around the map. Another option is to create a cached map service on your ArcGIS Server. You could use the same ArcGIS Online tiling scheme, and this will allow users to see static images on the map, but you can also turn layers on and off, and specify options to find, identify, and query the data. However, the data cannot be edited. Keep in mind that tiled services hosted on ArcGIS Online cannot be queried, nor can layers within the service be turned on and off in the layer list. (http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//00sq00000097000000)" (I cached some basemap layers and saw some improvement).

5) Some factors to consider about working in the web environment related to network are speed, bandwidth available, and possible securities that are required when accessing resources outside of your particular network.

> If there do happen to be any performance issues on the ArcGIS Online end, they should be posted on the following website:

ArcGIS Online Health Dashboard

http://status.arcgis.com/

> This blog discusses slow performance of ArcGIS Online basemaps in ArcMap, but has some good suggestions in relation to network troubleshooting. You may want to check out 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 in this case.

Troubleshooting issues adding ArcGIS Online basemaps to ArcMap http://blogs.esri.com/esri/supportcenter/2013/04/01/having-issues-adding-arcgis-online-basemaps-to-a...

> You can also consider collecting a Fiddler log to give to your IT Department to help them in finding the lag in your network. Here are instructions for collecting a Fiddler log:

- You can download it at the following link: http://www.telerik.com/download/fiddler

- Open Fiddler and go to Tools > Fiddler options > Https tab > enable the options for Capture HTTPS and Decrypt HTTPS > OK

- Go through the workflow to reproduce the issue

- In Fiddler > File > Save > All Sessions > Save the .saz file to be analyzed

We also discussed some general best practices for web map performance including:

> Use Tiled services for layers that do not need to be edited. This is discussed further in the following resource.

Best practices for using layers in maps

https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/best-practices-layers.htm

> Reduce the number of layers and services in the map, if possible. Also, include only needed attribute fields to reduce the size of the services.

> Consider how to store your data (also discussed in the resource above). Is a feature service or feature collection best for the data purpose.

> Use a Maximum Record Count of 1000 or less to decrease the load on the service when it is trying to be drawn. (mentioned above too, I put mine at 500)

> Set visible scales so that features appear at the appropriate zoom level.

Set visible range

https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/create-maps/set-visibility.htm

> Simplify any complex geometry if possible.

  We can also consider whitelisting the ArcGIS Online domains, if your IT team thinks this may help with speed. Typically we use these domains when services are completely blocked."

Hope all of that can help you and others out there!

A

JeffreyWarren
New Contributor III

Thanks Andrea!  I'll look into a lot of these suggestions.

JeffWilcox1
New Contributor III

Have you found a solution to this?

I am passing through a feature service hosted on AGOL to a Portal WebMap...I can make edits/additions very quickly in the WebMap.

When I pull that WebMap into a WebApp to get access to SmartEditor widget (and other functionality) the layer produces the exact symptoms you explained.

Wish I could host the feature service on our Enterprise, but its not an option for us at this time.

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GREGREECE
New Contributor II

Is there a fix to the edit widget? I find the correct point then click edit, and it takes me to a different point feature.

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EricPeña
Occasional Contributor

I've noticed at times that slow performance is at the hosted feature layer level and has nothing to do with the web app, but it does affect the web app.  Just trying to view Data and Visualization tabs on the AGOL Item Details page is extremely slow.  This morning AGOL hosted layers have been terribly slow for us.  One layer I'm hosting on AGOL has only 200 features (parcels) and it was taking at least 30 seconds to load and freezing up the web app. 

One interesting thing I noticed was that Esri's vector tile basemaps and tile basemaps loads very quickly but the lag comes when my hosted feature layer begins to load.  It is not a large layer and on good days it loads very quickly. Looks like this intermittent slow performance is just an unintended consequence of hosting in the Esri cloud.  You never know when it will occur. 

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by Anonymous User
Not applicable

I think the new 'tiled' feature layers may be a solution to all of this. 

I'll be investigating. I've long had issues with complex layers loading slowly, even dynamic but feature layers, just not even usable they are so slow. I am looking forward to on-premise feature layer tiling in 10.7.x but it is already on AGOL you can test it now. Hope to hear from people that put it to the test, how it does! I hope to start looking into it some time in the next few months.

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