Ohio DOT Collector Data Loss 2018

2836
4
09-04-2018 06:57 AM

Ohio DOT Collector Data Loss 2018

Ohio DOT Collector Data Loss 2018 - Part of a webinar series for ESRI Mobile Data Collection User Group - August 2018 Webinar

Attachments
Comments
Anonymous User

In working with Ohio DOT we have identified the cause of this issue and a viable resolution.

The Issue:

Ohio DOT uses shared iPads for their data collection. Their workflow is for field workers to start by taking an iPad from a shared docking station. They then use that iPad to take a map offline in Collector for ArcGIS. After data is collected in the field they sync their edits and remove the offline map. The iPad is then placed back in the shared docking station. The next day another field worker starts the process from the beginning. The issue arises when the second field worker takes the exact same map with the exact same extent offline for the second day. In this situation iOS returns a file reference to the geodatabase associated with the replica from the previous day instead of the geodatabase associated with the newly downloaded offline map. Since the replica from the previous day has already been removed from the server; when the user attempts to synchronize they get the error “Replica with this GUID does not exist on the server”. After this error the edits on the device cannot be synchronized with the server.

The Resolution:

Using the current version of Collector for ArcGIS there are two workarounds for this issue.

  1. Close (swipe up) the Collector app before downloading the new offline map.
  2. Set the default extent for the webmap of the offline map so something that would have to be changed prior to download. Imagine a very small extent that the user would zoom out to the appropriate location.


Ohio DOT chose to use workaround #1 because it was a minimal change to their existing workflow. They also instituted a policy to have each field worker sync once prior to going out in the field. This verifies that they will be able to synchronize their edits at the end of the day.


The new version of Collector for ArcGIS (Aurora) coming out later in 2018 will not have this issue. Therefore, no additional workflow will be needed after moving to this new version of Collector for ArcGIS.

Why?  Please elaborate

Hi Mitch - sorry for cross post. Thought the issue should have been routed to ESRI Technical Support but looking into the post further I see it was. 

I feel the pain of the ODOT, as I have experienced this multiple times with ArcCollector (among other unexplained bugs).  For what it's worth, you can access the runtime geodatabase on the local device and convert it with ArcGIS.  You'll still need to push edits to the enterprise geodatabase.  This is the method we used to extract the data from an unsuccessfully synced runtime geodatabase.

Version history
Last update:
‎09-04-2018 06:57 AM