Schema Migration Wizard

[JeffWard1]

Anybody been able to get the Schema Migration Wizard to work?

I've tried it with both data and no data, both times I get an error that says "Import xml data failed.  The relationship class is incompatible with an existing relationship class."  The only way I have been able to get it to work is if I run it through without any modifications to the original schema.

Thanks for any input.

Jeff Ward

Small Town GIS

[JeffWard1]

Two years of crickets.

I am commenting on this to move it to the top of feeds. I encounter this every time there is a new release of the LGIM. The most recent Schema Migration Wizard has the December of 2015 release as the newest version of the LGIM so it is a year and a few months behind.

As pitched this tool is supposed to be able to take my version of the LGIM and keep whatever modifications I have made and add whatever changes Esri has made. The only way I have had this tool work is if I use the "Schema Only" choice when exporting my LGIM to an XML document - which seems to defeat the purpose. If I do it that way I have to load individual feature classes into the new LGIM which is akin to migrating my data the first time. This has to be easier.

Does this tool work for anyone? How are people getting their data to the new releases? Or are people just sticking with the version they first implemented?

I have called tech support and they have given me a bug number outlined at the bottom of this thread. But it probably isn't very high on the priority list. In that thread Scott Oppmann‌ mentioned a meetup video recording demonstrating the wizard at minute 22. But that demo doesn't show the process of exporting your geodatabase, whether to use schema only or if you can use the data option. It also doesn't show the import process to the new geodatabase. Are we supposed to just export our old schema, run the wizard and create a new xml doc with the schema that merges our changes with the changes in the new release and then use X-Ray for ArcCatalog to get the data into the new empty geodatabase? None of this is clear in the documentation for the tool or in any of the demonstrations I have seen. And if we are to use X-Ray for ArcCatalog, that add in is not very easy to figure out either.

With every release this tool should be updated. The download page for the wizard states that it was updated in July of 2016, but that release of the LGIM isn't included with the wizard.

The LGIM is probably the best thing for small local governments with small budgets, but we need to be able to easily update the data model to take advantage of the new maps and apps the Local Gov team is putting together for us. I appreciate the work the Local Gov team does, I have implemented many of the apps they have created with minimal effort. I just can't get this wizard to work.

[CassidyKillian]

I never have been able to get the wizard to work the way it is supposed to.  It always error-ed out on me.  I would follow that up by saying you dont necessarily have to keep up with every change made to the LGIM going forward.  In the beginning, most of the apps were configured off of the default schema.  I dont think that is the case anymore.  Think of the LGIM as a starting point...not a template or model you have to use.  We have our "verion" of LGIM that has several tweaks to domains, featues, etc....It does not cause issues publishing anything all the way through to an app.  If we see something we like in a new version of the IM we can import specific features and not upgrade the entire database.  Dont get hung up on keeping up with the latest versions.

In addition to that, the new deployment tools within Pro will probably change things even further. It is certainly going to be interesting to see how the database platform fits into that model.

This biggest thing I can say is dont get hung up on the details of the LGIM and trying to keep up with every version.  Use it as a starting point, take the pieces you want, and modify as needed. 

[ScottOppmann]

Jeff - 

Over the last few months, we have been working on a series of enhancements to the schema migration wizard and Xray to improve the overall experience when using the Schema Migration Wizard.   Know we are delinquent on its release but we are finishing final certification and plan on releasing a new version in a week or so.  

Saying that, I also want to also take a minute to highlight the changes that have been occurring with the Local Government Information Model (LGIM) because I think this context will help local government GIS professionals understand the changes we made in 2016 and where we are heading with this information model in 2017.

With the emergence of ArcGIS organizations (online and on premise), we have been pivoting away from a single data model for local governments.  As Cassidy stated, we never intended the LGIM to be a “standard” for local governments.  GIS professionals can configure the LGIM to fit their unique organizational needs.  The information model is a living data model that evolves as new maps and apps are added to the ArcGIS for Local Government solution; and ArcGIS evolves in ways that simplify the deployment of these solution offerings.

The LGIM has historically been supplied as a geodatabase schema.  At the time of the LGIM’s inception, this was the most popular way for local governments to store data in ArcGIS.  Delivering the LGIM as a geodabase also provided a foundation for the ArcGIS for Local Government solutions and helped you organize your data so you could quickly deploy the solution offerings.  But with today’s popularity of hybrid WebGIS implementations, local governments are frequently using both geodatabases and hosted feature services.  Now, many of the ArcGIS for Local Government solutions use hosted feature services solely and we are sharing these feature layer designs in the ArcGIS for Local Government Service Catalogs so they can be used to create new hosted feature services in your ArcGIS organization.  And with the release of the ArcGIS Solutions Deployment Tool, many ArcGIS for Local Government maps and apps can be now be quickly deployed in your organization without having to construct the solution offering manually. 

Finally, the Local Government Information Model isn't going anywhere.  We still plan on maintaining it and evolving the content included as we add new maps and apps to the ArcGIS for Local Government solution.  But you will see (the March 2017 release was the first step) us start to refine the content included in the model so it generally includes content that would naturally be managed / used / analyzed in ArcGIS Desktop.  

I'll update this post when we ship the new Schema Migration Wizard and hope the additional context helps.   Talk soon.

Scott

[ScottOppmann]

On 3/24/17 we posted a new version of the Schema Migration Wizard.   This update includes a series of enhancements to the validation routines that increase the reliability of the migration workflows.  In addition, we have removed many of the legacy information models and included the June 2016 and March 2017 releases.  If you are using an earlier release (pre ArcGIS 10.3) of the information model, start with None when selecting a Current Solution Version in the wizard.  Thanks for your patience and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any problems.