Distributed Collaboration between Portal and AGOL

[Sunnywaygis]

Hi There, We are evaluating options to enable access of our spatial data to our external contractors and looking for some options. Currently our enterprise data exists within the firewall as part ArcGIS Enterprise configuration 10.9.1. The option that I am looking into is to enable live access of our enterprise data to our Company AGOL and use distributed collaboration to provide access to external contractors from AGOL account.

I am trying gather some feedback from community members, who have implemented a similar setup. I am particularly interested in knowing more on security aspect on how to enable live access to data within firewall from AGOL.

Appreciate any feedback

Thanks

[Randomapper]

We are sharing content to AGOL through a Collaboration with 10.9.1 Enterprise Portal that exists behind a firewall.  I experimented with sharing the feature layers as a reference as well as copies.  A huge bonus with using copies is that it is supposed to allow the two-way syncing of edits. Unfortunately, I did find that with 10.9.1 there is a bug with the two-way sharing of edits (BUG-000153500). But it does work one-way, so you can realistically send updates from Portal to AGOL. Another benefit with copies is that the feature services do not need to be secured or shared with everyone in order for the AGOL user to access them (though the map service still does).  When shared by reference, feature services have to be secured or public if you don't want the AGOL user to be prompted to log into Portal. Also, editing in AGOL with a referenced feature service is not supported, but you can edit on a copy (just can't send the edits back to Portal yet).

[Sunnywaygis]

Thanks Jamie on your detailed response. In our scenario, we are looking to keep data current in Enterprise Portal and share it with our Company AGOL and then have external contractor AGOL consume these datasets, we don’t have two way editing scenario. Our preference would be to use the reference option not the copy. Once contractor engagement is over, we would remove collaboration.

 Are there are any limitations on consuming these services shared as part of collaboration with client apps like ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap and any other client applications. 

Thanks 

[Scott_Tansley]

If your using reference then the webmap in AGOL will have the same URL as what you use internally.  If people outside your firewall cannot see that URL then they won’t get data.  The only way to get data out is ‘by copy’.  There’s no magic in the DC between AGOL and Enterprise.  People outside ‘must’ be able to burrow through your fireall etc to see it…. 

[ThomasColson]

"Unfortunately, I did find that with 10.9.1 there is a bug with the two-way sharing of edits (BUG-000153500). "

What is BUG-000153500 and how is it affecting replication?

[Randomapper]

Two-way distributed collaboration fails to 'sync' updates from ArcGIS Online to ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9.1.  So essentially, edits from Enterprise to Portal work, but edits made in AGO cannot be synced back to Enterprise. 

[ThomasColson]

Interesting, because I have a 10.9.1 deployment where manual syncing works, but scheduled syncing doesn't, but edits on both ends show up on the other end. Wouldn't be the first time TS wrote a bug where none existed and 5 years later development comes back with "can't reproduce"....

[andysbhai]

I've worked for a small quasi-govermental organization for the past 10 years. I'm the one person GIS shop. One of my first projects at the office was to get ArcGIS Server up and running, which I did. We serve out a few web maps here and there for various small projects, nothing major. Now I'm beginning, to wonder if we need the ArcGIS Server at all, with the progress that AGOL has made in the last half a decade. I don't have much of an IT background and almost everything I know I learned from getting the server up and running. I have looked at setting up Portal, but I think it is a little out of my league. If we stopped paying me maintenance I could save my department $3000/ yr https://100001.onl/.

Anybody else done this? Or have any opinions for or against? I'd love a second opinion.